Henry Allingham RIP

Henry Allingham has died at the age of 113. He was the world’s oldest man,the last survivor of the Battle of Jutland, the last surviving member of the Royal Naval Air Service and the last surviving founder member of the Royal Air Force.

Tributes were paid to Mr Allingham by the Queen, Prince Charles and The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. Mr Allingham served with the Royal Naval Air Service in WWI, later transferring to the Royal Air Force at the time of its creation.

Dennis Goodwin, founder of the First World War Veterans' Association and a friend of Mr Allingham, said: "Henry was truly a gentleman - his strength of character, his purpose.He left quite a legacy to the nation of memories of what it was like to have been in WWI,"

First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Jonathon Band said: "Henry will be remembered with great fondness for his strong sense of humour and joy of life, and he was an inspiration for all those serving in the Royal Navy." Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy, Chief of the Air Staff, said his passing was a "milestone in history. Henry was an inspiration to many and his thirst for life, cheery disposition and a desire to help others was his mark," he added.

His nephew Ronald Cator said his uncle looked "very, very frail. He went downhill in the last few months. He used to sleep a lot at the end. He wanted to pass away, poor old boy."

A young Henry Allingham

For decades, like many other war veterans, Mr Allingham buried his memories of the war, avoiding reunions and refusing to tell his family about his experiences. But, in recent years, he started making public appearances to make sure new generations did not forget the toll of war and went on to tell his life story in a book which was published last year.

His death means there are now only four WWI veterans still alive: Britons Harry Patch, 111, and Claude Choules, 108(now living in Australia) American Frank Buckles and Canadian John Babcock, who both live in the USA
RIP Henry

Last of the diggers

John Campbell “Jack” Ross, Australia's last remaining World War I veteran, has died, aged 110. At the time of his death he was also Australia’s oldest man. According to his obituary in The Age he died peacefully in his sleep at the Golden Oaks Nursing Home in the central Victorian city of Bendigoon 3 June.

Mr Ross enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in January, 1918 and trained at the wireless training school before he was posted to the 1st Battalion at Broadmeadows camp in Victoria. However, the war ended before he could be posted overseas.

He was awarded the 80th Anniversary Armistice Remembrance medal in 1998 to commemorate the end of WWI. He also received the Centenary Medal for his contribution to Australian society in the 100 years since federation.

According to the BBC Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd Kevin Rudd paid tribute to Mr Ross, saying Australia "owes so much to this brave war generation...Today [Wednesday] we mourn the death of Jack Ross...I ask that we also reflect on the service and sacrifice of the 417,000 Australians who served our nation during World War I and the 61,000 who gave their lives,".

There are now just five WWI veterans alive:

Henry Allingham, Harry Patch, Claude Choules (British although Choules, the only veteran also to serve in WWII, lives in Australia)

John Babcock (Canadian but resident in the USA)

Frank Buckles (American)

Netherwood Hughes RIP

Netherwood (Ned) Hughes who died on 4 April aged 108, was one of the last surviving veterans of WWI. Born in Great Harwood Lancashire, Hughes spent most of his working life as a mechanic and driver and, in June 1918, he was called up, like every other driver in Great Britain, to perform that role in the British Army. He was still in training when the war ended.

There are now just six known WWI veterans alive.

The last eight veterans of WWI

This time last year there were 23 known World War I veterans alive. Today there are just eight still alive. 2007 saw the deaths of all three central powers veterans, the last French, the last Italian and the last Jamaican veterans (click here for a full list).

The Wikipedians tracking the last veterans of WWI count anyone who was in uniform at the time of the armistice. This means that it records those who may not be considered a veteran by their country. However it does provide a consistent baseline.

Australian

John Campbell Ross. Ross enlisted in February 1918 and served as a wireless operator. However, he never left Australia or saw active service so he is not recognised as a veteran by the Australian government

Canadian

John Babcock Babcock attempted to enlist in 1915 (aged 15). He was placed in a Young Soldiers Battalion in August 1917 and was then transferred to the UK where he continued training until the end of the war. He therefore never saw active service. He has lived in the US since the 1920s.Tthe Canadian government has authorised a state funeral for him should he accept it.

