Lilian Priest | |
Priest celebrating her 111th birthday in 2019 | |
Birth: | 7 November 1908 Tredegar, Monmouthshire, Wales, UK |
Death: | 6 June 2021 Swanage, Dorset, England, UK |
Age: | 112 years, 211 days |
Country: | UK |
Validated |
Sarah Lilian Priest (née Lloyd; 7 November 1908 – 6 June 2021) was a British supercentenarian who was the oldest living person in the United Kingdom at the time of her death, as well as the last surviving British person born in 1908. Her age is validated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG).
Biography
Early Life and Family
Priest was born on 7 November 1908 in Tredegar, Monmouthshire, Wales. She moved to Bournemouth, Dorset, England at the age of 18 to work in a friend’s bed and breakfast for six months. Priest and her husband, Arthur, did a lot of travelling, and they had at least one child, Wendy. Priest enjoyed playing the piano and singing.
Priest's sister, Gwen Moore (2 December 1911 – 31 March 2023), died in Bongaree, Queensland, Australia, at the age of 111 years, 119 days, making them one of the oldest pairs of siblings ever recorded.
Later Life
By the age of 106, Priest was no longer able to play piano or sing, but could still remember all the words to the songs she used to sing. In her later life, Priest lived in a retirement home in Swanage, Dorset, England.
Priest became the oldest living person in the United Kingdom following the death of Joan Hocquard on 24 October 2020. The following month, she celebrated her 112th birthday, but was not able to have any visitors due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, her daughter was able to see her from a distance through a door. On 19 January 2021, at the age 112, Priest received her first dose of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine, making her one of oldest people to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
She was the oldest known woman ever born in Wales until Mollie Walker surpassed her age on 5 September 2021.
Priest's age was verified by Waclaw Jan Kroczek, Ollie trim, and validated by the GRG on 1 January 2023.
Priest became the oldest living British-born person following the death of Phyllis Ridgway on 4 June 2021. Sarah Lilian Priest died in Swanage, Dorset, England, UK, at the age of 112 years, 211 days. Following her death, Gertrude Kingston became the UK's oldest living person.
Gallery
References
- Historical validations by the Gerontology Research Group (2023 announcements) Gerontology Research Group
- Birthday girl could be Swanage's oldest resident aged 106 Swanage & Wareham Voice, 13 November 2014
- I was honoured today to join the residents at York house retirement home to celebrate Lillian Priest's 110 (sic) birthday party Swanage Town Mayor on Facebook, 7 November 2018
- Sarah Lillian (sic) Priest is one of the oldest people in the UK Bournemouth Echo, 10 November 2019
- Britain's oldest person celebrates 112th birthday at Swanage home Bournemouth Echo, 7 November 2020
- Britain's oldest person has Covid jab aged 112 as family still unable to see her The Mirror, 21 January 2021
- Dorset resident and UK’s oldest person has passed away at 112 Keep 106, 17 June 2021
- Sarah Lilian Priest Obituary Bournemouth Echo, 1 July 2021