World War I British Army Soldier. He was Britain's last surviving World War I combat veteran and the last survivor to have seen trench warfare. Called up for military service in 1916, he was trained as a machine-gunner in the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, British Army. On September 22, 1917, during the Battle of Passchendaele in Ypres, Belgium, he was seriously wounded by shrapnel; three other members of his machine-gun team were killed. Removed to a medical aid station, he was told there was no anesthetic but he agreed to go ahead with surgery to extract the shrapnel from his stomach. After the war he became a plumber, married, and raised a family; he subsequently outlived two more wives and both of his sons. During World War II he served in the London Volunteer Fire Service in rescue and fire-fighting after German bombing raids. He has been honored by Queen Elizabeth II, received the Legion d'Honneur from the French Government in 1999, and awarded Knight of the Order of Leopold from Belgium in 2008. He died of natural causes at age 111.
World War I British Army Soldier. He was Britain's last surviving World War I combat veteran and the last survivor to have seen trench warfare. Called up for military service in 1916, he was trained as a machine-gunner in the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, British Army. On September 22, 1917, during the Battle of Passchendaele in Ypres, Belgium, he was seriously wounded by shrapnel; three other members of his machine-gun team were killed. Removed to a medical aid station, he was told there was no anesthetic but he agreed to go ahead with surgery to extract the shrapnel from his stomach. After the war he became a plumber, married, and raised a family; he subsequently outlived two more wives and both of his sons. During World War II he served in the London Volunteer Fire Service in rescue and fire-fighting after German bombing raids. He has been honored by Queen Elizabeth II, received the Legion d'Honneur from the French Government in 1999, and awarded Knight of the Order of Leopold from Belgium in 2008. He died of natural causes at age 111.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
Inscription
LAST SURVIVOR OF THE TRENCHES
OF THE GREAT WAR
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