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Not to be confused with Amy Holmes.
Amy Hulmes
Amy Hulmes
Hulmes (age 113) on June 13, 2001.
Birth: 5 October 1887
Bury, Greater Manchester, England, UK
Death: 27 October 2001
Bury, Greater Manchester, England, UK
Age: 114 years, 22 days
Country: United Kingdom UK
Validated

Amy Isabel Hulmes (née Matthews; 5 October 1887 – 27 October 2001) was a British supercentenarian who was the oldest living person in Europe at the time of her death. Her age is validated by the Gerontology Research Group.

Hulmes was briefly recognised as the world's oldest living person by The Guinness Book of Records following the death of Marie Bremont in June 2001; however, only six days after being awarded the title, it was instead given to Maud Farris-Luse, who was more than eight months older than Hulmes.

Biography

Hulmes was born on 5 October 1887 in Bury, Greater Manchester, England. She worked as a weaver, and was married to Philip Hulmes from 1919 until his death in 1956. The couple had two daughters; Marjorie in 1924 and Barbara in 1927.

Hulmes gave up smoking at the age of 84, and lived in a house without hot water until the age of 94. She lived alone in the same street in which she grew up until she was 98, after which she moved in with her granddaughter on the family farm in Walmersley, Bury. She later moved in to a residential home in Bury when she was 105. At the time, she reportedly could still touch her toes. Hulmes died on 27 October 2001 at the age of 114 years, 22 days.

Family

Hulmes's father, John Matthews, was a drum major in the Lancashire fusiliers, and was nursed by Florence Nightingale during the Crimean War. Hulmes was the youngest of nine children; two of her sisters died three years before she was born and two of her brothers died in army service.

Sources differ as to the number of descendants that Hulmes had at the time of her death. Some sources say she had five grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren, and seven great-great-grandchildren; other sources say she had six grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, and five great-great-grandchildren.

Longevity Records

British Records

AmyHulmes2

Amy Hulmes (date unknown)

Hulmes became the oldest living person in the United Kingdom following the death of 114 year-old Eva Morris on 2 November 2000. After Hulmes's own death nearly a year later on 27 October 2001, Nellie Bradley became the UK's oldest living person.

Hulmes became the last surviving British person born in 1887 following the death of Winifred Pettit on 10 September 1998. However, following Eva Morris's death, Hulmes also became the last surviving British person born before 1889, as she outlived everyone in Britain born in 1888.

At the time of her death, Hulmes was the sixth-oldest British person ever recorded. Her age has only been surpassed by three Britons since; Florrie Baldwin in 2010, Ethel Lang in 2014 and Ethel Caterham in 2023.

International Records

Hulmes became the oldest known living person in Europe following the death of 115 year-old Frenchwoman Marie Bremont on 6 June 2001. She was also the second-oldest living person in the world after American woman Maud Farris-Luse. Following Hulmes's death, Germaine Haye became Europe's oldest living person.

Hulmes became the last known surviving European person born in 1887 following the death of Dutchwoman Catharina van Dam-Groeneveld on 16 February 2001. She later became the last surviving European born before 1888 following Marie Bremont's death on 6 June 2001.

Claim to "World's Oldest Person" Title

On 13 June 2001, a week after the death of Marie Bremont, Hulmes was officially recognised as the world's oldest living person by The Guinness Book of Records. This was despite the fact that American woman Maud Farris-Luse, more than eight months older, was already known to the affiliated Gerontology Research Group.

Nonetheless, the awarding of the title to Hulmes attracted publicity, as she was an avid drinker of Guinness beer, after which the Guinness Book of Records was named. However, less than a week later on 19 June 2001, they named Farris-Luse as the official oldest living person in the world. The following month, the Guinness Book of Records was sold by Diageo – the company that also owned the Guinness brewing business – meaning that the beer and the book were no longer affiliated.

