Nine years ago, almost to the day—on April 20th 1906—we published in the “Rushden Echo” the above remarkable photographic group of eleven of Rushden’s oldest inhabitants, whose united ages totalled 965 years—or nearly ten centuries! The veterans had assembled a few days before that date at Mr William Desborough’s, High-street, Rushden, and the photograph was taken by Mr Cyril W Desborough. A representative of the “Rushden Echo” was present, and gathered from the veterans many interesting particulars, which we published at the time. Mr George Skinner, Rushden’s veteran churchwarden, had promised to form one of the group, but unfortunately he did not feel well enough to attend at the time fixed.

As these nine years have rolled by, one after another of these worthies has died, and now we have to record the fact that the last of the group, Mr James Foster, has passed away, at the advanced age of 96.

Of the deceased, we wrote nine years ago:- “Mr James Foster, who has been living in Rushden for the last 18 months—with Mr and Mrs Spavins, Harborough-road—comes from Great Barford. He was 87 years of age last birthday. He has 40 grandchildren and 21 great grandchildren. An excellent testimony to his character is the fact that he was in one situation for no less than 40 years. For 60 years he lived in one house. “It was the landlord’s when I went in, he says, and after paying rent for 60 years it did not belong to me. It belonged to my first landlord’s daughter.”

Mr Foster, who since leaving Rushden has lived at Bedford, died as the result of a fall, and at the inquest, which was held at Bedford, Nurse Heath said she was in charge of deceased. At 11.55 she heard a noise as if someone had fallen on the floor. She went and found deceased by the side of his bed. She asked him if he had hurt himself and he said “No.” He did not appear to be hurt. Later the deceased slept and had a comfortable night. She had seen him a few minutes before the fall, and he was all right. Mrs Brown, daughter of the deceased, Marlborough-road, said that her father was formerly a shepherd, and was 96 this March. On December 4th, 1014, he went upstairs to bed, but came down to fetch his great coat. He afterwards told her he thought he had got to the bottom, instead of which there were four more steps, down which he fell. She got two men to carry him to bed. He was a very active man for his age, and would walk miles. Dr Harvey Goldsmith said that deceased had an injury to the head—a bruise, and the cause of death, which took place shortly afterwards, in his opinion, was the rupture of a vessel in the head, probably in the brain.