Harry Patch Henry John " Harry " Patch ( 17 June 1898 – 25 July 2009 ) , dubbed in his latter years " the Last Fighting Tommy " , was a British supercentenarian , briefly the oldest man in Europe and the last surviving soldier known to have fought in the trenches of the First World War . Patch was , with Claude Choules and Florence Green , one of the last three surviving British veterans of the First World War and , along with Frank Buckles and John Babcock , one of the last known five veterans worldwide . At the time of his death , aged 111 years , 1 month , 1 week and 1 day , Patch was the verified third - oldest man in the world , the oldest man in Europe and the 73rd oldest man ever . Biography . Patch was born in the village of Combe Down , near Bath , Somerset , England . He appears in the 1901 Census as a two - year - old boy along with his stonemason father William John Patch , mother Elizabeth Ann ( née Morris ) , and older brothers George Frederick and William Thomas at a house called " Fonthill " . The family are recorded at the same address " Fonthill Cottage " in the 1911 census . His elder brothers are recorded as a carpenter and banker mason . Patch left school in 1913 , and became an apprentice plumber in Bath . In October 1916 , he was conscripted as a private into the Duke of Cornwall ' s Light Infantry , serving as an assistant gunner in a Lewis Gun section . Patch arrived in France in June 1917 . He fought at the Battle of Passchendaele ( also known as the Third Battle of Ypres ) and was injured in the groin when a shell exploded overhead at 22 : 30 on 22 September 1917 , killing three of his comrades . He was removed from the front line and returned to England on 23 December 1917 . Patch referred to 22 September as his personal Remembrance Day . He was still convalescing on the Isle of Wight when the Armistice was declared the following November . He later said : " When the war ended , I don ' t know if I was more relieved that we ' d won or that I didn ' t have to go back . Passchendaele was a disastrous battle – thousands and thousands of young lives were lost . It makes me angry . Earlier this year , I went back to Ypres to shake the hand of Charles Kuentz , Germany ' s only surviving veteran from the war . It was emotional . He is 107 . We ' ve had 87 years to think what war is . To me , it ' s a licence to go out and murder . Why should the British government call me up and take me out to a battlefield to shoot a man I never knew , whose language I couldn ' t speak ? All those lives lost for a war finished over a table . Now what is the sense in that ? " 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 , before becoming manager of the plumbing company ' s branch in Bristol . A year above the age to be called up for military service at the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 , he became a part - time fireman in Bath , dealing with the Baedeker raids . Later in the war he moved to Street , Somerset where he ran a plumbing company until his retirement at age 65 . In 1918 , Patch married Ada Billington , who died in 1976 . They had two sons , both of whom predeceased him : Dennis , who died in 1984 , and Roy , who died in 2002 . At age 81 he married his second wife , Jean , who died in 1984 . His third partner , Doris , who lived in the same nursing home as him , died in 2007 . Last Tommy . Patch had refused to discuss his war experiences , until approached in 1998 for the BBC One documentary " Veterans " , on reflection of which and the realisation that he was part of a fast dwindling group of veterans of " the war to end all wars " , persuaded him to step into the limelight . Patch was featured in the 2003 television series " World War 1 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 the story of Moses descending from Mount Sinai with God ' s Ten Commandments , including " Thou shalt not kill " , and could not bring himself to kill the German . Instead , he shot him in the shoulder , which made the soldier drop his rifle . However , he had to carry on running towards his Lewis Gun , so to proceed , 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 107 - year - old Alsatian veteran who had fought on the German side at the battlefield of Passchendaele ( and served 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 . The meeting was featured in a 2005 BBC TV programme " The Last Tommy " , which told the story of six of the World War I veterans alive at the time . In December 2004 , Patch was given a present of 106 bottles of Patch ' s Pride Cider , which has been named after him and produced by the Gaymer Cider Company . In Spring 2005 he was interviewed by the " Today " programme in which he said of the First World War : " Too many died . War isn ' t worth one life " . In July 2005 , Patch voiced his outrage over plans to build a motorway in northern France over cemeteries of the First World War . On 16 December 2005 , Patch was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Bristol , whose buildings he helped construct in the 1920s . The University ' s newly restored Wills Memorial Building was reopened by Patch on 20 February 2008 . He was chosen for this honour as he was a member of the workforce that originally helped build the tower , which was opened on 9 June 1925 by King George V , an event which Patch also attended . 