Florence Green

Florence Green, who has died aged 110, was the last veteran of the First World War, though she saw no action.

Instead she served with the embryonic Royal Air Force at a base which, like many military establishments, was suffering severe personnel shortages following the astonishing casualty rate on the front line and the introduction of conscription in 1916.

Florence Patterson, as she was then, was one of those who stepped in to fill the breach, volunteering for the Women’s Royal Air Force (WRAF). Though it was created just months before the end of the war, the WRAF counted 25,000 women in its ranks by the end of the conflict.

Florence Beatrice Patterson was born on February 19 1901 to Frederick and Sarah Patterson. Her early years were spent at Edmonton, north London, but she lived for most of her life at King’s Lynn, Norfolk.

She was 17 when, on September 13 1918, just two months before the Armistice, she began work at the East Anglian aerodrome of Narborough (later called Marham, and today the home of a large force of RAF Tornado bomber aircraft). Her duties largely involved waitressing at the officers’ mess, and she remained until July 18 1919, when she was demobilised. Her personal character was described as “very good”.

The aerodrome at Narborough had been opened in August 1915 and was initially home to a number of squadrons, some involved in night operations against Zeppelins. At the time that Florence arrived, ancient biplanes were being used to train pilots and observers who were later transferred to squadrons in France. The aerodrome closed in 1919, but was reopened before the Second World War.

Florence’s story came to light in 2009, after a local newspaper story about her great longevity. The article was spotted by Andrew Holmes, a British researcher who tracks and verifies reports of so-called “supercentenarians” – people who live well beyond 100. He tracked down her service record at the National Archives, and she was subsequently recognised as a veteran of the war. At that time there were thought to be three other surviving veterans; she outlived them all.

To celebrate her 110th birthday, last February, the catering staff at RAF Marham baked her a special cake which was presented to her by officers who had travelled to see her at her daughter’s home in Kings Lynn.

Even at her great age she had detailed memories of her time in uniform: “I had the opportunity to go up in one of the planes, but I was scared of flying. I would work every hour that God sent. I had dozens of friends on the base and we had a great deal of fun in our spare time.”

A year after leaving the WRAF, Florence married Walter Green, a railway porter; they were married for 50 years before Walter died. They had two daughters and a son.

Florence Green, born February 19 1901, died February 5 2012