The Last Fighting Tommy
Last year, I bought a book called The Last Fighting Tommy: The Life of Harry Patch, the Only Surviving Veteran of the Trenches, and promptly placed it in my TBR pile. For one reason or another, it didn’t make its way across to being actively read until this week.
And that’s a shame.
Harry Patch — now 110 and counting [update: Harry died age 111 on 25th July 2009] — is the last surviving British soldier to have fought in the trenches of the first world war. To many of us now, the Second World War is remote history, known only from film cliche, and not from any real experience, even if you have a family connection that is remembered. The First World War is considerably more remote — virtually beyond living memory.
For a book called ‘The Last Fighting Tommy’, I would maybe have expected the book to focus very much on life in the trenches, the suffering and bravers of the ordinary soldiers, and so on. The beauty of Harry’s book is that it doesn’t just do that.
It’s basically the story of his life, not just the first world war, and so in many ways it provides a snapshot of what life was like ‘back then’: what kids got up to, what school was like and so on. There was certainly a lot more ‘discipline’ (of the physical kind) at school, people would let their kids wander off and play in caves in quarries, and children would fire catapults trying to hit bats living in the caves. The past surely is a different country.
Obviously there is a lot about the First World War, some of which may well be different to your preconceptions of it some ninety years later…
We heard rumours, for example, that people in the towns were being given white feathers to embarrass them into joining up, casting aspersions on their manhood if they didn’t. I didn’t see anyone receive one, and no-one tried to hand me one eitherHarry Patch
However, when Harry reached 18, he was soon called up… and qualified as a marksman, not only earning a little extra pay but ending up as the No. 2 for a Lewis Gun team. At this point in the book, Harry’s story is now and again interrupted by other text, setting the scene and giving a more overall view so that it is easier to slot Harry’s memories into the overall context of the war.
You can’t really appreciate what it must have been like to go through simply from reading about it: despite listening to Harry’s stating that there was no sanitation, no clean clothes, sinking into mud, filth, the inevitable rats, how lousy the whole thing was (in terms of both lice and unpleasantness), and boredom interspersed with not knowing whether you would be alive to see the sun set, it’s difficult to actually truly understand the conditions. But sometimes the anecdotes can be very vivid:
We came across a lad from A Company. He was ripped open from his shoulder to his waist by shrapnel, and lying in a pool of blood. When we got to him, he looked at us and said, “Shoot me”. He was beyond all human help, and before we could draw a revolver he was deadHarry Patch
Harry was wounded, and sent home to recover, but before he could return to active service the war ended. He returned to his previous career — plumbing — and was improving his status in his chosen profession, and briging up his family, and then the Second World War broke out, during which time Harry served in Britain in the AFS.
We dealt with fires all night as best we could until around 9 a.m. We were just damping down smouldering houses when a warden came along and said that we’d parked our pump across an unexploded bomb. We had no idea. When we bent down, we could see the bomb lying on the road: in the dark we’d almost driven right over the top of itHarry Patch
As a piece of history, viewed through the memories of one man, you get a astonishing picture of what life was like ‘back then’, and not just through the impersonal means of reading a history book: you’re reading about the life of one man, and his memories.
Of course, memories can be fallible, and while I don’t wish to be cynical or disrespectful to Harry, but he is almost always presented in a favourable light in the book. That’s not to say he’s being deliberately misleading, but maybe over the passage of time, some memories have been twisted more towards what he would like to have happened.
Maybe this is just 21st Century Cynicism™, but when Harry is almost always unfailingly painted in a good light — taking a more risky shot to injure an enemy soldier rather than kill him; being elsewhere when his squad have a mini-mutiny; uncovering a scam that was costing his employers money; being sceptical that Chamberlain’s ‘piece of paper’ would work and so on, you start to wonder whether all of these can possibly be correct. If they are, then Harry is even more of an extraordinary man, and deserves my apology.
