Florence Pittaway

BIOGRAPHY

Florence Pittaway was born in Birmingham, West Midlands, England, on 15 October 1902. She was born the middle child of five and was raised in Bordesley Green. Her father and grandfather worked hard selling fruit at the wholesale markets, but money was scarce.

Dancing was the family’s favourite pastime, and she went on to teach ballroom dancing—through which she met her husband, John, a motorbike builder. The couple married at Church Lane in Perry Common in 1924. During the Second World War, as a young mother, she worked at Findlays tobacconists on Bull Street in Birmingham. After the war, she worked as a barmaid, following in the footsteps of her mother, who had once served King George VI. She continued serving drinks at the Three Counties Showground in Malvern until the age of 85.

Her husband, John, died in 1963 at the age of 63. Her only son, Ivor, passed away in 2000 aged 72, and her daughter died in 2014 at the age of 87.

At the age of 100, she became seriously ill with kidney failure and septicaemia, but against all odds, she recovered. Around the age of 109, she suffered a foot injury. She attributed her long life to hard work and helping others, though longevity also ran in her family—her sister Linda lived to 102. Her daughter Jean added that she never ate junk food, instead choosing fresh food and even growing her own beans.

Florence Pittaway passed away in Birmingham, on 21 December 2014, at the age of 112 years, 67 days.

RECOGNITION

At the time of her passing, she was the second-oldest living person in the United Kingdom, after Ethel Lang.

Pittaway’s age was verified by Melissa Page and validated by the ESO on 9 February 2021.

ATTRIBUTION

* “108 Christmases for Birmingham woman Florence” – Birmingham Live, 14 October 2012

* “No junk food and hard work are recipe for a long life says 110-year-old Flo – Birmingham’s oldest resident” – Birmingham Live, 15 October 2012

* “Birmingham’s oldest resident Florence Pittaway dies aged 112” – Birmingham Live, 26 December 2014

GALLERY

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