American

Frank Buckles Buckles enlisted in the US army at the age of 16 and saw service in France as an ambulance driver. He has been approved for burial in Arlington Cemetery. Buckles survived Japanese internment in WWII

British

Henry Allingham . Allingham is the last survivor of the Royal Naval Air Service and of Jutland, the last surviving founder member of the Royal Air Force and the oldest ever surviving member of the British Armed Forces

Harry Patch Harry Patch is the last fighting Tommy and the last survivor of the Western Front. He served in the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry seeing active service at the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917.

Claude Choules Now living in Australia, Choules enlisted in the Royal Navy in 1916 and served on the Battleship HMS Revenge. He witnessed the scuttling of the German High Seas Fleet at Scapa Flow in 1919. Choules also saw service in WWII in the Royal Australian Navy.

Bill Stone Stone enlisted in the Royal Navy in 1918 but was still in training when the war ended. He also served in WWII.

Netherwood Hughes A driver, Hughes was called up in 1918 but was still in training when the war ended.

In addition there are two others who may have served in WWI but their service is unverified:

• Ukrainian Mikhail Krichevsky claims to have been called up in 1917 seeing active service on the Austro-Hungarian front;

• Briton Doug Terrey claims to have joined up in 1917 serving as a dispatch rider.

French WWI veteran dies

Fernand Goux, who died on 9 November at the age of 108, was the penultimate French veteran of WWI. Goux was called up for service in April, 1918 and was deployed behind the front lines with the 85th Infantry Regiment, supplying front line troops and burying the dead. On 3 November he was sent to the front with the 82nd Infantry Regiment for the last week of the war.

Neither Goux nor Pierre Picault (the last Frenchman to fight in WWI) are recognised as veterans by the French government as they fought less than the requisite three months. The last official veteran was Lazare Ponticelli who died in March.

There are now just 9 WWI veterans left alive

British WWI veteran dies

Yesterday’s Telegraph reported the death of Sydney Lucas, one of the last British veterans of WWI. Lucas, who joined the Sherwood Foresters just before the end of the war, died at the age of 108 in Rosebud, near Melbourne, Australia.

Born in Leicester in 1900, he was conscripted into the army in August 1918 and was still in training when the war ended in November. He emigrated to Australia in 1928 and went on to serve in the Second World War with the Australian Army

In a 2005 interview he spoke about his experiences in the First World War."We trained with a mix of fear and excitement, so when the war ended before we'd completed our training it almost felt like an anticlimax. We wanted to fight for our country, but I think that was more to do with boyish immaturity. My enduring memories are of being constantly cold, dirty, exhausted, homesick and lonely."

His death leaves the number of known British veterans of the Great War at five, including one veteran, Ned Hughes, who only recently came to light. The three surviving veterans still living in Britain - Henry Allingham, 112, Harry Patch, 110 and Bill Stone, 108, - are expected to lead a two minute silence at the Cenotaph on London at 11am on Tuesday, Nov 11, the 90^th anniversary of the end of that terrible conflict. The other surviving British veteran is Claude Choules, 107, who also lives in Australia.

Mr Lucas’ death leaves just 12 known WWI veterans worldwide.

The last Italian WWI veteran dies

Delfino Borroni,110, who died on 26 October, was the last Italian veteran of WWI

Borroni was called up in January 1917 and saw action on the Alpine Front. He was wounded and taken prisoner by the Austro-Hungarian Army during the battle of Caporetto.

There are now just 11 known veterans of WWI still alive.

Last Central Powers Veteran dies

Franz Künstler , the last known veteran of the Austro-Hungarian army and the last known surviving Central Powers veteran died in Germany on Tuesday. He was 107.

Romanian-born Franz Künstler, who served in the Austro-Hungarian army and fought on Germany's side, died after an operation on his intestine in the southern German town of Niederstetten. Künstler, who was the oldest man living in Germany, was born on July 24, 1900 in Soost in what is now Romania and was drafted into the 1st Artillery Regiment of Austro-Hungarian army in February 1918 He fought on the Italian front.

Künstler had lived in Niederstetten since 1946 and worked as a guide in the hunting museum of Schloss Haltenbergstetten castle. He is believed to have been the last World War I veteran living in Germany.

There are now just 11 known WWI veterans still alive (Six British, two Italian, One American, One Canadian, One Australian)

The last Turkish WWI veteran dies

Yakup Satar, the last Turkishy WWI veteran died last Wednesday at the age of 110. He fought at the Second Battle of Kut in the Mesopotamian campaign.