But it may be the editing: when quoted elsewhere, Harry can be disarmingly honest. For example, in reference to the German soldier he deliberately injured:
Now, six weeks after that, a fellow countryman of his pulled the lever of the gun that fired the rocket that killed my three mates, and wounded me. If I had met that German soldier after my three mates had been killed, I’d have no trouble at all in killing him.BBC History: The Last Tommy Gallery
Now that’s honesty for you. Not always portraying himself in the best light. This book maybe suffers a little from pro-Harry editing which — until I encountered that other source — gave me the impression that maybe Harry’s memories were ‘edited’. But they obviously weren’t: it was the book which was edited — and I think inccorectly so. Harry’s warts-annd-all experiences and thoughts would have told the story better.
But none of this detracts from the story, from the social commentary. For example, the attitude to Black GIs was something that I’d heard of before…
…the warmth and friendliness of British people for Black American GI’s caused the American Military to insist that certain restaurants, hotels in pubs impose a colour bar. In Manchester a number of pubs retaliated by imposing a colour bar of their own, allowing ONLY Black GI’s into their establishments.phrases.org.uk
…but it’s still surprising to hear the differences between the way the British looked upon the black American GIs, and the way the white American GIs looked on them.
One thing I noticed straightaway was that none of the black and white GIs shared a tent. Nor would they walk down the street together. It was very marked that the whites couldn’t stand the blacks. I didn’t know why. I was surprised at the antagonism; in fact, I got on very well with the black troops, not least because I found them better behavedHarry Patch
Harry Patch’s memoirs are fascinating: not simply as a record of what it was like to serve in the First World War (as well as being badly injured and having your mates killed around you) but also in reflecting what society was like in South West England from 1900. It’s a war memoir, but it’s far from being just a war memoir — Harry’s time in the army covers only about 40% of the book.
I’ll leave the last word to Harry, though. I think he deserves it.
They will have written their pieces in the papers for when I finally go; the last trench fighter has to be newsworthy. [...] Well, if they have written the obituary, all I can say is that I hope to live long enough that they will have to update it, and more than once! Then I can fade away. Isn’t that what old soldiers are meant to do?Harry Patch
Gary Miller says:
March 26th, 2009 at 8:22 am
Must read that.
“Lest we forget”
Mally says:
March 9th, 2010 at 10:32 am
I’ve read the book and can well recommend it.
1234test.com says:
August 31st, 2011 at 3:10 am
Blogging For Fun and Education…
…Having good skills you can successfully do at many more jobs while making less mistakes doing it.[...]…
garment daily business reports says:
September 9th, 2011 at 5:00 pm
Superb website…
[...]always a big fan of linking to bloggers that I love but don’t get a lot of link love from[...]……
penny auctions forum says:
September 20th, 2011 at 9:33 am
Penny Auction Forum…
[...]]Having the right knowledge you can do quality work at at a lot of jobs and doing almost no mistakes.[...]…
test says:
September 20th, 2011 at 5:41 pm
What’s The Big Deal…
[...]If you are conscious when working at your projects you will do more than if you have no ideas..[...]…
phentermine says:
September 22nd, 2011 at 6:15 pm
Blogging About No Prescription Drugs…
[...]We are absolutely sure that right knowledge can be very important when having no experience with some kind of work and even more it if is important to us.[...]…
Woman faces prison in LA celebrity burglary ring | Beach Travel Topics says:
September 25th, 2011 at 7:40 am
[...] geographic patrick swayze apartments apartments route 66 cindy crawford lynyrd skynyrd Tagged with: e entertainment television • lindsay lohan and [...]
bedroom furniture sets says:
September 26th, 2011 at 10:29 pm
Find Minerals Makeup…
…When you are aware what is your job you will be more successful than when you have no ideas…..