Gallery

References


Europe's Oldest Living Person Titleholders (VE)

Willem van Renterghem • Marie d'Evergroote • Lavina Hansdatter • Kirsti Skagen • Geert Adriaans Boomgaard • Margaret Ann Neve • Karen BrodbaekSophia Wijnberg • Agnete Olsdatter • Honor Coleman • Sophie Lacomte • Maria Vleminckx • Johanna Berns • Matthias Dodenhoff • Sarah Gardiner • Elisabeth Jensen • Britta Njeldsdatter • Frederick Stabbins • Jane Lister • Martha Truelove • Ann Sharp • Gertrud Kübbeler • Marie Delfairiere • Frances Smith • Katherine Plunket • Eliza Roff • Maria Montemurro • Ellen Palmer • Rachel MacArthur • Anne Marie SkauRachel Swain • Wilhelmine Olschewski • Mary Davey • Francesco Cubadda • Thomas Pope • John Francklow • Rebecca Lees • Sarah Fitt • Johanna Johansson • Elizabeth Sellwood • Petronella Braams • Matilda Coppins • Elizabeth Whitehead • Karl Glockner • Sarah Humphrey • Maria Johansson • Michelina Macchia • Caroline Beale • Josephine Marchal • Luise Rissmann • Christina Karnebeek-Backs • Marie Olsen • Willem Kostering • Ella Ille Rentel • Lovisa Svensson • Ellen Dart • Elizabeth Kensley • Auguste Pahl • Hannah Smith • Anna KrslencovaJohn Mosley Turner • Marie Bernatkova • Ada Roe • Josefa Salas Mateo • Alice Stevenson • Frederick Butterfield • Rose Heeley • Marie-Virginie Duhem • Josefa Llovet • Florence PannellAugustine Tessier • Jeanetta Thomas • Alice Brewster • Petronella Ribbens-Verstallen • Anna Eliza Williams • Jeanne Calment • Lucy Askew • Annie Jennings • Eva Morris • Marie Bremont • Amy Hulmes • Germaine Haye • Teresa Fumarola • Joan Riudavets-Moll • Hendrikje van Andel-Schipper • Virginia Dighero-Zolezzi • Camille Loiseau • Maria de Jesus • Manuela Fernandez-Fojaco • Lucia Lauria • Florrie Baldwin • Venere Pizzinato-Papo • Marcelle Narbonne • Marie-Therese Bardet • Maria Redaelli • Emma Morano • Ana Vela Rubio • Giuseppina Projetto • Maria Giuseppa Robucci • Lucile RandonMaria Branyas Morera


United Kingdom's Oldest Living Person Titleholders (VE)

Frederick Stabbins • Jane ListerMartha Truelove • Ann Sharp • Jane Raby • Frances Smith • William Walker • Ann Russell • Eliza Roff • Ellen Palmer • Rachel MacArthur • Rachel SwainMary Davey • Thomas Pope • John Francklow • Rebecca Lees • Sarah Fitt • Elizabeth Sellwood • Matilda Coppins • Elizabeth Whitehead • Emma Rooke • Margaret Lunn • Sarah Humphrey • Caroline BealeFanny Hopkins • Elizabeth Etheridge • Sophia Wellstead • Rhoda Harris • Emma Weeks • Edith Grellier • Mary WorthingtonJane Stoneman • Ellen Dart • Elizabeth Kensley • Hannah SmithJohn Mosley TurnerAda Roe • Alice StevensonElizabeth WatkinsFrederick Butterfield • Rose Heeley • Agnes Helyar • James Harrow • Sarah Morgan • Lilias WilliamsFlorence PannellJeanetta ThomasAlice Brewster • Anna Eliza Williams • Kate Begbie • Charlotte Hughes • Daisy Adams • Rebecca Hewison • Annie Scott • Rachel Wieselberg • Lucy Askew • Annie Jennings • Eva Morris • Amy Hulmes • Nellie Bradley • Gladys Hawley • Lucy d'Abreu • Judy Ingamells • Emmeline BriceAnnie Knight • Ada Mason • Florrie Baldwin • Eunice BowmanAnnie Turnbull • Elsie SteeleMargaret Fish • Violet Wood • Grace A Jones • Ethel Lang • Gladys Hooper • Bessie CammOlive BoarGrace C JonesGwen PayneHilda ClulowBob WeightonJoan HocquardLilian PriestGertrude KingstonMollie WalkerEthel Caterham

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