Claude Choules 1901-2011
The ABC reports on the end of era Last male WWI veteran dies
The man believed to have been the last living male veteran of World War I has died in Perth aged 110.
British-born Claude Choules served in the Royal Navy during World War I and witnessed the scuttling of the German fleet at Scapa Flow.
Mr Choules was born in 1901 and signed up for the Great War at just 14 years of age.
After the war, he moved to Perth and joined the Australian Navy, working as a demolition officer at the Fremantle Harbour during World War II.
Mr Choules died in his sleep in a Perth nursing home overnight.
The only other surviving WWI veteran is believed to be Britain’s Florence Green, who served with the Royal Air Force in a non-combat role and is now 110 years old.
Both World Wars, but in two different Navies. The amazing things that Mr. Choules saw in his lifetime – airplanes, radio, television, computers, space flight … Most of what people would consider essential today, either did not exist when he was born, or was available only to the extremely wealthy.
1 comment
The changes he saw in his life are amazing. May he rest in peace.