Britain's oldest person, Joan Hocquard, has passed away at the age of 112, her family has confirmed.
Her nephew Paul Reynolds said she died yesterday at her care home in Poole, Dorset.
Hocquard was born in 1908, and spent her early life in Kenya as the daughter of a British colonial officer before attending a boarding school in Sussex.
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After working as a cook at a hotel in Geneva, she also went on to drive ambulances in London during WWII.
She and her husband Gilbert later moved down to the south coast, also travelling across Europe in a camper van and enjoying yachting holidays together until his death in 1981.
Hocquard coincidentally shared her birthday - 29 March 1908 - with the world's oldest man, Bob Weighton.
The two were filmed together earlier this year to celebrate their joint birthday, shortly before Weighton passed away in May.
Hocquard's nephew has said his aunt had always tried to live life to the full, and 'didn't believe in dieting'.
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Reynolds told The Mirror: "Joan came from quite a well-to-do family, her mother's father ran a solicitors' firm in the city of London, and she was born in a big house in Holland Park.
"Her father was in the colonial service so she split her childhood between living in Kenya and with her grandmother in Lymington (Hants).
"She worked in a French hotel as a cook for nine years and drove ambulances in London in World War Two before she married Gilbert and they moved down to the south coast.
"She had no children but she loved travelling in a campervan around Europe.
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"After Gilbert died, she met Kenneth and they have lived together in Poole.
"She had an extraordinary innings and died peacefully in her own home, which is all you could wish for.
"She was a strong willed character and loved telling stories about how naughty she was as a schoolgirl.
"She was also a very hospitable and loyal person.
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"She had an independent spirit and it was typical of her that on her 100th birthday she refused a card from the Queen because she did not want people to know how old she was.
"She always sought to live life to the full.
"She loved eating butter and cream and didn't believe in dieting.
"There is no secret to her long life. I suppose she just had good genes."
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The oldest ever British person was Charlotte Hughes who lived to 115 years and 228 days before her death in 1993.
Featured Image Credit: BBC News