The Tommy who marched into the history books. (The Last Fighting Tommy - Harry Patch)

Member Name: goosey

Product:	The Last Fighting Tommy - Harry Patch
Date:	11/08/09 (164 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Makes one appreciate the peace we enjoy because of those who fought in WW1

Disadvantages: none

Harry Patch was the very last British soldier to have fought in the trenches of The Great War.
Sadly, shortley after he had reached his 111th birthday, we had to bid farewell to ths extraordinary, grand 'old' chap. Old? Yes, but only from the neck down. He was remarkably alert and articulate; his memory intact; every marble present,correct and in good working order.

I last saw him five weeks ago, in the dining room at Fletcher House, sitting back after breakfasting, wearing three of his medals pinned to his jacket. He smiled and I waved. That is the vision I now hold tight in my memory.

Having just returned from his funeral at Wells Cathedral (August 6th 2009) - he is still in my head.

Fortunately for us all and for future generations, he broke an 80 year silence regarding his experiences in the trenches at Ypres during the Battle of Passchendaele - (pronounced, by we Brits, as Passion-dale.) He never spoke of the war to friends or family until he was 100 years old, when he realised that if he did not speak out soon; first hand experiences of the horrors of the war may never be told. He wanted, first and foremost, to speak up AGAINST war and promote peace and reconcilliation.

Author, Richard Van Emden, approached Harry in 2006 to ask if he, Harry, would like his 'memories preserved in a book.' Harry indicated an eagerness to share, at last, his memories with the world, and so an autobiography of Harry Patch was conceived, and a year later in 2007, the book, 'THE LAST FIGHTING TOMMY,' was born.

Harry's memoirs were recorded on tapes and transcribed by Richard Van Emden, who occasionally, yet almost seamlessly, added historical facts (in slightly smaller type face) relating to the times Harry was speaking of. The proceeds from this book goes to his favourite charity The RNLI and has already bought one life boat.

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THE LAST FIGHTING TOMMY:
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The book opens with dedications to his dear friend and companion, Doris, (who sadly died the year it was published.) and also to six of those closest to him who had fought in the war.

~~~~~Contents~~~~~
Maps.
Preface.
Prologue.
Chapter 1. Victorian born.
Chapter 2. Edwardian raised.
Chapter 3. Joining up.
Chapter 4. In the trenches.
Chapter 5. Passchendaele.
Chapter 6. Wounded.
Chapter 7. Mutiny.
Chapter 8. Back to work.
Chapter 9. World War 11
Chapter 10. Growing older.
Chapter 11. Life begins at 100.
Epilogue.
Acknowledgements
Picture credits
Index.

~~~MAPS~~~

The first of three maps is of the Western Front 1914 -18, where the various fronts and lines of advance are marked; also included is a shaded area showing the allied gains in 1916-17.
The second map shows the British advances made on 16th of August 1916 at the Battle of Langemarck.
The third and final map shows each of four different routes taken to evacuate the Battle of Langemarck casualties and the relay post positions where the wounded were left by stretcher bearers until they returned from searching for further casualties.

~~~PREFACE~~~

To the preface of the paperback edition, Harry has added updates on his activities since the publication of the hardback , a year previously; when he faced those painful memories of 90 years ago - to the day - by returning to the exact spot where he, (in his own words) "Went over the top."

~~~PROLOGUE~~~

The prologue was written by Richard Van Emden, giving a resume` of Harry's life and detailing the busy schedule undertaken by him since his rise to fame, at the age of 100, in 1998. Richard explains the lengthy process of gathering and collating this valuable information, and gives a unique insight into Harry's mischievous nature, by relating a few tales such as the one about him 'crawling belly down through heaped lines of potatoes growing in the garden, to reach the gooseberries, then forbidden fruit. To be caught eating them was a punishable offence in those early Edwardian days.

There is also a list of some of the more newsworthy events, long since confined to the history books, through which Harry had lived; events such as the sinking of the Titanic, when he was aged 14. The prologue ends in the telling of Harry's reluctance to go to war; he didn't volunteer, but was conscripted. Even so, "...he did his duty."

~~~VICTORIAN BORN~~~

Richard Van Emden begins the chapter with a brief description of the village where Harry was born in 1898.
Harry goes on to tell about his family and life as a young boy. I defy anyone not to laugh at some of the naughty -( by Edwardian standards, mischievous, by today's ) antics and sometimes dangerous adventures he enjoyed. He gives vivid accounts of life in those times, when horses and carts were more common than motor vehicles. Candles or oil lamps were the only forms of lighting. He tells the story of how he was caned at school for his definition of a curve. I still laugh every time I think of it, but will not spoil the story for those who have not read the book.

~~~EDWARDIAN RAISED~~~

In this chapter, Harry continues the story of his childhood, through his teenage years, to the start of WW1, in 1914, often referred to as The Great War, when he was just 16. He talks of other members of the small community of Combe Down where he was born; his interests and schooling; he also shared his thoughts and reasons for choosing plumbing as a career. He talked of his immediate family and their attitude towards and involvement in, the armed forces.

