Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham is mourning the death of her grandfather, Harry Waddingham, who was also Britain's oldest World War II veteran. The Royal Navy Gunner, who was 109, died in Bexhill-on-Sea in East Sussex. The news was confirmed by the East Sussex Branch of the Royal Navy Association. "Truly one of the last of our greatest generation," they said in the announcement on Wednesday, March 25. "He lived a long and full life, and he will be greatly missed. RIP Shipmate, your duty is done, we have the watch," they added.

Hannah paid emotional tribute to him last year during the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance. "I join you tonight, with endless thanks for all who served. Including my own grandfather. Harry Waddingham, who at 109 still shares with me memories from his time in the Royal Navy, they are stories I will truly treasure all my life. He's at home this evening, and I am, of course, thinking of you, grandad, and all the veterans watching from their living rooms," she said.

Harry became the oldest surviving veteran following the death of 110-year-old Donald Rose in July 2025. Born in 1916, he enlisted in the military at 16 in 1932.

He rose through the ranks from able seaman to sub-lieutenant and served in the Navy from the very first day of the Second World War until its last on May 8, 1945.

During that period, he worked on six different ships, though most of his time was spent on the Hunt-class destroyer HMS Mendip, a ship he loved.

He survived the sinking of two of the vessels when they were torpedoed. He was hurled into the sea on both occasions.

On one occasion, his ship, HMS Wakeful, was struck by a torpedo launched from a German E-boat on May 29, 1940, while trying to evacuate soldiers from Dunkirk beach and was split into two parts. The front end became instantly submerged in the water.

Harry later reflected on the incident, during which there were around 600 soldiers on board, along with around 200 crew. "Really, you never slept, and my memory of those days was constant tiredness," he told The Sun. "And hardly being able to stand. But suddenly there was a bang, and the ship went down."

He recalled that only those on the upper deck survived the German attack, with just one soldier and 25 of the ship's crew, including Harry, making it out alive.

After the war, Harry studied for a degree in marine physics and was discharged from the Navy as a lieutenant. He later became a teacher before being positioned with the RAF educational wing.

When he retired, he was a squadron leader. Harry later taught at Archbishop Tenison's School in Croydon.