HE made waves around the world by becoming Britain’s oldest emigrant.
But nearly two years after leaving Hampshire for New Zealand at the grand old age of 103, Eric King-Turner has died.
Eric and his wife Doris, who was 87 at the time, made headlines across the globe when they set sail on a luxury cruise from Southampton to start a new life in New Zealand.
After the Daily Echo broke the story, the pair, with a combined age of 189, arrived in Wellington to a tickertape welcome.
From then on Eric became a celebrity in his adopted country and was famous for his love of fly-fishing.
But he suffered a stroke at his South Island home and died in hospital on Sunday aged 104.
New Zealand-born Doris, now 90, called her husband a “thorough English gentleman”.
She said: “He only managed to get his new fishing licence last week. He intended to go fishing in the Motueka River as soon as we got a nice, fine day. Only that was no longer to be.”
The duo, who were both widowed, swapped their retirement flat in Titchfield for a bungalow overlooking Tasman Bay. It took them five months of paperwork before they settled in the South Island.
When they set foot on New Zealand soil in 2008, Eric – a former Royal Navy serviceman and dentist – had entered the record books as the country’s oldest immigrant and Britain’s oldest emigrant.
He later attributed his old age to his family’s history of longevity, a good balanced diet with plenty of vegetables, and a tot of gin a day.
Though he said he missed some aspects of his homeland, he said he had no regrets about moving 12,000 miles for a new life.
Doris, who married Eric in New Zealand 13 years ago, added: “He liked the climate, particularly Nelson, the country and the people.
“ H e was a very lovely-hearted man. He enjoyed life and made the most of it. We were very happy.”
A funeral service took place at a church near Nelson at 2pm New Zealand time – 2am GMT – today.
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