Elsie Steele | |
Birth: | 6 January 1899 Swadlincote, Derbyshire, England, UK |
Death: | 18 October 2010 Repton, Derbyshire, UK |
Age: | 111 years, 285 days |
Country: | UK |
Validated |
Elsie May Steele (née Fletcher, formerly Hackett; 6 January 1899 – 18 October 2010) was a British supercentenarian who was the oldest living person in the United Kingdom at the time of her death. Her age has been validated by the Gerontology Research Group.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Steele was born on 6 January 1899 in Swadlincote, Derbyshire, England. She was one of nine children born to Joseph and Bertha Fletcher. After leaving school at 13, she worked as a housekeeper in Leicester.
Steele married her first husband, Reginald Hackett, in 1920, and had two children; Trevor and Beryl, of whom she had three grandchildren. Steele later worked in a munitions factory near Burton-upon-Trent.
Later Life[]
When she was 69 years old, Steele married her second husband, Wallace Steele. In 1991, Steele met Princess Diana during a visit to Swadlincote, which she described as the "most memorable moment" of her life.
In her later life, Steele lived in a care home in Repton, Derbyshire, England. When asked her secret to a long life, she credited "hard work, avoiding beer, and not swearing".
Following the death of 111 year-old Annie Turnbull on 3 September 2010, Steele became the oldest living person in the United Kingdom. She died 45 days later on 18 October 2010 at the age of 111 years, 285 days. Following her death, Margaret Fish became the oldest living person in the UK.
References[]
- Gerontology Research Group
- All Validated British Supercentenarians Oldest in Britain
- Britain's oldest person dies at the age of 111: Elsie Steele saw 6 monarchs and 21 prime ministers Daily Mail, 20 October 2010
- Britain's oldest person Elsie Steele dies aged 111 The Mirror, 21 October 2010