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Wales Online
National
Lauren Beavis & Rachel Hains

Meet the last person who will ever be born at Stonehenge - after 'hippie' mum went into labour at festival

Meet the last person who will ever be born at Stonehenge and the only one with the monument on his passport. David Rodger Sharp, 37, was born six weeks premature at the last-ever Stonehenge Free Festival on June 25, 1984.

His 'hippie' mum Maxine went into labour next to the stone circle as an estimated 30,000 people rocked out to the band Hawkwind. The festival ran from 1974 to 1984 at the prehistoric monument - and was the last time people could party among the stones. Now because of restricted access it is likely David will be the last person born at the world famous site.

David's mother gave birth to him with the help of local paramedic David Nobbs who made such an impact Maxine decided to name her son after him. Jeweler David, of Henley-on-Thames, said: "I'm the only person in the world that has Stonehenge on my passport.

''It literally says 'Place of Birth: Stonehenge' and my birth certificate says 'Stonehenge, Salisbury Plane'. We finally managed to track David Nobbs down in 2013 and I actually spoke to him. I believe he was the responsible medical officer who delivered four children at the site between 1972 and 1984 - me being the last.

"He recalled that I was wrapped in some kind of blue towel in front of the stones. He remembers this young woman saying she would name her child after him because of how well he looked after her.

"I think at the time he thought it was a nice gesture - but she kept to her word and it was amazing being able to tell him that.''

David's parents, Nick and Maxine, whom he describes as "very colourful" and "more hippies than druids", were avid festival goers. He said his parents had become separated earlier in the day so his dad was actually unaware until he overheard a group of Druids excitedly discussing the birth.

Mr Sharp - who has since passed away - did not realise it was his son until he was reunited with his wife, who is still alive today. David said: “I think I arrived very suddenly - mum always wanted her son to be born somewhere special.''

The 37-year-old describes his birthplace as "nothing short of spectacular" and "a real magical place".

David, who lives with his husband John, has been back to his birthplace several times. He said: "I'm a big nature fan - there is something magical about feeling the grass beneath your feet and being at one with nature.

"I just love stone circles. Whenever I see one I just find myself attracted to it. It must be the Stonehenge link."

After David was born his family returned to their home in Suffolk and later relocated to Edinburgh with his older sister Laura. The family stayed in Scotland until David moved to Oxford in 2016 and set up his own business.

David admitted he never thought of his birth as special until he decided to share his story with English Heritage. He said: “I had always thought about it in a matter-of-fact way.

''Although we used to laugh about it when I was younger because if I left a door open, mum would say, ‘you weren’t born in a field’ and I’d say, ‘well, actually I was'. It is a truly magical feeling of standing at one of the great wonders of the world and knowing you were born there."

@EH_Stonehenge posted: ''David Rodger Sharp is to our knowledge the most recent person to be born at Stonehenge. His mother went into labour while at the last Stonehenge Free Festival and he was delivered on 25 June 1984. David was named after the medical officer who delivered him.''

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