Goodbyee ... I'll Wipe the Tear, Baby Dear, From My Eye ; As First World War Veteran Henry Allingham Neared the Last of His 113 Years, the World's Oldest Man Formed a Special Bond with Actress Nichola Mcauliffe. To Mark His Funeral Last Week, She Tells How She Found and Lost a Dear Friend - and Salutes the Passing of the Final Link to a Braver and Nobler Age

Mail on Sunday › August 04, 2009

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Summary

When Henry Allingham was 100 years old, he had withdrawn from life. Old age had claimed him and death was a grudgingly anticipated guest. But by the time he was 109, he was a true party animal, thanks to the efforts of a man young enough to be his son. This was the point at which our paths crossed.

Playing Eastbourne in a production of a Noel Coward short story didn't excite me in the same way as being found dead under George Clooney might, so I was looking for outside interests. It was a long tour, so watching two flies walk up a wall was almost as fascinating as the Galapagos was to Darwin.

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Goodbyee ... I'll Wipe the Tear, Baby Dear, From My Eye ; As First World War Veteran Henry Allingham Neared the Last of His 113 Years, the World's Oldest Man Formed a Special Bond with Actress Nichola Mcauliffe. To Mark His Funeral Last Week, She Tells How She Found and Lost a Dear Friend - and Salutes the Passing of the Final Link to a Braver and Nobler Age

I'd heard that one of the last three Great War veterans lived in Eastbourne, so I found the number for the First World War Veterans Association and left a message. It was to change my life. The next day Dennis Goodwin, the association's founder and the man who had inspired Henry to grasp the nettle of life again, called back.

'I'd love the opportunity to meet Mr Allingham,' I said. Dennis asked when our matinee was. 'Thursday,' I gabbled. 'I could come round between performances and just say hello. It would be such an honour.' Dennis, a juvenile Burma Star veteran of the Second World War, was scornful: 'No. Henry would like to com...

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