Supercentenarian Profile

Gladys Hooper

Born:

1903-01-18

Bermondsey, London, England

United Kingdom

Died:

2016-07-09

Ryde, Isle of Wight, England

United Kingdom

✔ Age Certified by LongeviQuest

Gladys Ada Elizabeth Hooper (née Nash) was a British supercentenarian. Her age has been validated by the European Supercentenarian Organisation (ESO), and recognised by LongeviQuest.

BIOGRAPHY

Gladys Hooper was born in Bermondsey, London, England, on 18 January 1903. Her birth was reportedly difficult, and she was very small at the time. In her youth, she witnessed the shooting down of a German airship in 1916 by Lieutenant William Leefe Robinson, an event that left a lasting impression. Gladys met Thomas Edison when he visited her school in Dulwich to demonstrate his breakthrough. She recalled that the visit was fascinating and that she and Edison got on very well; students held up pieces of smoked glass to protect their eyes. She adored school and excelled in mathematics, spelling, and music.

In her early 20s, Gladys established her own car-hire business, Autodrive, a venture she greatly enjoyed due to her lifelong love of cars. Her first vehicle was a black-and-yellow Citroën from the 1920s. Around the same time, she performed as a pianist with many of the era’s renowned bandleaders, including Jack Payne, Debroy Somers, Annunzio Paolo Mantovani, and Maurice Winnick, touring and performing throughout the country.

On 2 September 1922, at the age of 19, she married Leslie Hermiston Hooper. Her husband was a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War and went on to serve again in the Second World War. He was part of the daredevil aviation community, and in 1940 he was shot down. For seven months, Gladys heard nothing of his fate, until he suddenly reappeared in a hospital in Buckinghamshire, suffering from severely burned hands and a serious head wound.

During the Second World War, Gladys joined the Women’s Voluntary Service (WVS), played the piano in air-raid shelters, and gave lessons in English, mathematics, and elocution. After the war, she founded Kingscliff House Preparatory School, which later became part of Brighton College.

It was not until 2004, at the age of 101, that she left her bungalow in Sandown on the Isle of Wight. Until then, she was still gardening, cleaning, and preparing roast beef and Yorkshire puddings in her Belling cooker before moving in with her son and daughter-in-law, Derek and Veronica.

At 112, she was reported to be in extraordinarily good health, though somewhat deaf. She took no medication—not even the occasional aspirin—and had spent just two days in hospital during her entire life, at the age of 96, when she was treated for an ulcer.

When asked about the secret to her longevity, she attributed it to keeping busy and living a generally healthy life—occasionally punctuated by a sherry, or a glass of port and lemon.

On 9 October 2015, at the age of 112 years and 264 days, she set a record as the oldest woman to undergo a partial hip replacement, a distinction later recognized by Guinness World Records. The emergency operation was required after she fractured her right hip in a fall at home. Rather than a total hip replacement, surgeons replaced only the ball of the hip joint, leaving the socket intact.

Gladys Hooper passed away in Ryde, Isle of Wight, England, on 9 July 2016, at the age of 113 years, 173 days.

RECOGNITION

On 15 January 2015, three days before her 112th birthday, she became the Oldest Living Person in the United Kingdom, following the passing of Ethel Lang. She held the title until her own passing in July 2016, when she was succeeded by Bessie Camm.

Hooper’s age was verified by Dr. Andrew Holmes, and was validated by the ESO on 9 October 2020.