- As of 20th July 2003 the oldest man in the UK and the oldest surviving World War I British veteran.
- On 19th June 2009 (aged 113 years, 13 days) he became the world's oldest living man, after the death of Japan's Tomoji Tanabe.
- In March 2009 he became Britain's oldest-ever man when he reached 112 years and 296 days, surpassing Welshman John Evans who died in 1990.
- He was awarded the Officer of the French Legion of Honour in March 2009 based on the personal initiative of President Nicolas Sarkozy of France.
- He is survived by five grandchildren, twelve great-grandchildren, and one great great grandchild.
- In 1917, he was posted to the Western Front, where the RNAS supported the Royal Flying Corps which was running sorties over the Somme battlefields. Allingham's job was neutralizing booby-trapped bombs left by the retreating Germans.
- He was part of the British naval force sent to intercept the German fleet near Jutland, Denmark. It was to be the only major naval battle of WWI. The British lost more 6,000 lives and 14 ships, but the German fleet never again threatened the Royal Navy.
- In 1914, he tried to enlist in the army, but his mother was ill and persuaded him to stay home and take care of her. After her death a few months later, Allingham joined the newly-established Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) as a mechanic.
- After leaving school, he became an apprentice surgical-instrument maker, and then held a job building auto bodies.
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