BIOGRAPHY

Violet Davies-Evans was born in Sutterton, Lincolnshire, England, on 30 March 1908. Raised in Spalding, she was the third child in a family of four sisters and a brother. After finishing school, Violet worked at Pennington’s before moving to Birmingham to become a beautician at Marshall & Snelgrove. In the 1930s, she relocated to London to work as a beauty specialist for Elizabeth Arden, advising influential clients on how to enhance their appearance.

In 1938, Violet married Hubert, though the couple did not have children. At the outbreak of World War II, Elizabeth Arden personally offered Violet a position in the United States, but she chose to remain in London. During the war, she served as a personal assistant to Christopher Hinton (Baron Hinton of Bankside) at the Ministry of Supply and was frequently found fire-watching on the rooftops of the capital. After the war, Violet, her husband, and their two dogs moved to Oxfordshire, where Hubert became the head of a school within a large hospital.

Following Hubert’s retirement in 1975, he passed away shortly after. Finding their home too large to manage alone, Violet moved back to Lincolnshire to live with her widowed sister, May, in Osbournby.

After May’s passing, she returned to Spalding, where she lived independently until 2014. Realizing she needed more care, she decided to move into Ashwood Nursing and Care Home, where she spent her later years. Her nephew remarked that he believed her longevity was due to her habit of keeping her mind active. A keen Scrabble player, she also loved solving cryptic crossword puzzles in the newspaper. Even after moving into a nursing home, she continued having the paper delivered for a time to keep her mind engaged.

Violet Davies-Evans passed away in Spalding, Lincolnshire, England, on 5 May 2020, at the age of 112 years, 36 days.

RECOGNITION

Following the passing of 108-year-old Norah Aveling (10 March 1908 – 6 May 2016) of Grantham, she became the oldest (known) living person in Lincolnshire. Upon her own passing, she was succeeded by Sydney Hunt (16 September 1912 – 28 June 2021) of Humberston.

Davies-Evans’ age was verified by Dr. Andrew Holmes and validated by the ESO on 20 January 2020.

At the time of her passing, she was the third-oldest living person in the UK, after Joan Hocquard and Bob Weighton.

ATTRIBUTION

* “One of the oldest women in Lincolnshire celebrates her 110th birthday” – Lincolnshire Live, 31 March 2018

* “Lincolnshire’s oldest resident celebrates 111th birthday in Spalding tomorrow” – LincsOnline, 29 March 2019

* “Violet, the third oldest person in the country, dies aged 112” – The Spalding & South Holland Voice, 7 May 2020

GALLERY