Adjutant, a remarkable black Labrador, earned his place in history as one of the longest-living dogs ever recorded. Born on August 14, 1936, Adjutant lived an extraordinary 27 years and 211 days, passing away on April 20, 1964.

Adjutant spent his life at the Revesby Estate in Lincolnshire, residing at Keeper’s Cottage (now named Bankside Cottage- the Estate’s Holiday cottage) with his owner, James Hawkes, a gamekeeper. Their life together revolved around the duties of the estate, with Adjutant accompanying Hawkes on daily rounds.

The tranquil environment of Revesby Estate and the care provided by Hawkes likely contributed to Adjutant’s extraordinary longevity. While the average lifespan of a Labrador retriever is 10 to 14 years, Adjutant’s record-breaking age serves as a rare and inspiring exception.

Below, Gavin Wiggins-Davies reminiscences about Adjutant as a young boy:

I recall visiting the Reservoir Keeper, James Hawkes, at Keepers Cottage on the bank of the Revesby Reservoir in 1962 when I was 10 years old to meet Adjutant his very old Labrador retriever who was 26 years of age then.  If I recall correctly, I had bicycled up to the Reservoir ‘Keepers Cottage’ from my Mother’s house at Revesby Bridge on a very old and shaky bicycle to investigate, as a 10 year will, the woods and the huge expanse of the Reservoir and finding Mr Hawkes ( I had been instructed that this was the way to speak to senior Beat Keepers) at home I was taken in an introduced to Adjutant. I recall a rather grey about the gills old looking Labrador who still wagged his tail a lot but was rather steady on his legs and only ventured out for the calls of nature while spending most of his time on a comfy sofa in the dining room near to the fireplace  and was fed on bread and warm milk to keep him going, I think most of his teeth had fallen out so solid food was not easy for him.

I was away back at school when he passed away and we learned that he had been the oldest dog in the world and that was recorded in the Guinness book of Records.