LongeviQuest is pleased to confirm that Marjorie Hodnett, the fifth-oldest person in the UK, celebrated her 112th birthday on 1st April in Formby, Merseyside.
Mrs Hodnett, affectionately known as “Aunt Marj”, celebrated her special day at her care home with a lavish afternoon tea party, including her favourite cucumber sandwiches (with the crusts cut off) and a Victoria sponge cake, freshly baked in-house by the care home’s head chef. During the celebration, she was presented with over 125 birthday cards, including a special one from King Charles, sent to her at the care home’s request, from all over the UK. LongeviQuest was very pleased to participate, with UK researcher Ben Hinchliffe sending a card from the team.
On celebrating her birthday, Mrs Hodnett said, “I really did not expect to get to 112, but am delighted to be here and have so much to celebrate.”
As a child, with her brother.
(Source: ITVX)
Marjorie Hodnett was born in Harlesden, London, on 1st April 1914, to parents John (1886–1968) and Bertha (1885–1980) Aylward. From 1934 until 1936, she studied teaching at Southlands College and thus became a teacher at the age of 20, educating thousands of children throughout her career.
She married Stanley Hodnett in 1941, and they remained together until he died in February 1956. The same year, she married his brother Hugh, but was sadly widowed again in 1958. After being widowed a second time, she moved to Devon, where she taught 4–5-year-old children until she retired at age 65 in 1979.
(Source: ITV News)
Upon retirement, Mrs Hodnett, who had no children, enjoyed spending her time painting and country dancing. She also loved to travel, taking a seven-month trip to New Zealand. Active in her local community, she served as president of the Sidbury Women’s Institute, where she volunteered with Meals on Wheels until she was in her late 90s, often delivering meals to people younger than herself.
She moved to Formby, Merseyside, in 2020 to be closer to relatives, and in November 2024, she became the county’s oldest living person.
At her celebration, Mrs Hodnett shared her motto for a long life: “Life is for living, and it is up to you to make the most of it. I believe that you should do all the good that you can, by all the means that you can, in all the ways that you can, in all the places that you can, to all the people that you can, as long as ever you can.”
LongeviQuest extends warmest congratulations to Mrs Hodnett on her 112th birthday.
