Talk:Henry Allingham

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article must adhere to the policy on biographies of living persons. Controversial material of any kind that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous. If such material is repeatedly inserted or there are other concerns relative to this policy, report it on the living persons biographies noticeboard.

	This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography. For more information, visit the project page.	Biography Portal
Start	This article has been rated as start-Class on the Project's quality scale. [FAQ] (If you rated the article, please give a short summary at comments to explain the ratings and/or to identify the strengths and weaknesses.)

It is requested that a picture or pictures of this person be included in this article to improve its quality. Note: Wikipedia's fair use policy almost never permits the use of "fair use" images (such as promotional photos, press photos, screenshots, book covers and similar) to merely show what a living person looks like. Efforts should be made to take a free licensed photo during a public appearance, or obtaining a free content release of an existing photo instead.

	This article is within the scope of the Military history WikiProject. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the project and see a list of open tasks.
Stub	This article has been rated as Stub-Class on the quality scale.
Additional information: This article has been checked against the following criteria for B-Class status: Referencing and citation: not checked Coverage and accuracy: not checked Structure: not checked Grammar: not checked Supporting materials: not checked To fill out this checklist, please add the following to the template call: <!-- 1. It is suitably referenced, and all major points are appropriately cited. --> |B-Class-1=yes/no <!-- 2. It reasonably covers the topic, and does not contain major omissions or inaccuracies. --> |B-Class-2=yes/no <!-- 3. It has a defined structure, including a lead section and one or more sections of content. --> |B-Class-3=yes/no <!-- 4. It is free from major grammatical errors. --> |B-Class-4=yes/no <!-- 5. It contains appropriate supporting materials, such as an infobox, images, or diagrams. --> |B-Class-5=yes/no Related task forces (nations and regions): British military history task force

The article identifies Allingham as Britain's oldest soldier, but contains not mention of any British Army service. I had previously changed this to "oldest member of the armed forces", but that change seems to have been undone (possibly as part of the major reworking of the page). Should I make the change again or is there another word that should be used? Cjrother 02:07, 3 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Make the change again if you want. I suppose technically he wasn't a soldier, it's just that in general 'soldier' is the word I see used on websites, etc. I think the general public uses 'soldier' for anyone who fought in a war. --Ben davison 14:55, 20 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I have changed the page to "oldest member of the armed forces" as Allingham joined the Royal Navy, and transferred to the RAF on its creation. He was a sailor and an airman, never a soldier. 88.105.128.47 01:47, 19 December 2005 (UTC)

Contents 1 Commissioned? 2 Picture 3 Tone 4 111th Birthday

[edit] Commissioned?

I cannot find any evidence that Allingham was comissioned. In fact [[1]] states that ... They married shortly after leaving the RAF (Henry says that he preferred to get married than attend a commissioning board).. Accordingly, I have removed the Category:Royal Air Force officers tag. If anyone has any evidence to the contrary, please quote it and replace the tag. 88.105.128.47 01:57, 19 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Picture

Is it possible to use one of the pictures (of him) from the BBC Website for this, as long as you note that it was from there? Would add a little to the article and there are plenty of stories about him there. RHB 21:07, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

Yes, indeed so, and preferrably one of him at age 110, which he hopefully will be in less than an hour's time. Extremely sexy 22:06, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Tone

WP is responding so slowly for me just now I've given up trying to edit myself, but... calling him "Henry", while affectionate, isn't appropriate for an encyclopedia. He should simply be "Allingham" throughout. 86.132.139.154 04:53, 24 November 2006 (UTC)

Even at age 18?→ R Young {^yakł_talk} 06:56, 25 November 2006 (UTC)

What difference does age make to it?--h i s s p a c e r e s e a r c h 11:03, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

I can't believe you actually asked that. What difference DOES age make? For one, age 18 is young enough to be a high-schooler. Respect is supposedly EARNED over time as we get older. This is, after all, an article about a 110-year-old man. From that perspective, age makes all the difference in the world. Had he died at 79 this article wouldn't be here.

But I take offense with the false pomp and dignity that now we can't call him "Henry". Ironically other Wikipedians run around, deleting the "Mr." titles as outdated.→ R Young {^yakł_talk} 01:36, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/HistoryAndHonour/WarVeteranHenryCelebrates110thBirthday.htm

We see that it was the British press itself that inculcated the 'cult of Henry'.→ R Young {^yakł_talk} 01:39, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

I agree with the original poster - he should be called Allingham throughout the article (except where it may be necessary to distinguish him from other Allinghams). Most of us aren't on a first name basis with him. Cjrother 03:05, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] 111th Birthday

Almost certain to reach 111? He is the only surviving veteran of the Battle of Jutland, the only surviving member of the founding members of the RAF and the oldest man of both the United Kingdom and Britsh Isles, so it would be nice to have him still around for a bit longer yet! :) YourPTR! 18:30, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

I agree: hopefully. Extremely sexy 12:38, 28 March 2007 (UTC)

Just over 2 months to go now. What I find most extraordinary, is that another man shares the exact same birthdate! I wonder if this is the first time that has happened, that 2 people over 110 share the same birthday? All the more remarkable, since very few men who reach 110 reach 111 (ok: so they are not there yet, but so far, so good), it is about the same odds as a 113 year old woman reaching 114. :)YourPTR! 18:20, 5 April 2007 (UTC)

The record for two people sharing the same birthdate is 112 years 325 days (Camille Loiseau and Toyo Endo, both born Feb 13 1892). Camille made it to 114 years 180 days.R Young {^yakł_talk} 03:34, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

And there have also already been several others. Extremely sexy 15:27, 6 April 2007 (UTC)