And then there was none.. last WW1 veteran dies

[Obelix 11]

Participation in the Great War passed out of living memory today... Claude Choules was the last surviving combat vetaran.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13289607

 

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

[Fishcake 10]

Very sad. Not so many of the ones from WWII either. It's weird because at my age (39) I grew up talking to people who fought in the second not so great war and my Grandad served with the Gurkhas but most younger people these days don't feel quite the same about the wars as there is no direct link for them. I still well up watching any historical programmes about either war, but I am a big jessie though.

[Andy 10]

Very sad. Not so many of the ones from WWII either. It's weird because at my age (39) I grew up talking to people who fought in the second not so great war and my Grandad served with the Gurkhas but most younger people these days don't feel quite the same about the wars as there is no direct link for them. though.

 

That's funny, I was going to post something similar. I'm 31 and when I was younger everyone had grandparents who had been in the war. Now there are not many of them left at all.

 

An event has moved from being something in living memory to being something children study in their history classes. Very strange.

[Grandad.Malky 11]

younger people these days don't feel quite the same about the wars as there is no direct link for them. I still well up watching any historical programmes about either war, but I am a big jessie though.

 

There may be no direct link but my son seems to be into the war documentaries ………… I don’t know if it’s the grainy black and white footage but something caught his interest.

[shaznay 10]

thats sad..........old people are marvellous

they are living history books, I could listen for hours of their stories and memories of the past

[Fishcake 10]

There may be no direct link but my son seems to be into the war documentaries ………… I don’t know if it’s the grainy black and white footage but something caught his interest.

 

Thats cool. I suppose there is a link of sorts for young people, the fact that many of these people were so young when they went to war. I agree with Shaznay too about listening to older people. I love going into a pub and just chatting to older people and talk about their past.

 

BTW - Weerz me dad is a great local book, not about the war but written like someone would speak. Fantastic.

[shaznay 10]

thats why I miss my gran so much

 

her tale about the night of the blitz was enthralling, she must have told a thousand times and I never got fed up hearing about it

[Noob 10]

"84 year old daughter" Jeez.

[L00b 441]

We are still lucky to have my great-aunt, quite spritely at 92.

 

Not a war veteran herself (as in combat or British WAAF-type things), but she went through enough in WWII (evicted by Germans, trains, refugee etc.) and still remembers the difficult after-periods of 53 years of German annexion (1870-1918, 1940-1945).

 

She recently gave me a ton of period photos (some great ones from the early XXth, complete with Germans in pointy helmets besides our family house porch ), and the beginnings of a 'life account' to knock together and improve upon...which I am hurrying to do, much as I can, for obvious reasons. Some moving moments in that account, like the day -3 or 4 years ago- the local council decided to bring down the "oak of freedom" for safety reasons, which she saw being planted (next to town hall, across from our family house) when she was a little girl. Really upset her, as that tree meant so much to her and other locals of her generation.

Edited May 5, 2011 by L00b

[Leah-Lacie 10]

My great gran is still with us, aged 96

[Grandad.Malky 11]

. I love going into a pub and just chatting to older people and talk about their past.

 

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Years ago I used to work with a old bloke that was in the Navy, he was full of yarns, I bet he his keeping those “upstairs” enthralled with his tales now.

[lectrolove 10]

My Dad will be 90 this year and fought and was wounded in WW2, his memories are still sharp and he's got a photo album of his army days with lots of pictures of him looking unbelievably young in North Africa.