Battle of the Somme war hero Henry Allingham, at 111, Britain’s oldest citizen, is proud to know that his great-granddaughter, Amy Carlson, is flying his Narrow Seas YC burgee on Susan Mattis Turnham’s Stellar Jay, in the Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship.

Henry sailed for many years under the burgee of the club based in Burnham on Crouch, Essex. In April 2007, Henry was named Honorary Skipper of the club, and given the current burgee. Henry then gave Amy the flag, telling her she should have it since she was actively racing.

He served in WWI as an aircraft mechanic and seeing action at the Battle of the Somme and Jutland. After the war he worked as an engineer for Ford Motor Company, retiring to the seaside town of Eastbourne in the early 1950s. He remains actively involved in honoring fallen veterans and educating schoolchildren about The Great War.