Claude Choules, the only lasting male veteran of World War I and one of the last people to have served in both world wars, died May 5 at a nursing home near Perth in western Australia. He was 110, and no cause of death was reported.
Mr. Choules was the last known existing combatant of the war. Green, who turned 110 in February, served as a waitress in the Women’s Royal Air Force.
He was wedded to the former Ethel Wildgoose, whom he met on the way to Australia in 1926. She died many years ago at age 98. They had three children, according to the Australian Associated Press. He lied about his age so he could join the British Royal Navy in 1916, two years after the Great War began. Enlistees were hypothetical to be at least 18 years old.
In 1926, he transferred to the Royal Australian Navy after working as a coach at a naval depot, according to the Worcester News. “I was nobody,” he told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio in 2009 of his years in England. “But I was somebody here.”
During World War II, he was a torpedo officer and was assigned to blow up the Australian navy’s ships in Fremantle Harbour, in western Australia, if Japanese forces invaded. Mr. Choules retired at age 55 after working with the Naval Dockyard Police.
He wrote a memoir, “The Last of the Last,” which was published two years ago.
He was married to the former Ethel Wildgoose, whom he met on the way to Australia in 1926. She died several years ago at age 98. They had three children, according to the Australian Associated Press.
Despite the fame his military service brought him, Mr. Choules later in life became a pacifist who was uncomfortable with anything that glorified war. He disagreed with the celebration of Anzac Day, Australia’s most important war memorial holiday, and refused to march in parades held each year to mark the holiday.
“I had a pretty poor start,” he told a reporter in 2009. “But I had a good finish.”
Mr. Choules was the last known existing combatant of the war. Green, who turned 110 in February, served as a waitress in the Women’s Royal Air Force.
He was wedded to the former Ethel Wildgoose, whom he met on the way to Australia in 1926. She died many years ago at age 98. They had three children, according to the Australian Associated Press. He lied about his age so he could join the British Royal Navy in 1916, two years after the Great War began. Enlistees were hypothetical to be at least 18 years old.
In 1926, he transferred to the Royal Australian Navy after working as a coach at a naval depot, according to the Worcester News. “I was nobody,” he told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio in 2009 of his years in England. “But I was somebody here.”
During World War II, he was a torpedo officer and was assigned to blow up the Australian navy’s ships in Fremantle Harbour, in western Australia, if Japanese forces invaded. Mr. Choules retired at age 55 after working with the Naval Dockyard Police.
He wrote a memoir, “The Last of the Last,” which was published two years ago.
He was married to the former Ethel Wildgoose, whom he met on the way to Australia in 1926. She died several years ago at age 98. They had three children, according to the Australian Associated Press.
Despite the fame his military service brought him, Mr. Choules later in life became a pacifist who was uncomfortable with anything that glorified war. He disagreed with the celebration of Anzac Day, Australia’s most important war memorial holiday, and refused to march in parades held each year to mark the holiday.
“I had a pretty poor start,” he told a reporter in 2009. “But I had a good finish.”
