The Last Tommy passes away

The Sparrow

RIP Henry Patch

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/0725/breaking17.htm

Harry Patch, the last British survivor of the First World War to fight in the trenches, died today.

He passed away this morning at Fletcher House, the care home in Somerset where he was living. He was 111.

The care home released a statement which read: “It is with much sadness that we must announce the death of Mr Harry Patch at the age of 111.

“Funeral arrangements are being made in accordance with Mr Patch’s wishes, and we wish to extend our deepest sympathies to his family, friends and the residents and staff of Fletcher House.”

Mr Patch, known as the Last Tommy, fought in the battle of Passchendaele in 1917 in which more than 70,000 British troops died.

He became Britain’s oldest man when another veteran of the war, Henry Allingham, died on July 18 aged 113.

Mr Patch died at 9am at Fletcher House nursing home in Wells, Somerset.

Chief Executive of Somerset Care, Andrew Larpent, said Mr Patch had been unwell for some time and had died peacefully in his bed.

He said: “His friends and his family have been here.

“He just quietly slipped away at 9am this morning.

“It was how he would have wanted it, without having to be moved to hospitals but here, peacefully with his friends and carers.”

Mr Patch was a machine-gunner in the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry.

He served in the trenches as a private from June to September 1917.

Born on June 17 1898, he grew up in Combe Down, near Bath, and left school at the age of 15 to train as a plumber.

He was 16 when war broke out and reached 18 as conscription was being introduced and after six months training he was sent to the frontline.

Latchy

In a recent tv interview Mr Patch was asked '' was it worth it '' ?

No he replied , not one life lost was worth it ''

He also said ''

We must never forget and always remember our lost generations of men .

But we must not forget the Germans , they paid the ultimate price to ''

meathstevie

Latchy wrote: »

In a recent tv interview Mr Patch was asked '' was it worth it '' ?

No he replied , not one life lost was worth it ''

He also said ''

We must never forget and always remember our lost generations of men .

But we must not forget the Germans , they paid the ultimate price to ''

Words of wisdom.

arnhem44

It was sad to see him pass away and Henry Allingham also passing only a week before hand,Claude Choules is the last (British)veteran left,he served with the Royal Navy now living in Australia since 1920 if I'm not mistaken,the last documentary I saw about him said he had never retuned to Britain.There seems to be some controversey as to wheather he did serve,there was quite a few elderly people came out in the last few years claiming to be veterans but no records exist,a large amount of these been destroyed in the blitz during WW2,the last American veteran is Frank Buckles,I'm not sure if theres anymore than that.