Sonnabend
07-26-2009, 08:52 AM
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25836888-401,00.html
HARRY Patch, the last soldier to fight in the trenches of Europe during World War I, has died at the age of 111.
Claude Choules, 108, who lives in Perth, Australia, and served with the Royal Navy, now becomes the last surviving veteran of the 1914-18 conflict from the British side.
Patch, who fought at the notorious Battle of Passchendaele in 1917, was also Britain's oldest man following the death of fellow veteran Henry Allingham, the oldest man in the world, one week ago.
He is the last World War I veteran to have served in the trenches, according to the dersdesders.free.fr website, which is regarded as an authoritative chronicle of veterans of the conflict My mother told me of a conversation that was held when she was very little, regarding my great grandfather. My great grandmother was reading the news of Passchendaele, and remarked that she was glad her husband was nowhere near this carnage.
She had no idea, then, that he was in fact on the front lines.
My grandfather served in the NZ military as well, doing National Service.
They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old,
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
And at the going down of the sun
and in the morning
We will remember them.
HARRY Patch, the last soldier to fight in the trenches of Europe during World War I, has died at the age of 111.
Claude Choules, 108, who lives in Perth, Australia, and served with the Royal Navy, now becomes the last surviving veteran of the 1914-18 conflict from the British side.
Patch, who fought at the notorious Battle of Passchendaele in 1917, was also Britain's oldest man following the death of fellow veteran Henry Allingham, the oldest man in the world, one week ago.
He is the last World War I veteran to have served in the trenches, according to the dersdesders.free.fr website, which is regarded as an authoritative chronicle of veterans of the conflict My mother told me of a conversation that was held when she was very little, regarding my great grandfather. My great grandmother was reading the news of Passchendaele, and remarked that she was glad her husband was nowhere near this carnage.
She had no idea, then, that he was in fact on the front lines.
My grandfather served in the NZ military as well, doing National Service.
They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old,
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
And at the going down of the sun
and in the morning
We will remember them.