Harry Patch
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| Harry Patch | |
|---|---|
| Born June 17, 1898 | |
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| Place of birth | Combe Down, Somerset |
| Allegiance | UK |
| Service/branch | British Army |
| Rank | Private |
| Unit | Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry |
| Battles/wars | Battle of Passchendaele (World War I) |
| Awards | Légion d'honneur British War Medal and Victory Medal National Service Medal Hors de combat |
Henry John "Harry" Patch (born June 17, 1898) is, at the age of 109, the second-oldest living man in the UK.[1] He is one of the last three surviving British veterans of the First World War still living in the country, and also one of the last three veterans overall to have seen action. Patch is the last surviving Tommy to have faced combat, as Sydney Lucas was still in training. Following the death of Lazare Ponticelli, he is the last serviceman in the world to have fought in the trenches of the Western Front as well. Patch was born in Combe Down, a village in Somerset, England.
| “ | Any one of them could have been me. Millions of men came to fight in this war and I find it incredible that I am the only one left. | „ |
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—On graves at a Flanders war cemetery, July 2007, [2] |
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[edit] Life
Before the Great War, he worked as an apprentice plumber in Bath.[3]
During the war, Patch was conscripted into the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, serving as an assistant gunner in a Lewis Gun section. He was a private at the Battle of Passchendaele (also known as the Third Battle of Ypres). After the war, Patch returned to work as a plumber, during which time he spent four years working on the Wills Memorial Building in Bristol and, during the Second World War, a fireman.[4]
Patch featured in the 2003 television series World War I in Colour, and was quoted as saying "...if any man tells you he went over the top and he wasn't scared, he's a damn liar."
In the same series, he reflected upon his lost friends and the moment when he came face to face with a German soldier. He recalled Moses descending from Mount Sinai with God's commandment, 'thou shalt not kill', and couldn't kill the German. He shot him above the knee, and in the ankle. Patch said, "I had about five seconds to make the decision. I brought him down, but I didn't kill him".
In November 2004 (at the age of 106), he met Charles Kuentz, a 108-year-old veteran who had fought on the German side at the battlefield of Passchendaele (and on the French side in World War II). Patch was quoted as saying: "I was a bit doubtful before meeting a German soldier. Herr Kuentz is a very nice gentleman however. He is all for a united Europe and peace – and so am I". Kuentz had brought along a tin of Alsatian biscuits and Patch gave him a bottle of Somerset cider in return.
In December 2004, Patch was given a present of 106 bottles of Patch's Pride Cider which has been named after him.[5]
In July 2005, Harry Patch voiced his outrage over plans to build a motorway in northern France on the territory of cemeteries of the First World War.
On December 16, 2005, he was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Bristol, whose buildings he helped construct in the 1920s.
He currently lives in Wells, Somerset, at the Fletcher House nursing home.
In July 2007, marking the 90th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of Passchendaele, in which he fought, Patch revisited the site of the battle in Flanders to pay his respects to the fallen on both sides of the conflict; he was accompanied by historian Richard van Emden. On this occasion, Patch described war as the "calculated and condoned slaughter of human beings" and said that "war isn't worth one life."[6]
In August 2007, Patch's autobiography The Last Fighting Tommy was published, making him one of the oldest authors ever.[7]
Harry Patch was also the guest of honour at a the Rose and Crown pub re-opening on November 29, 2007.[8]
February 20, 2008 saw Harry Patch re-open the Bristol University’s Wills Memorial Building which had recently been restored. Harry Patch was chosen for this honour as he was one of the workforce that originally helped build the tower which was opened on June 9, 1925 by King George V, an event which Harry also attended.[9]
In February 2008 the poet laureate of the United Kingdom Andrew Motion was commissioned to write a poem in Harry Patch's honour. Entitled "The Five Acts of Harry Patch" it was first read at a special event at the Bishop's Palace in Wells where it was introduced by the Prince of Wales and received by Harry Patch.[10][11]
[edit] Medals
Harry Patch has five medals. He has France's highest military award, the Légion d'honneur. He has the "Mutt and Jeff" British campaign medals of the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. He also has two veteran's medals: the National Service Medal and the Hors de combat medal, which is awarded for outstanding bravery of servicemen and women who have sustained wounds or injury in the line of duty.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Patch, Harry; Richard van Emden (August 6, 2007). The Last Fighting Tommy. Bloomsbury, 256. ISBN 0747591156.
- ^ Nigel Blundell (July 31, 2007). "I've never got over it". The Daily Telegraph.
- ^ "WWI veteran celebrates 109 years", BBC News, 17 June 2007.
- ^ Patch, Harry; Richard van Emden (August 6, 2007). The Last Fighting Tommy. Bloomsbury. ISBN 0747591156.
- ^ Cider joy for World War One vet. BBC News Online (December 22, 2004).
- ^ Veteran, 109, revisits WWI trench. BBC News Online (30 July 2007).
- ^ Daily Telegraph Review Section, 19 August 2007, p. 28
- ^ Charley Morgan (30 November 2007). Last WW1 survivor is guest of honour. Wiltshire Times & Chippenham News.
- ^ Harry Patch, 109, WWI veteran, lights up city's skyline. Archived from the original on 2008-03-07. Retrieved on 2008-02-21.
- ^ Poem honours WWI veteran aged 109. BBC News Online (2008-03-07). Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
- ^ Harry Patch: A century's life shaped by four months at war. Archived from the original on 2008-03-08. Retrieved on 2008-03-08.
