And then there were none…
So, that’s it then, The Great War can only now to be told in books or on TV.
As most of you know Harry Patch, the last Tommy died on Saturday, aged 111. Me might not have been a pilot or flew with the RNAS/RFC, but he did fight for King and Country, which makes him a hero in my book.
RIP Harry Patch, you’re in great company. Enjoy the view and forgive us if we momentarily forget the sacrifices made by your generation. You were not the last of England’s finest – some still fight and die in the fields of Afghanistan. We might not be able to compete in many attributes that once made this country great, but we can still be proud of our troops.
Thing is, I wonder who was the last Tommy I met and when, without knowing it?
By: Sgt.Austin - 27th July 2009 at 21:11
Rest in peace Mr. Patch.
Like many others he didn’t talk of his experiences until he was encouraged to do so when he was turning 100 and realised he was one of only a few left from the great war. His experiences of being with comrades when they died and listening to their last words convinced him that there is an afterlife where people are re-united and there is nothing to be feared from death, a very positive outlook.
By: J Boyle - 26th July 2009 at 21:46
Not quite…
There are 3 left…Canada:
John Henry Foster Babcock; Born 23 July 1900. Last Canadian veteran. Eligible for state funeral. Enlisted in 1916. Completed training in UK but did not see action due to age. Moved to US in 1924. Lives in Spokane, Washington.
Just this week they had a birthday celebration for him that made the local television news.
The head of the Canadian Veterans agency came down for the event…and it paid for a nice party.
Babcock is now a U.S. citizen.
By: Fieldhawk - 26th July 2009 at 18:57
And with the passing of the last heros of the Great War, please oh please can we really honour those men by returning Remembrance Day to its rightful date, the 11th November, and not the ‘nearest Sunday’. And, instead of just two minutes remembrance, maybe a full day should be put aside annually, on the 11th November, irrespectively of what day of the week it is. There is absolutly no reason for not doing this.
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them.
Fieldhawk.
By: Moggy C - 26th July 2009 at 17:56
We are witnessing memory turn into history.
Sad, but inevitable
RIP Mr Patch
Moggy
By: PeterVerney - 26th July 2009 at 16:50
The lack of honours demonstrates just what mean minded politicians we have had in charge over the last 50 years.
Now of course none of the party heirarchy has seen action and very few have even done a “proper” job, much less served in the Forces.
I despair for the future of this country, my lowly 8 years was wasted.
By: Junk Collector - 26th July 2009 at 16:25
We were lucky to have had veterans like Harry Patch who would talk in detail about what they experienced, my own Grandfather said very little ever about his experiences, the scars, and missing parts on his arms told enough not to ask questions, to hear the experiences of Harry Patch filled in a lot the missing gaps, no one in my family, knew what my Grandfather must have gone through for 3 years.
Silence was a common way for the veterans of that time to deal with it, and I think the debt we owe the ones that did break their silence, specifically to educate us, is the greater, because our knowledge of those times is much richer for it, and it is for that reason alone I think the lack of honours I feel is sadly lacking,
If they didn’t want them it would be nice to have offered at least.
By: Pete Truman - 26th July 2009 at 10:54
Harry Patch didn’t want recognition, he only comparitively recently was prepared to talk about his experiences, as far as he was concerned he was an ordinary bloke thrown into the maelstrom like so many others.
Have you read his biography, you may not agree with me, but it smacks of a ghost writer taking, but not quite, advantage of this lovely old boy, an issue that was carried on in the recent TV documentary, some of it made my missus and I cringe.
I put the BBC News on yesterday evening and whatever had happened in the world, Harry got almost full coverage, and tributes from the great and not so good, he deserved it, but if he was able to look down, probably couldn’t care less, I think he was that sort of bloke.
Well done Harry, lovely man, you were the last of the WW1 cannon fodder, sad to see you go, but none of us are immortal I’m afraid, even reluctant heroes like you.
By: Merlin Madness - 26th July 2009 at 09:51
Very sad news RIP.
By: Mudmover - 26th July 2009 at 09:31
Rest in Peace. Thanks
By: PeterVerney - 26th July 2009 at 09:20
Hear hear!
By: Wyvernfan - 26th July 2009 at 09:08
The thing that really hacks me off is the lack of official recognition by the UK government they heap honours on the likes of Alan Sugar, and Fred Goodwin and their ilk, the French Government recognised their achievement typical of this government and its lousy attitude to servicemen past and present !
Very well put JC… thats why i like to give generously for my poppy. Without these guys most of us would not be here in the first place.!
Harry Patch.. thank you sir.
By: Junk Collector - 26th July 2009 at 08:40
While not quite the last the last in the UK. My Grandfather was wounded at Passchendaele where Harry Patch also fought which is recognised now as the worst battle in Human History, Its funny to think in my lifetime this is fast turning into history, 20 years will be the same for WW2 as well !
The thing that really hacks me off is the lack of official recognition by the UK government they heap honours on the likes of Alan Sugar, and Fred Goodwin and their ilk, the French Government recognised their achievement typical of this government and its lousy attitude to servicemen past and present !
By: Bager1968 - 26th July 2009 at 06:00
Not quite…
There are 3 left…
UK:
Claude Stanley Choules; Born 3 March 1901. Joined the RN in 1916. Last witness to the scuttling of the fleet. Moved to Australia in 1926 and served with Royal Australian Navy in WWII. Lives in Perth, Western Australia.
USA:
Frank Woodruff Buckles; Born 1 February 1901. Last American doughboy. Eligible for burial at Arlington. Joined in 1917. Ambulance driver near Western Front. During World War II he worked as a civilian for an American shipping company in the Philippine Islands, was captured by the Japanese in 1942, and spent the next three years in the Los Baños prison camp. Lives in Charles Town, West Virginia.
Canada:
John Henry Foster Babcock; Born 23 July 1900. Last Canadian veteran. Eligible for state funeral. Enlisted in 1916. Completed training in UK but did not see action due to age. Moved to US in 1924. Lives in Spokane, Washington.
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July 26, 2009 at 5:12 am