LAST FIGHTING TOMMY
The Life Of Harry Patch, The Only (Last) Surviving Veteran Of The Trenches

The extraordinary life story of an ordinary man - Harry Patch - the centenarian who became the last surviving Tommy to have served in the Great War’s trenches.

Harry Patch - who died in August 2009 at the great age of 109 - was an ordinary soldier who, in extreme old age, achieved an extraordinary distinction: that of being the last surviving ‘Tommy’ to have served in the trenches of the First World War. Born in Somerset, and leaving school at 14, while still a teenager Harry was conscripted and trained as a machine gunner with the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry. He took part in the fighting at the bloody battle of Passchendaele (Third Ypres) in 1917, seeing many of his comrades die in the mud around him. After the Armistice he was caught up in a mutiny by soldiers angry at the slow pace of demobilisation. After he passed his 100th birthday, thanks to the accident of having outlived all his comrades, Harry became a modern celebrity, meeting the Queen and Prime Minister, and taking part in TV documentaries. Great War historian Richard Van Emden who befriended the old soldier at the Somerset care home where he spent his last years, tells the story of Harry’s life, based on many interviews with the man himself, with sympathy and understanding.

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Details


Product Code:	12339
Author:	Harry Patch with Richard Van Emden
Format:	HB Colour and B&W photographs Published Price £16.99
Shipping Time:	This item is usually dispatched Next Day
Retail Price:	~~£16.99~~
Our Price:	£3.95 save 77%