BIOGRAPHY

Reeves was born in Forest Gate, London, England, on 17 February 1894. She was the 10th of 11 children born to her parents, George and Caroline. As a young woman, she was an avid supporter of the suffragette movement. During World War I, she worked as a senior civil servant, specialising in morse code. She married David Reeves in December 1918.

Reeves was widowed around 1975 and continued to live independently in her Leigh-on-Sea, Essex bungalow until May 2004 when, at the age of 110, she moved into a local care home.

Highly against the postal vote, Reeves voted in person at every election, which her local MP Sir David Amess would remark on. She was a regular churchgoer and enjoyed the occasional tipple. In her centenarian years, her hearing and sight had deteriorated, but she was still mentally sharp.

Reeves died on 28 August 2005 at the age of 111 years, 192 days. She was buried in the cemetery at the church which she frequented.

RECOGNITION

At the time of her death, Reeves was the fourth-oldest living person in the U. K. after Lucy d’Abreu, Mary Ann Hebden, and Judy Ingamells. As d’Abreu was from Scotland, Reeves was England’s third-oldest inhabitant, although media at the time reported her as the oldest.

Reeves’ age was verified by Jean-Marie Robine and Peter Goldblatt (GRG), as well as Dr. Andrew Holmes (ESO), and was validated by each organisation on 25 March 2007 and 20 December 2020 respectively.

ATTRIBUTION

• England’s oldest woman dies The Guardian, 30 August 2005
• ‘Oldest woman’ in UK dies at 111 BBC News, 30 August 2005

• Leigh: Florence dies at 111, oldest person in the land Colchester Gazette, 31 August 2005

• Leigh: Friend’s final tribute to Florence, 111 Colchester Gazette, 6 September 2005

GALLERY