Britain's last Victorian dies, aged 114

[-:Undertaker:-]

Britain's oldest person Ethel Lang dies aged 114

UK's longest-surviving person - the last living subject of Queen Victoria dies - dies in Barnsley nursing home

Britain’s last living person born under the reign of Queen Victoria has died aged 114.

Ethel Lang, who was born in 1900, lived to see six monarchs and 22 prime ministers.

Her main hobby was dancing, which she enjoyed until she turned 98, despite being registered blind. She was also a keen snooker fan, an “excellent seamstress” and a good cook, making her own bread and always eating wholesome food.

She is likely to have put her longevity down to her good health. She never smoked and rarely touched alcohol.

Her daughter Margaret Bates, 91, paid tribute to her sharp, independent mother, saying "how wonderful it is I had a mum for so long in my life."

She added: "She was such a good mum. I'm so proud of her. I have so many wonderful memories of being with my mother.

“She was registered blind in 1988 but it never stemmed her enthusiasm for life, even in her later years.

"I would take her into town and she would ask me to point things like buildings and landmarks out to her. She hated to be stuck indoors.

"She used to take coins and rub round the sides of them to remember what they looked like and she would often have the snooker on the background - she'd know everything that was going on."

Mrs Bates said her mother “loved all kinds of dancing”, which she enjoyed until she broke her hip at the age of 98. However, she still managed to dance at her 106th birthday.

Mrs Lang was born in Barnsley and lived in the South Yorkshire town all her life.

The youngest daughter of miner Charles Lancaster and his wife Sarah, Mrs Lang was born when Queen Victoria was still on the throne and the Marquess of Salisbury was Prime Minister.

She left school at 13 to work in a shirt factory and married her husband, William, a plumber, in 1922.

Wow, the last (British) Victorian... not sure if there's any others in the former colonies who are older alive today. It's insane to think that when she was actually here on this planet, Britain ruled the waves with a vast global Empire, the United States had only just overtaken us in economic size, Queen-Empress Victoria was on the throne, Tsar Nicholas II ruled Russia and the Qing Dynasty was watching as imperial China collapsed infront of them when she was 10 years old.

Even crazier when you think about it is her daughter is 91!

Edit: I checked Wikipedia and there's one last living Victorian left (non-British) and it's a Jamaican called Violet Brown.

RIP.

[Shockwave.2CC]

Wow, all those thing that happened in her lifetime

[Alkaz]

Quite a momentous day in our history. I would never have imagined there would be any Victorians still alive - she must have done something right all of her life. I can't believe she wasn't the last, although second to last living Victorian is not something to be sniffed at. Go her, her daughter must also be in her 90's, there was an article saying that Ethel left school at 13 and a short while after had her daughter, I mean if you say she had her 7 years later when she was 20, that would still make the daughter 94!!

[Phil]

It's crazy that a person has lived to see all of those things happening

[Samantha]

Quite a momentous day in our history. I would never have imagined there would be any Victorians still alive - she must have done something right all of her life. I can't believe she wasn't the last, although second to last living Victorian is not something to be sniffed at. Go her, her daughter must also be in her 90's, there was an article saying that Ethel left school at 13 and a short while after had her daughter, I mean if you say she had her 7 years later when she was 20, that would still make the daughter 94!!

Her daughter's 91 .

It's amazing how long she's lived for, my dad was saying how her rations were bacon sandwiches, lard (something like that) or whatever on everything and Lurpak butter. Shame she was became blind before she was 100 though so she never saw her cards/telegrams .

[Red]

Awww, my great gran is 92. It's amazing to think how much change they have lived through.

[Yupt]

Just incredible. To think how much things changed over the course of her life. You forget how much things have changed since the start of our own lives which for most people on this forum is about 20ish so to think how different everything was for her.

[Chris]

Bless her. She certainly has had a very long and eventful life. Also for the 91 year old daughter to have her mother in her life at that age is pretty damn awesome.

[dbgtz]

Her right hand looks like a claw. Pretty incredible, but not sure if I could personally cope with being so frail and blind

[A]

Such a shame really, but she's had a good life so!


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