BIOGRAPHY

Barbara Rawlin was born in Duncan, British Columbia, Canada, on 10 December 1914. She was born into an aristocratic Irish family and moved to England as a toddler. As a child, she suffered from severe health issues, including tuberculosis, and endured a terrible accident when she fell into a bath of scalding water.

Although she survived, her health struggles continued—she contracted measles, whooping cough, and tuberculosis. She was unable to attend school for two years and was sent north in search of cleaner air. Isolated at just ten years old, she had no books or entertainment, only a nurse to care for her. Later, she went to live with an uncle and his wife, who were less fearful about her condition.

Eventually, she returned to her family in Tunbridge Wells. It was there that she found her faith when her father asked if she would like to attend a Bible class. For her health, she later traveled to Switzerland, but she had to leave abruptly. It was 1939—just two weeks before the outbreak of World War II. Upon arriving in London, she chose to stay and find work. She took a job at St Mary’s Hospital, and while making beds one day, she experienced her first air raid.

Later, she ran a bed and breakfast and married widower Athol Rawlin, who had two children—one of whom was just a baby. Athol, a sergeant major in the Marines, took the family to Malta and Singapore before they eventually returned to England.

When asked for her secret to a long and happy life, she simply said, “Read your Bible and come to know the Lord.”

Rawlin passed away in Wimborne, Dorset, England, UK, on 7 March 2025, at the age of 110 years, 87 days.

RECOGNITION

Her age was validated by the European Supercentenarian Organisation on 24 March 2025.

ATTRIBUTION

* European Supercentenarian Organisation

* “Bananas, bombs and a bath to remember!” – The New Stour And Avon Magazine, 27 January 2023

* “108, but Barbara’s still an independent lady” – The Purbeck Gazette, 6 February 2023

GALLERY