Henry Allingham, pictured on March 16 at the Time and Tide Museum in Great Yarmouth.

Henry Allingham, at 108 the oldest living First World War veteran, made a special visit to Time and Tide Museum in Great Yarmouth on March 16 2005.

Henry spent the morning with the Mayor and Mayoress of Great Yarmouth at a civic reception in the Town Hall where he had been invited as guest of the town. This was followed by a visit to Time and Tide, which has been shortlisted for the £100,000 Gulbenkian Museum Prize.

Way back when... Henry, aged 15, in 1912.

Staff at the museum, opened in July 2004, closed the doors to the public for the occasion to invite Henry and the party to view the museum at their leisure.

"As a museum, we are constantly looking for opportunities to recreate those voices from the past that tell us something about the town’s heritage", James Steward, Maritime Development Officer for Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Services, commented.

Henry served in Yarmouth in 1916 during the war as a mechanical engineer with the Royal Navy Air Service. It was here he met his wife who he married shortly after being discharged from the services in 1919: they were together 53 years.

Not only is Henry believed to be the oldest First World War veteran alive, he is the last known survivor of the Battle of Jutland; the last surviving founding member of the RAF; served in both World Wars, and has been awarded a Gold Medal of St Omer!

The Row takes visitors back to Yarmouth in 1913. Courtesy Time and Tide.

Henry entertained the party and the press, who were on site to record this momentous occasion, with amusing stories of his time in Yarmouth. After a look around the museum and its fascinating displays about the effect the wars had on Yarmouth, Henry posed for photos, then retired with the party for tea and biscuits.

Henry is "living history", as James described. "The opportunity to talk to someone with such a long and significant association with the town is a privilege."

Catherine Rose is the 24 Hour Museum Renaissance Student Writer in the East of England. Renaissance is the groundbreaking initiative to transform England's regional museums, led by MLA, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.