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 . " In August 2007 , Patch ' s autobiography " The Last Fighting Tommy " was published , making him one of the oldest authors ever . With the proceeds from this book , Patch decided to fund an Inshore Lifeboat for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution ( RNLI ) and he attended the RNLI ' s Lifeboat College on 20 July 2007 to officially name the boat " The Doris and Harry " . In February 2008 , the poet laureate of the United Kingdom Andrew Motion was commissioned by the BBC West television programme " Inside Out West " to write a poem in 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 . In July 2008 , Wells City Council conferred the freedom of the city of Wells on Patch . On 27 September 2008 , in a private ceremony attended by just a few people , Patch opened a memorial on the bank of the Steenbeek at the point where he crossed the river in 1917 . The memorial reads : - " Here , at dawn , on 16 August 1917 , the 7th Battalion , Duke of Cornwall ' s Light Infantry , 20th ( Light ) division , crossed the Steenbeek prior to their successful assault on the village on Langemarck . This stone is erected to the memory of fallen comrades , and to honour the courage , sacrifice and passing of the Great War generation . It is the gift of former Private and Lewis Gunner Harry Patch , No . 29295 , C Company , 7th DCLI , the last surviving veteran to have served in the trenches of the Western Front . " In October 2008 , Patch launched the 2008 Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal in Somerset . On 11 November 2008 , marking the 90th anniversary of the end of World War I , together with fellow veterans Henry Allingham and Bill Stone , Patch laid a commemorative wreath for the Act of Remembrance at The Cenotaph in London , escorted by Victoria Cross recipient Johnson Beharry . On 9 November 2008 , the Master of the Queen ' s Music , Sir Peter Maxwell Davies attended the world premiere of his choral work paying tribute to Patch . The piece sets words by the then Poet Laureate , Andrew Motion , and was performed at Portsmouth Cathedral by the London Mozart Players , the Portsmouth Grammar School chamber choir and the cathedral ' s choristers . The creation of the work was featured in " A poem for Harry " , a BBC West documentary that was subsequently repeated on BBC Four . The programme subsequently won a gold medal at the New York Festivals International Television Programming and Promotion Awards . On 18 July 2009 , on the death of Henry Allingham , Patch became the oldest surviving veteran and also the oldest man in the United Kingdom . Patch was the last trench veteran of World War I . The penultimate Western Front veteran , the 108 - year - old Fernand Goux of France , who died on 9 November 2008 , fought for 8 days . He came out unscathed , unlike Patch and the last Alpine Front veteran , 110 - year - old Delfino Borroni of Italy , who died on 26 October 2008 . Patch was also the last surviving Tommy , since the death on 4 April 2009 of Netherwood Hughes , who was still in training when the war ended . The penultimate fighting Tommy , Andrew Rigby , died on 9 June 2006 , the week before Patch ' s 108th birthday . Claude Choules , the last remaining First World War naval veteran , died on 5 May 2011 . Medals . Harry Patch received eight medals and honours . For his service in the First World War he received the British War Medal and the Victory Medal . In 1998 , as a surviving veteran of the First World War who had fought for the Allies in France and Flanders , the President of the Republic of France appointed Patch a Knight of the Légion d ' honneur . The award was presented to Patch on his 101st birthday . On 9 March 2009 , Patch was appointed an Officer of the Légion d ' honneur by the French Ambassador at his nursing home in Somerset . On 7 January 2008 , Albert II , King of the Belgians , conferred upon Patch the award of Knight of the Order of Leopold . He