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The Last Fighting Tommy: The Life of Harry Patch, Last Veteran of the Trenches, 1898-2009 Hardcover – August 6, 2007

by Harry Patch (Author), Richard Van Emden (Author)

15 customer reviews

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Harry Patch, the last British soldier alive to have fought in the trenches of the First World War, is now 108 years old and one of very few people who can directly recall the horror of that conflict. Harry vividly remembers his childhood in the Somerset countryside of Edwardian England. He left school in 1913 to become an apprentice plumber but three years later was conscripted, serving as a machine gunner in the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. Fighting in the mud and trenches during the Battle of Passchendaele, he saw a great many of his comrades die, and in one dreadful moment the shell that wounded him kill his three closest friends. In vivid detail he describes daily life in the trenches, the terror of being under intense artillery fire, and the fear of going over the top. Then, after the Armistice, the soldiers' frustration at not being quickly demobbed led to a mutiny in which Harry was soon caught up. The Second World War saw Harry in action on the home front as a fire-fighter during the bombing of Bath. He also warmly describes his friendship with American GIs preparing to go to France, and, years later, his tears when he saw their graves. Late in life Harry achieved fame, meeting the Queen and taking part in the BBC documentary The Last Tommies, finally shaking hands with a German veteran of the artillery and speaking out frankly to Prime Minister Tony Blair about the soldiers shot for cowardice in the First World War. The Last Fighting Tommy is the story of an ordinary man's extraordinary life.

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PRAISE FOR BRITAIN'S LAST TOMMIES 'A deeply moving tribute to the courage and suffering of all who took part, and to the fallen' The Times 'A remarkable new book' Mail on Sunday 'Van Emden places these men's words in the contexts of their lives and of the progress of the war. He pays them a fine tribute' Guardian

About the Author

Harry Patch served as a private in the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry at the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917. He was married in 1919 and had two sons. Between the wars he worked as a plumber and on building sites in the Bristol area, and when the Second World War broke out, he served first as a fire fighter with the Auxiliary Fire Service throughout the Bath Blitz, and later alongside American troops in the run-up to D-Day. In 2002 he attended the seventy-fifth anniversary of the inauguration of the Menin Gate at Ypres, and in 2005 he took part in the BBC TV documentary The Last Tommies and was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Bristol. He lives in Somerset. Richard van Emden has interviewed over 270 veterans of the Great War and has written widely on the 1914-18 conflict. His previous books include Britain's Last Tommies, Boy Soldiers of the Great War, and the best-selling The Trench. He has visited the Somme and Ypres every year since 1985 and has an expert knowledge of the First World War battlefields. He lives in London.

Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (August 6, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0747591156
ISBN-13: 978-0747591153
Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1.1 x 9.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 15 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,823,181 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #251704 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs

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Gerry

An Amazing Book on an Amazing Man!

February 10, 2017

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This book held a very interesting topic on the life of one Englishman who served his country well. Mr. Patch never wanted to be a soldier; but, when he was called upon he didn’t schlep his responsibility to the need of the time. Born at the end of the Victorian era; he was raised in an Edwardian time; a time that has long left us here in the 21st century and the England to which he was born, raised, and lived has long since become a different nation all together. Mr. Van Emden is an effective researcher and I speculate a humble sort of interviewer in this book by rights of passages that are easily understandable. I fully appreciated the easy to read type in this book, and Mr. Van Emden’s ability to tie the story together through out. Mr. Harry Patch was quite the decent man and there are simply too many passages to call my “favorite”; however, near the end of the book Mr. Patch clearly told the author in reflection of his age and being the Last Fighting Tommy that “…my whole generation fought that war in the trenches…” Mr. Patch came to despise war and even after having two sons fight in the Second World War his disdain for war was met with the sorrow that comes with war. As the First World War was a personal touch for him and his injuries – so too the Second World War would leave the Patch family to some degree without loved ones.

My interest in this book was based on the title of one British Soldier, one common ranked person who had to struggle during his time frame. I couldn’t have come across a better accounting of the time frame as a whole. The book, published in 2007 the topic and subject of Mr. Patch is born in 1898; Mr. patch would pass away in 2009 at the age 111 years young and his mental acuity intact for the age he became. The pre-war years of 1914 were quite an interesting read with occasional references to the time this was recorded for History in reflection to friends and family that were (then) in the stories of boyhood and long gone during the time of the research. Mr. Patch showed even in this late part of his life the recollections of childhood, boys getting into trouble, an education that was quite different. Before going into Military Service on behalf His Majesty and nation he earned his plumbing certification at 17.5 years of age. A skill that stayed with him for the remainder of his life serving his community and making an honest living for his family. Following the book, I finished on the Canadian Expeditionary Forces in “Merry Hell” by Captain Robert Clements (edited by Mr. Brian D. Tennyson) the dove tail effect of the battles that Mr. Patch and Captain Clements faced is rather an interesting verification of stories written. The Canadian Ross Rifle vs the British Lee-Enfield and the successful Lewis Machine Gun. Rum shots in the morning that burned going down but warmed one up were common to British, Canadian, Australian, and New Zealander troops. A touching part of this story on the battlefield is more telling when Mr. Patch wanted to stop and gain information on a British Soldier he passed before he himself was injured and the Soldier laying on the ground that he was passing enroute to battle was badly injured but still alive. As this young boy lay on the field dying and bleeding Mr. Patch could hear this lad making his last gasps of breath – taking those gasps the young man called out to his Mother, but called out to her in a manner to which she was “standing there” as opposed to “calling out for her” – Mr. Patch would never get over this experience; he wasn’t allowed to gather personal information on this boy as he wished so that he himself could have written a letter to his loved ones back in England. He would never watch a war movie nor did he later care for the entry to the Second World War. He was a man who wanted to live, experience, and share with others.

This book isn’t just about war – it is about life – a life that crossed both World Wars. A life that saw many changes to his England and United Kingdom. May Mr. Harry Patch and the “Last Fighting Tommy” Rest in Peace – he lived over all a decent life; one that was committed to others.

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D. Owen

More than just WWI

November 1, 2009

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

The Last Fighting Tommy is more than a book about the late Mr. Patch's time in the trenches in WWI. He spends a few chapters explaining his role in the Army before and after his injuries. He makes a point towards the end of the book that his life was so much more than WWI. He acknowledges that his position as one of the last trench fighters is noteworthy but it didn't define who he was. He built a life after the war, had children and was a successful businessman. I thought it interesting that he states he didn't really celebrate what we call Veteran's Day in the U.S. (11/11). He thought of "veteran's day" as the day he lost his mates on his Lewis gun team. I guess that goes to show a veteran's perspective of war is so very different from those that have not experienced combat. Overall a good book that reads very easy.

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Shanfan

Great book, I'd recommend to all ages!

March 25, 2010

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I enjoyed this book enormously. Harry's life covered such a large span of time that it wouldn't be out of place as required reading in history classes: those dealing with the social issues of a specific era would especially benefit.

So many of his actions and comments reminded me of my grandfather and all the stories we heard of his antics as we grew up. Certainly the desire to cause mischief seems to have stayed with both of them throughout their lives. I can only imagine that Harry Patch possessed the same glint in his eyes when the nonsense began.

Fortunately for my grandfather he was born later than Harry and was spared service in WWI. As hard as it must have been for Harry to recall it is good that first hand accounts get recorded before the opportunity to learn more passes by.

I liked the writing style: background information is added to fill out lapses in Harry's memory, or provide greater explanations of particular situations, you get the sense that otherwise it is a transcript of what Harry actually said.

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