Warfare in News
Posted on Wednesday 7th December
A memorial is to be be built to honour Britain's 'last Tommy', Harry Patch.
Harry Patch, who served with the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry during the First World War, died at the age of 111 in 2009. He was well known for being the last survivor of the First World War trenches. He joined up in 1916 and was badly wounded in 1917 during the Third Battle of Ypres, after which he was sent home to recover and spent the remainder of the war in Britain.
A monument is to be built near the Wells and Mendip Museum, in the heart of Harry's home city of Wells, Somerset. It has been made possible through the donations of local people.
Harry Patch is featured on the cover of Richard Van Emden's fantastic and moving book, Britain's Last Tommies – an extraordinary collection of veterans' stories and photographs.
Harry Patch, who served with the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry during the First World War, died at the age of 111 in 2009. He was well known for being the last survivor of the First World War trenches. He joined up in 1916 and was badly wounded in 1917 during the Third Battle of Ypres, after which he was sent home to recover and spent the remainder of the war in Britain.
A monument is to be built near the Wells and Mendip Museum, in the heart of Harry's home city of Wells, Somerset. It has been made possible through the donations of local people.
Harry Patch is featured on the cover of Richard Van Emden's fantastic and moving book, Britain's Last Tommies – an extraordinary collection of veterans' stories and photographs.
Further Reading
Britain's Last Tommies
(Hardback)by Richard van Emden
On the centenary of the Great War, there are now no longer any veterans alive of the six million men who served on the Western Front. Although this means that the Great War as a living history is to all intents and purposes over, the twenty years Richard van Emden spent interviewing and carefully recording the memories of over 270 veterans, makes this extraordinary collection of stories even more poignant.
As… Read more...
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Britain's Last Tommies at Passchendaele
Tue 31st JulyFinal memories from soldiers of the 1914-1918 war in their own words. Extracted from Britain's Last Tommies by Richard van Emden, Read article...

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