received the award from Jean - Michel Veranneman de Watervliet , Belgium ' s Ambassador to the United Kingdom at a ceremony in the Ambassador ' s residence in London on 22 September 2008 , which coincidentally was the 91st anniversary of the day he was wounded in action , and three of his closest friends killed . For service during the Second World War , Patch was awarded the 1939 – 45 Defence Medal . This was subsequently lost and , on 20 September 2008 , at a ceremony at Bath Fire Station , Patch was presented with a replacement medal . Patch also received two commemorative medals : the National Service Medal and the Hors de combat medal , which signifies outstanding bravery of servicemen and women who have sustained wounds or injury in the line of duty These medals however , are unofficial and not a part of the official order of wear in any Commonwealth realm . In accordance with his wishes , Harry Patch ' s medals are now on display at the Duke of Cornwall ' s Light Infantry Museum in Bodmin . Death . Patch died at 9 am on 25 July 2009 , aged 111 years , one month , one week and one day . This was also seven days after the death of fellow veteran Henry Allingham , who was at the time aged 113 . The Prince of Wales led the tributes to him , saying : " Today , nothing could give me greater pride than paying tribute to Harry Patch , of Somerset . " Patch was the last male First World War veteran living in Europe , and the last verified remaining British male to have been born in the 1890s . Funeral . Patch ' s funeral was held in Wells Cathedral on Thursday 6 August 2009 . At 11 . 00 am , the bells of Wells Cathedral were rung 111 times to mark each year of his life . A quarter peal of Grandsire Caters was also rung , half muffled , while quarter - peals were also rung in Bristol and at several other churches around the country . His coffin travelled from his home , Fletcher House , to the cathedral where the service commenced at noon . The theme of the service was " Peace and Reconciliation " and in addition to pallbearers from The Rifles ( the successor regiment to the Duke of Cornwall ' s Light Infantry ) , Patch ' s coffin was accompanied by two private soldiers from each of the armies of Belgium , France and Germany . In accordance with Patch ' s instructions , no guns were allowed at the funeral and even the officiating soldiers did not have their ceremonial weapons . Due to the high levels of interest in the funeral , which was broadcast live on TV and radio , a total of 1 , 050 tickets were made available for the service . Some , wanting to pay their respects , slept overnight on the Cathedral Green in order to get tickets . The funeral was led by the Dean of Wells , The Very Revd John Clarke and the Bishop of Taunton , The Rt Revd Peter David Maurice . Among notables to attend the funeral were The Duchess of Cornwall and The Duchess of Gloucester . Patch was buried at St Michael ' s Church , Monkton Combe , near his parents and brother . Legacy . Race horse trainer and owner Michael Jarvis named a horse after Patch in 2008 . Having bought the horse in October 2007 , during that year ' s Poppy Appeal , the Newmarket trainer decided to name him after a First World War veteran . Michael ' s daughter suggested Patch after reading an article about him . The horse won the 1 . 30 at Doncaster racecourse on 8 November 2008 , the day before Remembrance Sunday . A commemorative plaque in Patch ' s memory is to be placed on the Guildhall in Bath . The BBC commissioned Carol Ann Duffy , the Poet Laureate , to write a poem to mark the deaths of Patch and Henry Allingham ( who died one week before Patch , on 18 July 2009 ) . The result , " Last Post " , was read by Duffy on the " Today programme " on BBC Radio 4 on 30 July 2009 , the day of Allingham ' s funeral . On 5 August 2009 , Radiohead released the song " Harry Patch ( In Memory Of ) " , in tribute to the recently deceased Patch . Radiohead lead singer Thom Yorke explained that the song was inspired by " a very emotional interview with him " in 2005 , on the " Today programme " on BBC Radio 4 . The song was sold direct from Radiohead ' s website for £1 , with proceeds donated to the British Legion . In early summer 2009 , Harry recorded some spoken word parts for UK heavy metal band Imperial Vengeance , to be included on the title track to the album " At the Going Down of the Sun " . The song was about the horrors of the trenches and Patch read part of the poem " For the Fallen " . Former UK Poet Laureate , Andrew Motion composed a poem , " The Death of Harry Patch " , which he read for the first time on " The World at One " Radio 4 programme on Armistice Day 2010 .