portrait painting from photo says:
October 4th, 2011 at 10:33 am
New Ideas On How To Lose Weight…
[...]This is a new website on this topic. You can see more about it on the site[...]…
painted from USA says:
October 27th, 2011 at 6:59 pm
How To Discover The Best Paintings…
[...]If you are conscious when working at your projects you will do more than if you have no ideas..[...]…
zbiddy review says:
October 31st, 2011 at 8:26 pm
Great website…
Cool post, I really enjoyed reading it. I will check out your site for some more content on this subject….
plastic surgery internet marketing says:
November 4th, 2011 at 5:54 am
How To Market Plastic Surgery Online…
[...]We are absolutely sure that right knowledge can be very important when having no experience with some kind of work and even more it if is important to us.[...]…
Louisville plastic surgery marketing says:
November 6th, 2011 at 10:54 pm
How To Market your Plastic Surgery…
[...]It’s a known truth that right knowledge can be very important when we are doing something new and especially if it is something very important…..
dining solutions direct says:
November 8th, 2011 at 10:40 pm
Where To Eat Well…
[...]If you know what is your job you can be a lot more successful than when you have no skills..[...]…
tesla secrets says:
November 24th, 2011 at 10:32 pm
Recommended websites…
Amazing blog! Thanks for the great contribution with this post….
house prices information says:
November 28th, 2011 at 11:19 pm
Looking For House Prices…
…With the right knowledge and experience, which are crucial to make you happy in any area of life….
bvlgari 8025 says:
December 6th, 2011 at 1:09 am
Where To Find Carrera Sunglasses…
[...]It’s great that individuals even now know quite a bit about point like that. It’s superior to understand a lot of people nevertheless care about this[...]…
Latin Introduction Agency says:
December 18th, 2011 at 9:14 pm
Source Of Latin Dating Advice…
[...]Writing about a topic like this can be very difficult. You can find out far more about this topic[...]…
fb siphon|fb says:
December 28th, 2011 at 1:55 pm
Is The Quick Cash Concept Dead?…
[...]Awesome info that I’ve been seeking for some time! Maintain up using the superior writing.[...]…
challenge coins says:
January 2nd, 2012 at 7:29 pm
Get Challenge Coins Online…
[...]I think it’s really critical that more folks know about this. It really is great to know a number of people even now care about this[...]…
Atlanta Roofing says:
January 10th, 2012 at 11:15 pm
How To Find Roofing Sellers In Atlanta…
[...]It’s great that individuals nonetheless know quite a bit about thing like that. I got some fascinating strategies from this[...]…
Absolute Rights says:
January 24th, 2012 at 4:39 pm
Is China Ever going To Be Free…
[...]Writing about a subject like this is pretty difficult. You can find out much more about this topic[...]…
discount perfume says:
February 4th, 2012 at 3:59 am
Does Smell Matter?…
[...]To have good skills you can be good at many more things while making less mistakes doing it..[...]…
luxus.co.il says:
February 9th, 2012 at 12:52 pm
Taking Your Life with The Full Spoon…
[...]It’s great that individuals nonetheless know quite a bit about thing like that. I got some fascinating strategies from this[...]…
India travel says:
February 17th, 2012 at 7:41 pm
Things You Have To See In India…
[...]Awesome data that I’ve been seeking for some time! Hold up with the superior writing.[...]…
ghost hunt says:
March 30th, 2012 at 4:01 pm
Getting Rid Of Ghosts…
[...]Writing about a topic like that is pretty challenging. I will check out your web-site in the future.[...]…
Vitamix Promotion Code says:
April 1st, 2012 at 8:34 am
Vitamix Promotion Code…
[...]Fantastic points altogether, you just received a new reader. What could you suggest in regards to your post that you simply made some days in the past? Any positive?[...]…
2012 Spring Shoes says:
April 11th, 2012 at 9:39 pm
Shoes That Will Make You Look Great In spring…
[...]Awesome data that I’ve been looking for for some time! I’ll check your website inside the long term.[...]…
Micheal says:
September 5th, 2012 at 2:18 am
Insights like this liven thnigs up around here.