Rebecca Hewison

Rebecca Hewison
Birth:	19 October 1881 Caistor, Lincolnshire, England, UK
Death:	22 September 1994 Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England, UK
Age:	112 years, 338 days
Country:	UK
Validated

Rebecca Hewison (née Ramsdale; 19 October 1881 – 22 September 1994) was a British supercentenarian who was the oldest person living in Britain at the time of her death. She was also the last surviving British person born before 1883. Her age is validated by the Gerontology Research Group.

Biography

Hewison was born in Caistor, Lincolnshire, England on 19 October 1881. Hewison was the fourth child of six born to Will, a timber merchant, and Betsy-Ann Ramsdale. She married George Hewison, a stonemason, in Grimsby in 1905. In 1938 she moved to be with her daughter Frances in North London. Later in 1963 the family moved to Berrynarbor in Devon until Hewison was 105 when she returned to her hometown of Grimsby. In 1990 she met the Queen Mother at RAF Scampton. She also was a supporter of Grimsby Town football club and met the team in 1991, the year she turned 110 and also the year that the team completed a second successive promotion. Hewison was also taken for flights in aeroplanes and helicopters at Humberside Airport. She had enjoyed music since a young child and attributed her longevity to the occasional glass of lemon and port. She died in Grimsby, Lincolnshire on 22 September 1994 at the age of 112 years, 338 days.

Longevity Records

Hewison became the last surviving British person born in 1881 following the death of 111 year-old Ethel Tuck on 15 May 1992. She subsequently became the oldest living person in the UK, as well as the last surviving British person born before 1883, following the death of 113 year-old Daisy Adams on 8 December 1993.

Following Hewison's death, Northern Irish-born Scotswoman Annie Scott became the UK's oldest living person, while Rachel Wieselberg became England's oldest living person. At the time of her death, Hewison was the fifth-oldest British person ever recorded, but as of 2020 she is the 20th-oldest.

References

• Chronological Listing Of All Supercentenarians Gerontology Research Group
• All Validated British Supercentenarians Oldest in Britain

United Kingdom's Oldest Living Person Titleholders (V • E)

Frederick Stabbins • Jane Lister • Martha Truelove • Ann Sharp • Jane Raby • Frances Smith • William Walker • Ann Russell • Eliza Roff • Ellen Palmer • Rachel MacArthur • Rachel Swain • Mary Davey • Thomas Pope • John Francklow • Rebecca Lees • Sarah Fitt • Elizabeth Sellwood • Matilda Coppins • Elizabeth Whitehead • Emma Rooke • Margaret Lunn • Sarah Humphrey • Caroline Beale • Fanny Hopkins • Elizabeth Etheridge • Sophia Wellstead • Rhoda Harris • Emma Weeks • Edith Grellier • Mary Worthington • Jane Stoneman • Ellen Dart • Elizabeth Kensley • Hannah Smith • John Mosley Turner • Ada Roe • Alice Stevenson • Elizabeth Watkins • Frederick Butterfield • Rose Heeley • Agnes Helyar • James Harrow • Sarah Morgan • Lilias Williams • Florence Pannell • Jeanetta Thomas • Alice 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 Brice • Annie Knight • Ada Mason • Florrie Baldwin • Eunice Bowman • Annie Turnbull • Elsie Steele • Margaret Fish • Violet Wood • Grace A Jones • Ethel Lang • Gladys Hooper • Bessie Camm • Olive Boar • Grace C Jones • Gwen Payne • Hilda Clulow • Bob Weighton • Joan Hocquard • Lilian Priest