Dennett was born in Galgate, Lancashire, England, UK, on 27 July 1913, as one of ten children. At the age of 14, she left school to work in a cotton mill.
In February 1944, she married Ivor Dennett, whom she had met while serving with the Royal Voluntary Service during the Second World War. The couple had two daughters, Jenny and Sandra. The family lived first with her parents-in-law in Charlton Marshall, Dorset, where she worked at Clayesmore School. Her husband worked for many years at the Hall and Woodhouse brewery.
Dennett retired at the age of 74 to take care of her husband, who died few years later. At the age of 80, she became a volunteer with Help the Aged at Blandford, where she worked for two afternoons a week for next 14 years.
In 2021, she had been invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace, but it was postponed because of the Covid pandemic. She later received a letter from Prince Edward telling her he was sorry it had to be cancelled. However, she was too frail to travel to the re-arranged party in May 2022.
Her age was verified by Andrew Holmes, and validated by the ESO on 5 August 2023.
* “Nan still racing along at the age of 108” – The New Blackmore Vale Magazine, 10 August 2021
* “Dorset’s oldest woman, too poorly to travel, gets ‘royal’ garden party at 108” – ITV, 26 June 2022
* “The alternative Royal Garden Party” – The New Blackmore Vale Magazine, 8 July 2022
* “Blandford’s oldest resident Annie “Nan” Dennett has passed away” – Stour and Avon Magazine, 13 September 2023