Last WWI Vet Dies

Lloydy · 05-05-2011, 02:19 AM

Strange to think WWI is no longer living history. R.I.P

BBC News - Last WWI combat veteran Claude Choules dies aged 110

Quote:

The world's last known combat veteran of World War I, Claude Choules, has died in Australia aged 110.

Known to his comrades as Chuckles, British-born Mr Choules joined the Royal Navy at 15 and went on to serve on HMS Revenge.

He moved to Australia in the 1920s and served in the military until 1956.

Mr Choules, who had been married to his wife Ethel for 76 years, was reported to have died in his sleep at a nursing home in his adopted city of Perth.

He is survived by three children and 11 grandchildren. His wife died three years ago.

Mr Choules' 84-year-old daughter, Daphne Edinger, told the Associated Press news agency: "We all loved him. It's going to be sad to think of him not being here any longer, but that's the way things go."

Demolition officer

Mr Choules was a Chief Petty Officer in the Australian Navy
Born in Pershore, Worcestershire, in March 1901, Mr Choules tried to enlist in the Army at the outbreak of WWI to join his elder brothers who were fighting, but was told he was too young.

He lied about his age to become a Royal Navy rating, joining the battleship HMS Revenge on which he saw action in the North Sea aged 17.

He witnessed the surrender of the German fleet in the Firth of Forth in November 1918, then the scuttling of the fleet at Scapa Flow.

Mr Choules remembered WWI as a "tough" life, marked by occasional moments of extreme danger.

After the war he served as a peacekeeper in the Black Sea and in 1926 was posted as an instructor to Flinders Naval Depot, near Melbourne. It was on the passenger liner to Australia that he met his future wife.

He transferred to the Royal Australian Navy and after a brief spell in the reserves rejoined as a Chief Petty Officer in 1932.

During World War II he was chief demolition officer for the western half of Australia. It would have been his responsibility to blow up the key strategic harbour of Fremantle, near Perth, if Japan had invaded.

Mr Choules joined the Naval Dockyard Police after finishing his service.

But despite his military record, Mr Choules became a pacifist. He was known to have disagreed with the celebration of Australia's most important war memorial holiday, Anzac Day, and refused to march in the annual commemoration parades.

He took a creative writing course at the age of 80 and recorded his memoirs for his family. They formed the basis of the autobiography, The Last of the Last, which was published in 2009.

The last three WWI veterans living in Britain - Bill Stone, Henry Allingham and Harry Patch - all died in 2009.

Another Briton, Florence Green - who turned 110 in February and was a waitress in the Women's Royal Air Force - is now thought to be the world's last known surviving service member of WWI. An American veteran, Frank Buckles, died earlier this year.

**SageTree** · 05-05-2011, 05:45 AM

Thanks for the post Llody, otherwise, I'm sad to say this probably would have slipped past my radar.
And thanks for honouring the people.

The Rev · 05-05-2011, 11:27 AM

My grandfather fought in WWI. He didn't live to old age, tho. He died when my dad was 15, as a result of his alcoholism. That shell shock / combat fatigue / PTSD is a bitch that way. His war trauma fucked up the lives of everyone in his family. I have his burial flag in a case on my bookshelf.

The Rev

fenderbender · 05-05-2011, 01:00 PM

weird. I wonder if there will be a thread about us some day, the future survivors of ww3.

Quote:

Fenderbender, the last known survivor of WWIII, who outlived his cyborg counterparts by 20 years, died today.
He fled Americas draft in the 3rd world war, but the bastards finally caught up to him in the British Columbia mountains. He fought back the asian menace for 30 days and nights until they eventually surrendered.
He then began the "Migrate to the digital universe" movement. Him and his followers began syncing up to the net in mass numbers. A peaceful reality it was. Unfortunately his brain gave out before the technology that would allow him to convert to a cyber-brain and be immortal became a reality.

Who knows if Fenderbender's conscious remains individual among the vast digital universe that is..the net.

Jester4yall · 05-05-2011, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SageTree

And thanks for honouring the people.

My thought exactly.. Would have loved sitting down and listening to his life stories.. Rip to a hero

05-05-2011, 05:45 AM	#2 (permalink)
SageTree ~Kalyāṇa-mitrā~ Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: In Love Posts: 23,414 Blog Entries: 26 Thanks: 13,070 Thanked 6,769 Times in 4,664 Posts	Thanks for the post Llody, otherwise, I'm sad to say this probably would have slipped past my radar. And thanks for honouring the people. __________________ "What's oppressive is letting your life be confined by old definitions of what everything is." -Zen Meister my_scatterheart YaHooka is.... Cannabis lovers from around the world pulling up a comfy chair, picking up a vaporizer, a bong, a brownie, a pipe, or a joint, getting high, stoned, buzzed or healthy. Uniting our minds in conversation...While Portraying a Positive Image of marijuana and marijuana users to the world. Treat your fellow YaHookans with kindness,respect and tolerance.

05-05-2011, 11:27 AM	#3 (permalink)
The Rev Clear Light Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: In my head, somewhere. Posts: 17,865 Thanks: 5,018 Thanked 5,421 Times in 2,865 Posts	My grandfather fought in WWI. He didn't live to old age, tho. He died when my dad was 15, as a result of his alcoholism. That shell shock / combat fatigue / PTSD is a bitch that way. His war trauma fucked up the lives of everyone in his family. I have his burial flag in a case on my bookshelf. The Rev __________________ Budforce - My Friend August 29, 1973- May 25, 2012

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes	Rate This Thread
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode	Rate This Thread:

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)