With Harry's vividly descriptive and sometimes humorous accounts, I felt drawn back to Edwardian times, where I could almost feel the cold as he describes scraping frost off the inside of windows in winter, or the thrill of getting away with paddling a club-canoe down the four foot weir at Bath, time and time again - another of his naughty pranks.

~~~JOINING UP~~~

Although his brother was fighting in the war, Harry took no real interest in war related news. Other than the surprising fact that the war was welcomed by many, and both young and old voluntarily enlisted in droves; his memory of the outbreak was sketchy. Richard Van Emden added some interesting historical facts before Harry continued with memories leading up to and including, his eventual conscription. He wrote; "I had no inclination to fight anybody. I mean, why should I go out and kill somebody I never knew and for what reason?" He details the six months of training before being sent to the front, and of the time he lost his Lance Corporal's stripe for having a fisty-cuffs with another conscript who had stolen Harry's boots. He tells also of the loss of his cousin at Arras. Despite the seriouness of those times, Harry managed to share moments of delightful humour with his readers.

~~~IN THE TRENCHES~~~

In this sensitively written chapter, Harry describes the difficulty he experienced in leaving home and family, his fears, and shock at the realities of war. He takes us into the trenches, introduces us to his Lewis Gun team and speaks of their pact "not to kill, but to shoot at the enemy's legs, or over their heads, unless it was a 'them-or-us' situation." He describes the wretched conditions and difficulties faced and how they tried to overcome them. He tells of lighter moments at Toch H, where they were able to enjoy a brief rest from the trenches.

~~~PASSCHENDAELE~~~

This chapter is opened by Richard Van Emden, giving an overview of the battle of Ypres, more commonly known as The Battle of Passchendaele. Then Harry continues his memories; he describes the abject fear he felt and saw in the eyes of others as they went over the top; how rats would pinch their rations and how the many homeless, once domesticated dogs, had turned wild with hunger and fear. Without drama, Harry paints a picture of Hell.

~~~WOUNDED~~~

Once again, the chapter is opened by Richard Van Emden, explaining why September the 22nd 1917 was the most significant date burned into Harry's memory. Harry then continues with his own thoughts and feelings for that day when his team mates were killed and he, injured. He describes his journey home and recovery, then recalls the evening he first met his future wife, and their eventual engagement. In the middle of this chapter, are 16 pages of photographs , which undoubtedly added touches of reality to some of the more unimaginable events.

~~~MUTINY~~~

This amusing chapter begins on Armistice day, which marked the end of the war. He tells of the events back at camp occuring in the following six months before his eventual demob from the army. The 'mutiny' episode, he tells, happened when a whole company turned their loaded rifles on a bully officer who was pointing his gun at them, threatening to shoot the first person to disobey.

~~~BACK TO WORK~~~

The title speaks for itself and hardly needs explaining. Harry tells of post-war hardships and his long struggle to come to terms with the loss of his mates. Interestingly, he said that 'old soldiers' would duck at the sound of a loud bang, whereas civillians jumped. He married Ada in 1919 at the end of the great war and his story continues to 1939 - the outbreak of the second world war.

~~~WORLD WAR 11~~~

Harry was forty-one in 1939 and not eligible to fight. He joined the Auxiliary Fire Service and takes up his story describing all the preparations, training and his fire fighting experiences, along with harrowing descriptions of the aftermath of bombings. Even so, his sense of humour was never far from the serious side and this chapter is also dotted with humerous incidents, takes us to the end of WW11.

~~~GROWING OLDER~~~

Harry will always be remembered for the words with which he opened this chapter. "... politicians who took us to war should have been given guns and told to settle their differences themselves, instead of organising nothing better than legalized mass murder." This chapter takes us from the wars to when Harry reached his centenary. He tells of the trials and tribulations, the loss of his sons and dear wife Ada and how he came to live at Fletcher House for the rest of his life.

~~~LIFE BEGINS AT 100~~~

This is the chapter of Harry's life when he laid many a ghost to rest. Until then, he had tried to bury memories of the Great war and never mentioned his part in it to a living soul. He tells of his journey back to Ypres and feelings of that emotional venture. The number of people who had fought in that war were rapidly dwindling and Harry became the last fighting Tommy in the trenches.

~~~EPILOGUE~~~

In this final chapter, Richard Van Emden talked to some of Harry's many friends and the few remaining members of his family and records their personal thoughts and memories of Harry.

*******Summary*****

I found this book very difficult to put down once I had started reading it. Some might say, because I knew him and wanted to know him better, but that aside, the book was well written, easy to follow, full of humorous tales and gives a forthright picture of experiences in the trenches of the Great War.
Harry has now walked into the history books. He will be remembered long after we and future generations are forgotten. An ordinary soldier became an extraordinary man.

Summary: It takes a special kind of courage to relive the horrors of the trenches so that others may learn