24 August 2008

WWI veteran roundup -Last female veteran dies

According to the Wikipedia list of WWI veterans Gladys Powers,the last female WWI veteran died on Friday aged 109.

Gladys Powers was born in Lewisham in 1899 in 1915, she volunteered as a barracks waitress for the WAAC, later she transferring to the WRAF. In 1920, she married Edward Luxford, a Canadian soldier and moved to Canada. She was the last WWI veteran alive in Canada.


In a statement Greg Thompson, Canadian Minister of Veterans Affairs said “The First World War was not won by one country alone. Allied forces from around the world came together and fought alongside one another for a common goal," "This year, as the world marks the 90th anniversary of the end of the First World War, and as the number of Veterans from the First World War grows smaller, we unite once more with a common goal -- to never forget."


June saw the death of the penultimate Italian veteran. Francesco Domenico Chiarello died on 27 June aged 109. He was the last the last soldier in the world to see action in both World Wars.
Called up in 1918, he spent three months in training and then served as an infantryman at Cosenza. First sent to the front line in Trentino he was later sent to Albania. He was called up again in 1940 but discharged after six months.


April saw the death of Stanley Charles Stair , an infantryman in the British West India Regiment, He was the last known Jamaican veteran.


At present there are 12 known surviving veterans, three or which have been added to the list this year: Frenchmen Fernand Goux, (who was called to service in April 19, 1918 but excluded from French government lists as it only counts those with more than three months of combat service) and Pierre Picault and Briton Ned Hughes who was in training when the war ended.


The Wikipedia list of surviving veterans seems as good any to useas it strives to be as comprehensive and accurate as possible. It counts anyone who was in uniform as a veteran regardless of whether they saw active service or not.

7 comments:

CherryPie said...

Very interesting, that is an amazing age too!

The Lone Beader® said...

I am amazed that the last survivor was a woman!

jams o donnell said...

It's amazing there are still so many left Cherie.

SHe isn't the last survivor LB but she lived to a great age.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for remembering these gallant people. It behooves us to remember the efforts of those who gave so much of their young lives for us.

jams o donnell said...

THere are just so few of them alive now, I thought it would be fitting to note their passing Deb

Anonymous said...

This is an amazing story of a life well lived. Thank you for sharing.

jams o donnell said...

You're welcome. I'm Glad you found it interesting