Jack Davis ( veteran ) John Edward ' Jack ' Davis ( 1 March 1895 – 20 July 2003 ) was one of the last surviving British veterans of the First World War and the last of the Kitchener ' s Volunteers . He died aged 108 after briefly holding the title of Britain ' s oldest man . He once made a famous speech about his life : " I would not agree to participate in any form of warfare again . Wars have proved nothing , other than that everyone emerges from them as a loser in some way or another . I joined up in 1914 , aged 19 , in response to Lord Kitchener ' s appeal for 100 , 000 volunteers . My friends and I thought it would offer a welcome change to our normal lives . We were excited by the prospect of going to war - but we didn ' t know what we were getting into . When my regiment first saw action , we found it wasn ' t anything like we were expecting . Where I was - the Ypres Salient in Belgium - there was no drainage at the Front . For the most part you were up to your thighs in water or mud . You can ' t be an effective fighting force slopping about like that . Soon we suffered the great discomfort and humiliation of becoming lice - bound and having rats running over us . We were forced to take rest wherever we could , without even taking our clothes off . Normally we slept through sheer exhaustion . The Germans held all the advantages at the Salient [ a bulge in the frontline ] . They held the high ground around us , so we were under constant observation . Because we were inside the Salient , they could shell us not just from the front , but from both sides too . Whether we were in the frontlines , No Man ' s Land or collecting rations from the dump at Hellfire Corner , we came under constant bombardment . I never panicked though . I kept myself under control , even if I was detailed to occupy a dangerous position . I had a very keen sense of self - preservation and never took undue risks . Keeping a clear head wasn ' t easy and many men cracked . I was once sent out into No Man ' s Land with another man to a shell crater by the German trench . They were just yards away - you could hear them talking and stamping their feet to keep warm . Armed only with a Mills bomb , we were there to decide whether the Germans were preparing to attack . Unfortunately , my comrade was shell - shocked . He was whimpering like a child . We couldn ' t stay there with him like that - I saw three Germans who might have surrounded us . That would have meant surrender , or worse , the finish . I threw my hand grenade and we went back to our trench . When I explained what had happened my partner was sent back for medical treatment . In most cases , shell - shocked men weren ' t regarded as being ill and not responsible for their actions . I have thought a lot about the 306 men who were executed for cowardice or desertion . I think most were either shell - shocked or not calm in the mind . They almost selected me for an execution firing squad , and I ' m glad another man was found to carry out the sentence . If I was detailed by those in authority , I would have had to obey . I could have been shot at dawn myself . My brothers had been rejected by the Army , but they worked at a military club in London where everyone knew they wanted to join their brother at Ypres . I was sent to occupy a trench ahead of my comrades . I approached it and got the usual challenge : ' Halt , who goes there ? ' I recognised my brother ' s voice . There they both were in a trench , up to their thighs in water . It was indescribable , the emotions . But I had a job to do , so it was just a few words , then ' see you ' . When they were at the Front , my brigade was in support , and vice versa . After one battle , I heard many men in their brigade had been killed - so I went off to try to find my brothers . Staying off the roads so I wouldn ' t get caught , I eventually found my older brother Percy - the younger one , William , was being treated for his wounds . When I returned to my brigade I was immediately arrested . I was given the choice between a court martial or my commanding officer ' s punishment . I took his punishment and lost three days ' pay . Had I got lost on my way back to my unit and been caught by soldiers who didn ' t know me , who would have believed my story ? I ' d have been shot . There were times when I had occasion to respect the Germans - they were doing a job the same as we were . But we were over there to fight and we treated them as the enemy . It is only since the war that I have had time - a lot of time - to think whether it was justified to send all those men out to make the supreme sacrifice . I think that is still unanswered . It was not the war to end all wars . We ' ve had Korea , Vietnam , Israel , Northern Ireland , Bosnia - and what have they successfully achieved ? "