BIOGRAPHY

Ralph Hoare was born in Plymouth, Devon, England, on 19 July 1908. Ralph spent his early years in Plymouth with his parents, Elsie and Charles, and his two younger siblings, John and Margaret. At 17, after leaving school, Ralph became a bank clerk. However, when World War II broke out, he enlisted in the RAF and relocated to Edinburgh, where he worked as an aviation candidate selector, interviewing potential pilots.

In 1940, Ralph married Dorothy, a talented piano player, at St John’s Church in Taunton, Somerset. The couple had two children: Michael and Kate. His wife assisted him with gardening until her passing in 2007 at the age of 94.

On his 100th birthday, he played a round of golf and went canoeing at Slimbridge Wetland Centre in Gloucestershire. He was also a passionate horse racing fan, and when he told his nurse about his love for the sport, she arranged a special trip to the 2018 Gold Cup event. While there, he struck lucky and enjoyed several winners. According to his daughter Kate, he wasn’t a big gambler, but he was persistent. At the Gold Cup, he had three winners and two runners-up.

Hoare developed an interest in gardening at an early age, planting his first flower—a Japanese anemone—at the age of six. His passion for gardening remained with him throughout his life. Even after getting married, despite his work commitments, family responsibilities, and a passion for sports, he always found time to garden in the evenings and on weekends. It wasn’t until 1957, when the family moved to a detached house in Gloucester, where he would live for the rest of his life, that Ralph was able to truly focus on his gardening. He continued to tend his 70-foot garden, and apart from grapevines, which didn’t interest him, there was hardly any common plant he hadn’t tried to grow—and he had an opinion on them all.

In April 2013, at the age of 104, he shared his expertise on a Twitter account set up for him by a home and garden furniture center. People asked him questions like which vegetables are easiest for young children to grow and when to plant vegetables given the unusually cold weather. At the time, he owned around 200 rose bushes. Despite his age and a creaky left knee, he still did most of the work himself. Though planting potatoes had become more difficult, he managed with effort, using a tall hoe for weeding and a grabbing tool for picking things up. His great-grandchildren assisted with deadheading the roses and weeding, but only under his careful supervision.

Hoare remained independent until he was 107. He enjoyed doing crosswords and playing the piano. At the age of 110, he had six grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.

Hoare passed away in Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England, on 29 January 2019, at the age of 110 years, 194 days.

RECOGNITION

In July 2018, he celebrated his 110th birthday, becoming the first documented supercentenarian in the county of Gloucestershire.

At the time of his death, he was the third-oldest man in Britain, behind Bob Weighton and Alf Smith.

Hoare’s age was verified by Dr. Andrew Holmes and validated by the ESO on 2 December 2020.

ATTRIBUTION

* “Gardener Ralph Hoare, 104 shares tips on Twitter” – BBC.com, 1 April 2013

* “Petunias need perking up? Meet the 104-year-old Tweeting gardener who can help” – Daily Mail, 11 April 2013

* “Sugar, gardening and golf: The secrets to the long life of Gloucestershire’s oldest man who has died aged 110” – Gloucestershire Live, 15 February 2019

GALLERY