Satar was born in Crimea in 1898 into a Tartar family. His father, Zeki Bey, had been one of the Tartar chieftains who had fought for independence from the Russian Empire. In 1915 he enlisted in the Army of the Ottoman Empire. After basic training in Constantinople he was selected as part of a special 200-strong force trained in the techniques of gas warfare. He was captured in Mesopotamia in February 1917, as Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Maude’s British and Indian army drove the Ottoman Empire’s forces back up the Tigris from Basra towards Baghdad.

Released from captivity after the end of the First World War, Satar joined the forces of the Turkish National Movement under Mustafa Kemal in Anatolia which fought against the terms of the Allied partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. From 1919 to 1922 he fought in the Turkish War of Independence and the Greco-Turkish War which culminated in the declaration of the Turkish Republic in October 1923.

Satar settled in Anatolia at Eskisehir, 100 miles west of Ankara, where he married and had six children.

Satar’s death means that there are now just 12 WWI veteran alive. Franz Kunstler is now the only surviving Central Powers veteran.

Lazare Ponticelli – the last poilu

French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced the death today of Lazare Ponticelli France's last surviving World War One veteran. "Today, I express the nation's deep emotion and infinite sadness," he said.

Mr Ponticelli was born on 7 December 1897 in Emilia Romagna, northern Italy. He made his way, at the age of nine, to France to join his two brothers, and worked in Paris as a chimney sweep and paper boy. In August 1914 he lied about his age in order to join the French Foreign Legion. He was 16 at the time.

Mr Sarkozy said there would be a national day of remembrance for France's war dead in the coming days as he marked Mr Ponticelli's death. "I salute the Italian boy who came to Paris to earn his living and chose to become French, first in August 1914 when he lied about his age to sign up at 16 for the Foreign Legion to defend his adopted homeland. Then a second time in 1921, when he decided to remain here for good."

Mr Ponticelli, who lived with his daughter in a southern suburb of Paris, had initially refused a government offer of a state funeral, the AFP news agency reported. But he later decided to accept "in the name of all those who died, men and women", during WWI.

There are now just 13 WWI veterans left

US WWI veteran dies

The death on Monday of Harry Richard Landis means that there are now just fourteen known and verified WWI veterans left alive.

Landis, who joined the US army in October 1918, was still in training when the war ended. He died aged 108 at a nursing home in Sun City Florida. His death means that there are just two WWI veterans remaining in the USA: Frank Buckles and Canadian John Babcock.

He was the fifth WWI veteran to die this year.

Two more WWI veterans die

Following the death of Raymond Cambefort on 16 January and Louis de Cazenave on 20 January, there is now just one remaining French WWI veteran - Italian born Lazare Ponticelli.

Last Polish WWI veteran dies

Poland's last surviving World War I veteran, Stanislaw Wycech , died in his sleep on 12 January. He was 105.

Wycech was born into a family of Polish independence activists in June 1902 near Warsaw. With the outbreak of war in 1914, Poles were drafted into the Russian, German and Austro-Hungarian armies. Wycech had been too young for the draft, but in 1915 became a messenger with the Polska Organizacja Wojskowa (POW), or Polish Military Organisation, an underground movement seeking freedom for the country. In February 1917, he was admitted to the POW's "adult" wing.

Last German WWI veteran dies

With the death of Erich Kastner last week there are now no German WWI veterans left alive.

Last veterans of WWI

At the start of the year there were 53 known veterans alive across the world. Just seven months later, if the Wikipedia listing is to be accepted, there are just 22 veterans alive. There are from the UK(6), France(2), Germany(2), US(3), Italy(6), Germany, Canada, Poland and Australia(One each).

Of the Britons, Harry Patch is the last to have fought in the trenches. At 111 Henry Allingham is the oldest living veteran.

In a few years all will have passed into memory.

Last British Officer of WWI dies

Philip Mayne, who was thought to be the last surviving British officer of WWI died last Monday (9 April) aged 107. He had been commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Engineers in September 1918.

There are now just six British WWI veterans remaining (of which three live in Australia). There are believed to be 31 veterans still alive worldwide. 20 known veterans have died since the beginning of the year.