Supercentenarian Profile

Ralph Tarrant

Born:

1903-07-07

Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England

United Kingdom

Died:

2013-10-30

Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England

United Kingdom

✔ Age Certified by LongeviQuest

Ralph Burgess Tarrant was a British supercentenarian who, at the time of his death, was the oldest living man in the United Kingdom.

BIOGRAPHY

Ralph Tarrant was born in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, on 7 July 1903. He moved to Sheffield at the age of seven. He left school at 13 and began working as an office boy at a local steelworks. Over the years, he worked in various departments, eventually becoming a steel inspector.

Tarrant met his future wife, Phyllis Mary Machen (1908–2011), when she was 16 and he was a 22-year-old steelworker. For several years, they were simply friends, part of a group of young people who gathered each evening on a Sheffield street corner before heading out for walks or bicycle rides.

Their friendship gradually turned to romance after they happened to meet one evening when they were alone. In 1931, Phyllis’s parents even invited Ralph to join them on a holiday to Skegness. After five years of courtship, the couple became engaged. They were married on 8 July 1933, at St Thomas’ Church, Crookes, in Sheffield, which they both attended. The couple left their wedding reception and set off directly on their honeymoon. They soon moved into their first home together, a two-bedroom terraced house. Ralph later purchased the property for £400, and they remained there until his retirement.

In 1937, Phyllis gave birth to their first child, Brenda, at the local hospital. They embraced family life, enjoying holidays at seaside towns and picnics with friends.

Just as they were settling into married life, the Second World War broke out, and Ralph was called up for service. The couple were separated for five years, until late 1945, when Ralph returned home after serving in Scotland as an RAF engineer. Afterward, he worked in insurance with Refuge Assurance until his retirement. Soon after his return, Phyllis became pregnant again, and their second daughter, Christine, was born in 1946.

Ralph retired in 1968. Afterward, the family traveled extensively, visiting France, Austria, Germany, and Italy. The couple had earlier taken their first cruise in 1966, sailing to Greece aboard the SS Dallas. When Christine married an American, David, and moved to the United States, Ralph and Phyllis made their first trip to North Carolina in 1972 to visit her.

His wife passed away on 4 February 2011, at the age of 102 years, 148 days. They were married for 77 years, 211 days, making them one of the longest marriages in the United Kingdom. According to the Oldest in Britain website, at the time of Ralph’s passing, they were the oldest married couple in the United Kingdom, with an aggregate age of 212 years, 263 days.

At the age of 109, he had seven grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren.

Ralph Tarrant passed away in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 30 October 2013, at the age of 110 years, 115 days.

RECOGNITION

On 5 January 2013, following the passing of Reg Dean, 110, he became the Oldest Living Man in the United Kingdom. Upon his own passing, he was succeeded by Harold Bracher.

At the time of his passing, he was the second-oldest living man in Italy, after Arturo Licata (Italy).

His age was validated by the European Supercentenarian Organisation (ESO) on 5 March 2020.