Bill Stone William Frederick " Bill " Stone ( 23 September 1900 – 10 January 2009 ) was one of the last five First World War veterans who served in the United Kingdom ' s armed forces and one of the last two seamen worldwide , along with Claude Choules . They were also the last two to also serve in the Second World War , although Stone saw action only in the Second World War as he was still in training when the First World War ended . Stone was born in Ledstone , Kingsbridge , Devon and enlisted in the Royal Navy on his 18th birthday . He served onboard HMS " Tiger " shortly after the end of the First World War , before serving on a number of ships including . At the beginning of the Second World War Stone was serving on the minesweeper HMS " Salamander " before moving onto the light cruiser HMS " Newfoundland " in 1941 . After the war , he ran his own barber ' s shop . In his later years Stone was present at many memorial services including the 90th anniversary commemorations at the Cenotaph in London . He died on 10 January 2009 . Early life . Stone was born in Ledstone , Devon , as the tenth of fourteen children , and enlisted into the Royal Navy on his 18th birthday . Two of his older brothers had already joined the navy , and a third was in the army . He had first tried to join up at the age of fifteen , walking three miles from where he was working on a farm , to Kingsbridge , to collect the attestation papers , but his father refused to countersign them . Naval service . The first record of his naval service describes him as being 5 ' 5 . 5 " ( 1 . 66 m ) tall , with a 32 . 5 " ( 83 cm ) chest , brown hair and blue eyes , and his prior occupation as stationary engine driver . He trained as a Stoker in Plymouth , and could remember the dancing in the streets on Armistice Day . His first position was as a Stoker aboard the battlecruiser HMS " Tiger " , and by summer 1919 was at the main wartime Royal Navy base at Scapa Flow , here he was a witness to the scuttling of the German fleet . He remained in the navy after the war , serving on HMS " Hood " during the 1920s , including a round - the - world " Empire Cruise " showing the flag in British colonies from 1922 – 24 . He married Lily in 1938 , the marriage lasting until her death in 1995 ; they had one daughter , Anne . By the outbreak of the Second World War he was Chief Stoker of the " Halcyon " class minesweeper HMS " Salamander " . On her he participated in the evacuation of Dunkirk , with " Salamander " making five shuttle trips and picking up over a 1 , 000 men from the beaches . He later described his experience there for the " Oxford Mail " : He served on the Arctic convoys and in the Mediterranean , and was also torpedoed twice . The second time was while serving aboard the " Crown Colony " class light cruiser HMS " Newfoundland " during the Allied invasion of Sicily , when it was hit by U - 407 . Following temporary repairs in Malta , the ship limped across the Atlantic steering using only its two propellers , for full repair at the Boston Navy Yard . He was Mentioned in Despatches on 21 December 1943 for his service on this occasion . He served with the occupation forces in north Germany , and was a Stoker Chief Petty Officer when he left the navy in 1945 . After the war , he ran his own barber ' s shop , where he also sold cigarettes and smoking tobacco , he retired in 1968 . Later life . Some time after his retirement he moved to Watlington in Oxfordshire . He attended the 60th anniversary of the Dunkirk evacuations in 2000 , outliving the Dunkirk Veterans ' Association which disbanded after this commemoration . In 2005 , he became " Fox FM ' s Local Hero and Central Television ' s Personality of the Year " . He broke his hip in 2006 , at age 106 , which forced him to leave Watlington , Oxfordshire . He moved into a retirement facility in Sindlesham , a suburb of Winnersh , which lies between Reading and Wokingham , in 2007 . On 11 November 2008 , marking the 90th anniversary of the end of the First World War , together with fellow veterans Henry Allingham and Harry Patch , Stone laid a commemorative wreath for the Act of Remembrance at the Cenotaph in London . Stone died on 10 January 2009 . His daughter described him as a " very determined character [ . . . ] a man of great faith and his recipe for long life was : ' Clean living , contented mind and trust in God . ' His motto : ' Keep going . ' " His funeral was held on 29 January 2009 at St Leonard ' s Church , Watlington . In September 2009 , memoirs detailing Stone ' s experience of the two world wars were published . Medals . Stone received many medals in his 27 year career in the Navy . These included campaign medals and commemorative medals issued on anniversaries and commemorations . The Dunkirk and 50th Anniversary Russian commemorative medals are not officially recognised by The Queen and should not be worn on formal occasions . However it is usual to wear official medals on the left chest lapel and have unofficial medals form a second row underneath . Bill Stone wore his medals in this manner . Ships . Listed here are the seagoing vessels that Stone served on . At various times he was posted to shore establishments for training or other duties . Smaller vessels were also officially assigned to a depot ship .