Philip Mayne

Philip Mayne, wartime army officer, and mechanical and electrical engineer: born London 22 November 1899; married (three children); died Richmond, Yorkshire 9 April 2007.

Philip Mayne, the last surviving British officer of the First World War, was commissioned in September 1918 and was in training and ready to go to France, where the fighting was still intense, when he was struck down in the flu pandemic that was sweeping the world. He was still in Britain when the Armistice was declared in November.

Mayne was born in 1899 in Hampstead, north London, where his father was a caterer. His recall of his early life was excellent and he remembered the Edwardian world of London as one of horses as the main form of transport. His childhood home was gas-lit and he spent many happy hours with his family singing at the piano. A gifted child, he gained a scholarship to Christ's Hospital School in Horsham, Sussex. From there he gained a further scholarship to King's College, Cambridge.

In September 1918, with the war still raging, he was offered a cadetship in the Royal Engineers. During his training, he had to pass a riding test on a horse as well as another of driving a two-horse tool cart in formation. While undergoing training, like so many around him he was struck down with the flu that was to take the lives of over 250,000 people. He missed his first term at Cambridge, but this did not hold him back. He took his first degree in mathematics and then another in mechanical, electrical and civil engineering.

After Cambridge he held a post in the electrical department of the National Physical Laboratory. Radio was in its infancy and he remembered making his first crystal set and being amazed that there was enough power coming through the air to operate the headphones without any battery aid. In the Twenties, he also used one of the first calculators, which operated on daylight entering through a window. He watched throughout the 20th century with profound interest the evolution of the car and aeroplane as well as film, television and radio, for he had been born at the beginning of all these.

In 1924 he began work with ICI at Billingham and remained with them until his retirement in 1962. During the Second World War, he was involved in the production of chemicals for explosives, which was regarded as a reserved occupation.

At the age of 100, Mayne was asked how he had managed to live to such an age. "Good parents and good school with an emphasis on games," was his reply:

And regular exercise - I was cycling, swimming and gardening up to the age of 93. Healthy diet, avoiding too much sugar and fat, and follow published advice about what not to do.

Max Arthur