Last-known World War I combat veteran Claude 'Chuckles' Choules dies, aged 110

[Sabre86]

Daily Mail:

He lied about his age to get into the Royal Navy when he was only 14.

By the time death finally caught up with Claude Choules yesterday he had reached 110 and was the last survivor of 70million men who fought in the Great War.

British-born Mr Choules, nicknamed ‘Chuckles’, died peacefully in a Western Australia nursing home. He had lived in the country since the 1920s.

The last three First World War veterans living in Britain – Bill Stone, Henry Allingham and Harry Patch – all died in 2009.

‘His death marks a significant chapter in world history,’ said Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

‘Mr Choules and his generation made a sacrifice for our freedom and liberty that we will never forget.’

Born in Wyre Piddle, near Pershore, Worcester, in March 1901, Mr Choules fooled enlisting officers into letting him join the Royal Navy by telling them he was several years older than his real age.

In 1917, he was serving on the battleship Revenge when he watched the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet.

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Mr. Choules was also

-Last veteran who served in both world wars
-Last seaman who served in World War One
-Last veteran who witnessed the scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow in 1919.

This leaves only a single World War One veteran still alive, Florence Beatrice Green. While often not classified as a veteran as she did not see combat, she was a waitress for RAF personnel starting September 1918, she was still a member of Women's Royal Air Force during the war. She is also 110 years old.