Marjorie Hodnett, the oldest living person in Merseyside, England, UK, celebrated her 112th birthday

The Gerontology Research Group (GRG) is pleased to announce that Mrs. Marjorie Ethel Hodnett, known as “Auntie Marj“, the oldest living person in Merseyside, England, UK, has celebrated her 112th birthday on 1 April 2026 in Formby.

Marjorie Hodnett was born in Harlesden, London, England, UK, on 1 April 1914. She has longevity on both sides of her family; her great-aunt and two cousins from each side of the family all became centenarians, her five paternal aunts all lived into their nineties. her mother lived to 94, and her father lived to 82 despite contracting illnesses as a soldier.

Some of Hodnett’s earliest memories are of hearing air raids during World War I, and trees near her hone being cut down to make way for Wembley Stadium. She studied to become a teacher as Southlands College at the University of Roehampton from 1933 to 1935; she received an honorary degree from them at the age of 103.

Hodnett married her first husband, Stanley, in 1939. She was widowed in 1955. She married Stanley’s brother Hugh in 1956; he died two years later. Before her second husband’s death, she had moved to Sidbury, Devon, England, where she taught at a primary school for 23 years.

Hodnett was the president of the Sidbury Women’s Institute, volunteered with the Meals on Wheels program, and led a choir until she was 95. In her early centenarian years, she wrote a book of poetry called “A Sideways Glance at Life Around Sidmouth”.

Hodnett moved to Formby in 2020. For her 107th birthday, she wrote a poem about her life; some lines of the poem read, “I did not expect to reach 107, nor living in Formby and not in Devon. Living there was like living in heaven. My room looked out on a wonderful view, I was never short of something to do.”

Hodnett credits her longevity to “five main rules”; “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can”. She says that mobile phones are harmful for young people; “They’ve got to get to know people as human beings, not things on a phone.” She also enjoys watching TV, especially trivia shows.

On 1 April 2024, Hodnett celebrated her 110th birthday and became a supercentenarian. She continues to participate in activities in her care home, and enjoys knitting and drawing portraits.

Hodnett’s age was verified by GRG-UK Correspondent Oliver Trim, and validated by the GRG on 16 May 2024.

Marjorie Hodnett currently lives in Formby, Merseyside, England, UK, at the age of 112. She’s currently the fifth-oldest living person in the UK, after Ethel Caterham, Merah Smith, Margaret Cryer, and Hilda Luck, who all resides in England; and the fourth-oldest living person born in the UK (excluding Smith born in Jamaica).

Happy 112th birthday to Mrs. Marjorie Hodnett! We wish her a good health and a long life!

LINK
1. ‘Phenomenal’ woman shares inspiring message on 112th birthday
2. One of Britain’s oldest women turns 112 – and reveals her secret to a long, happy life
3. Auntie Marj – the oldest person in the North West – celebrates 112th birthday