Florence Beatrice Green (''née'' Patterson; 19 February 1901 – 4 February 2012) was an English woman who at the time of her death was thought to have been the last surviving veteran of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

from any country. She was a member of the

Women's Royal Air Force The Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF) was the women's branch of the Royal Air Force. It existed in two separate incarnations: the Women's Royal Air Force from 1918 to 1920 and the Women's Royal Air Force from 1949 to 1994. On 1 February 1949, the ...

Biography

Florence Green was born at

Edmonton, London Edmonton is a town in north London, England within the London Borough of Enfield, a local government district of Greater London. The northern part of the town is known as Lower Edmonton or Edmonton Green, and the southern part as Upper Edmonto ...

, to Frederick and Sarah Patterson (''née'' Neal). She joined the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

; the

, on 13 September 1918 at the age of 17, where she served as an officers' mess steward, service number 22360. She worked in the officers' mess at

RAF Marham RAF Marham is a Royal Air Force station and military airbase near the village of Marham in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia. It is home to No. 138 Expeditionary Air Wing (138 EAW) and, as such, is one of the RAF's "Main Operating ...

and was also based at Narborough airfield. In 1920, she moved to

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located north of London, north-east of Peterborough, no ...

. She married Walter Green (1893–1975), who was a station worker and a veteran of both World Wars; Walter died in 1975 after 55 years of marriage. They had three children: May (born 1921), Bob (born 1926), and June Evetts (born 1935). She lived in King's Lynn with May until November 2011, when she moved into a care home. In January 2010, she was publicly identified as the oldest living female veteran of the First World War. On 19 February 2011, she celebrated her 110th birthday, becoming a

supercentenarian A supercentenarian (sometimes hyphenated as super-centenarian) is a person who has reached the age of 110 years. This age is achieved by about one in 1,000 centenarians. Supercentenarians typically live a life free of major age-related diseases u ...

—one of just 10 living in the United Kingdom, all of whom were women. With the death of

Claude Choules Claude Stanley Choules (; 3 March 1901 – 5 May 2011) was an English-born military serviceman from Pershore, Worcestershire, who at the time of his death was the oldest combat veteran of the First World War from England, having served wit ...

on 5 May 2011, Green became the last known living veteran of the First World War. On 20 July 2011, the

Gerontology Research Group The Gerontology Research Group (GRG) based in Los Angeles, California, USA, is a global social science organization of researchers in various fields of gerontology, primarily concerned with verifying and recording supercentenarians status (peop ...

verified her age, and listed her as an official supercentenarian. It was reported that when asked what it felt like being 110, she replied, "Not much different to being 109." At the time of her death, Green had three children, four grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. Before her death on 4 February 2012, aged , she was West Norfolk's oldest resident, the second-oldest person in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, and the sixth-oldest in the United Kingdom.

References

Florence Green, Last World War I Veteran, Dies at 110

External links

Photograph of Green
{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Florence 1901 births 2012 deaths Burials in Norfolk British women in World War I British supercentenarians People from Edmonton, London People from King's Lynn Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Women's Royal Air Force airwomen Women supercentenarians Military personnel from London

Biography

See also

References

External links