War hero Harry dies at 111
Saturday 25th July 2009, 1:36PM BST.
Former Shropshire war hero Harry Patch, the last survivor of the First World War to fight in the trenches and Britain’s oldest man, died today.
He passed away this morning at Fletcher House, the care home in Somerset where he was living, aged 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 had lived in Church Stretton and Gobowen, and married his first wife, Ada, at Holy Trinity Church, Hadley, in 1919.
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It was the bravery of people like this that secured us so many freedoms we now have
Thank you, Rest In peace.
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Thankyou for the freedom that you fought for and gave to us all. Rest in Peace Harry.
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Harry deserves a State funeral. He was the last link we had with a generation that suffered much, and gave it’s all on our behalf. We should not let his passing go unmarked. I am sure there are hundreds would like to show their respect to Harry and all he stood for.
R.I.P. old soldier.
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Two great heros of the first world war gone within a week. Long may they remain in our memories.
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A truly great man who spoke in noble terms about friends and foe alike. He recognised through his own experience the horrors and futility of war. His oft spoken words were of love and affection for all people. Many today could learn so much from him. The last of a generation the like of which we will never see again. May he rest in peace.
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Sad of course but these two recent deaths were always inevitable though that doesn’t stop me feeling as though a direct cord to the past has been cut. We need to take stock of our world and where we are heading even with all of new our technology. Are we happier in 2009 than Harry was in 1909? I don’t think so.
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sadly our oldest war hero died in peace, yesterday at his care home in wells somerset. his funeral is to be at wells cathedral. and no doubt will be attended by various dignataries. the last thig harry would have wanted for himself would be a state funeral, but he wanted a service of thanksgiving and remberance for all participants in that great war, including the then enemy. this request has been granted and gordon brown has said there will be such a service in westminster abbey later
thanks harry patch and rest in peace
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I don’t think that either Harry Patch or Henry Allingham would have been comfortable with the label ‘War Hero’.
Neither of them broke their silence about the trauma of their experiences in WW1 until they were very old men. Both were keen to emphasise the sheer futility of that particular conflict, and the fact that they were not heroes, but instead two of the millions of very ordinary men from both sides who were sent to the slaughter field that was Northern France. That very ordinariness was what gave them the quiet dignity they showed, whether at the Cenotaph, or whether being interviewed in the press or on TV.
I understand that with the passing of these last two veterans, there is to be a memorial service to remember all of those who died in that conflict. Unlike WW2, which had much clearer political aims, there was little clarity in the aims of WW1, which was to a great extent the last throes of the nationalistic conflict between old Imperial powers. Little or nothing was gained, by any side, and a whole generation was lost. The best memorial the these men would be to learn the lesson of the sheer stupidity of that war.
Harry Patch was a fine, good man, his legacy is that he never forgot the pointless loss of his friends, and was determined that the rest of us should learn the lessons that history provides for us and from the folly that was WW1.
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Just because somebody went to war does not automatically make them a ‘hero’, it is one of the most misused words in Britain today and I wish the press would only use it where it is due, it was only months ago that Wayne Rooney was referred to as a hero, he may play in the premier division but that’s it.Nothing heroic about that.
Harry Patch would be the first to acknowledge that he was not a hero,but a brave man as were hundreds of thousands of others,there was no VC waiting for him upon his return.He can now be reunited with his comrades that were taken from him on the battlefield and by all accounts tortured himself over their demise for his remaining days.
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I would agree that ‘hero’ is a much-abused word, but I think it is appropriate in this instance. However, I do take on board the fact that Mr Patch was from a generation of Englishmen who disliked such labels.
That said, I think arguing “just because somebody went to war does not automatically make them a ‘hero’” depends to a certain extent on your view of the war in question.
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I agree with Norman, the word hero is much over used by the press,we lost an uncle in WW1, he wasn’t a hero, he didn’t do heroic things, he did show great bravery in going over the top near Ypres, he paid the ultimate price but did that make him a hero? Heroism is purely subjective.In todays watered down values, yes was a hero, in 1917 he was just one more Tommy.
Harry Patch showed the British Stiff Upper Lip, he didn’t moan and whinge that their only body armour was a tobacco tin in their breast pocket. Casualty evacuation was being dragged through the quagmire or if you were really lucky on a stretcher, no heavily armed helicopters for them. Let us not forget that there may still be other brave men from the trenches still alive, just because they wore a different helmet does not make their sacrifices or dedication any less.
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The term hero seems to have become a generic term for somebody who carries out a task voluntarily or in some sort of paid role that you or I would prefer not to do. Listening to a 5yr old interview with Mr Patch last week, he did not see himself as a hero in any shape or form,he was a soldier who answered the call to arms, he received his ‘hero’ status purely by default in outlasting others in his generation but used his new found celebrity to good use and spoke an awful lot of sense in that we should rely on jaw-jaw not war-war. There is still one British veteran around who was in the navy and has spent the last 80yrs or so in Australia,perhaps we should wait for his passing before the authorities finally honour this group of men and put their feats into history.
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My grandad fought on the Somme. He was about to stick his finger in a tin of condensed milk when the order came to go over the top so he grabbed his gun and instead of throwing a grenade his threw the tin of condensed milk!
He was eventually taken prisoner and was a POW until the end of the war. When he returned home he could not get in the house so climbed through a window only to find his mother laid out in her coffin. She had sadly died a day earlier of cancer.
All six brothers survived WW1 the second eldest Ernie being personal chauffeur to King George V and travelling all over Europe with him during his commission.
In WW11 my grandad lived through the 71 days of non stop bombing in the Blitz and used to suffer from terrible nervous tremors at the noise due to his previous experience of the trenches.
I remember many an old tramp begging on street corners when I was a child, blind or with one leg or maybe a drink problem and my mother saying that they were WW1 veterans who were unwanted and forgotten. As previously said they lived through a traumatic era, cannon fodder as young men and if they survived that war seeing their own children going to war again at the same age which I imagine must have been very difficult for them.
There was little or no help for the psychological and physiological damage those soldiers suffered and many lived on for years having blighted lives in institutions.
RIP Harry, you have by fate of a very long life come to represent many and the guilt you carried being the one to suvive must have at times been a heavy burden.
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What a very moving piece from Eva, I recall my fathers side of the family befriending the ‘donkey man’, he was a man who had fought during WW2 and suffered terrible shell shock, his nerves were that shot he was unable to shave himself, he toured the countryside with his donkeys giving rides for the local children to earn a living, he slept on the roadsides and in barns, my father who also had fought during the war used to shave him when he came to our village, and we used to enjoy the thrill of riding about on the donkeys.
In any other time he too would have been deemed a hero, as it was he was castigated as some sort of pervert because the children used to congregate around the donkeys, how shallow those not man enough to answer the call were that they drew attention to him so as to take it away from themselves, I’m not a religious person but I have a feeling that when the time came they were judged not him.
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Interesting responses above.
Yesterday evening my family were at a London West End performance of the Michael Morpurgo play, War Horse, which is set in World War One.
After taking their bow at the end of the play, the actors spoke briefly about Bill Stone, Henry Allingham and Harry Patch and the unimaginable horrors that they had witnessed.
The cast dedicated a song to all three men, and sang with heartfelt emotion as the audience listened to the harmonies and those lyrics, which had just been given added meaning.
It was an unforgettable and immensely moving moment.
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