Oldest WWI veteran dies aged 113

Henry Allingham, the world's oldest man and one of the last surviving World War I servicemen, has died at the age of 113, his care home has said.

Mr Allingham served with the Royal Naval Air Service in WWI, later transferring to the Royal Air Force at the time of its creation.

Last month, Mr Allingham, born in 1896, became the world's oldest man.

The Queen said he was "one of the generation who sacrificed so much for us all".

A spokeswoman for Buckingham Palace said the Queen's "thoughts are with his family during this time".

Bosses at his Brighton care home said everybody was "saddened by Henry's loss and our sympathy goes to his family".

His funeral will take place later this month at St Nicholas' Church in Brighton.

Mr Allingham, whose life has spanned three centuries and six monarchs, has five grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, 14 great-great grandchildren and one great-great-great grandchild.

His wife Dorothy, who he was married to for more than half a century, died in 1970.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown paid tribute to the war hero, calling him a "tremendous character".

"I had the privilege of meeting Henry many times. He was a tremendous character, one of the last representatives of a generation of tremendous characters," he said.

He added: "My thoughts are with his family as they mourn his passing but celebrate his life."

And Prince Charles described Mr Allingham as "belonging to that incredible generation who did so much for their country".

A Clarence House spokesman said: "The Prince of Wales was sad to hear of the death of Henry Allingham this morning.

"We owe him a huge debt of gratitude for all he has done."

A minute's silence was held at Lord's to mark his passing before play got under way on the third day of the second Ashes test.

'War memories'

Mr Allingham joined the Royal Navy Air Service in September 1915 and served in Ypres before transferring to the RAF in April 1918.

In November last year, he took part in ceremonies to mark the 90th anniversary of the end of WWI.

May his soul rest in peace.

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