according to his death certificate, "george pettingale" died on 10 april 1909 at the age of 103, and his cause of death was "senile decay" and "cardiac failure". he was buried at canewdon's st nicholas church on 14 april; although his stated age of 103 was recorded, the vicar added a note asserting that this was erroneous, for in reality pickingill was "born at hockley 1816 [and] was only in his 93rd year".