Claude Stanley Choules (; 3 March 1901 – 5 May 2011) was a British-born military serviceman from

Pershore Pershore () is a market town and civil parish in the Wychavon district in Worcestershire, England, on the banks of the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. At the 2011 UK census, census, the population was 7,125. The town is best known for Per ...

, Worcestershire, who at the time of his death was the oldest combat

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in an job, occupation or Craft, field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in the military, armed forces. A topic o ...

of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

from England, having served with the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

from 1915 until 1926. After having emigrated to Australia he served with the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...

, from 1926 until 1956, as a

chief petty officer A chief petty officer (CPO) is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards, usually above petty officer. By country Australia "Chief Petty Officer" is the second highest non-commissioned rank in the Royal Australian Navy ...

and was a naturalised Australian citizen. He was the last surviving military witness to the

scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow On 21 June 1919, shortly after the end of the First World War, the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet was Scuttling, scuttled by its sailors while held off the harbour of the British Royal Navy base at Scapa Flow, in the Orkney Islands of ...

in 1919 and the last surviving veteran to have served in both

world war A world war is an international War, conflict that involves most or all of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World War I ...

s. At the time of his death, he was the third-oldest verified military veteran in the world and the oldest known living man in Australia. He was the seventh-oldest living man in the world. Choules became the oldest man born in the United Kingdom following the death of Stanley Lucas on 21 June 2010. Choules died at the age of 110 years and 63 days. He had been the oldest British-born man; following his death, that honour went to Reverend Reginald Dean. In December 2011, the landing ship was named after him, only the second Royal Australian Navy vessel named after a sailor.

Early life

Claude Choules was born in Bridge Street,

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

, on 3 March 1901 and raised in the nearby village of

Wyre Piddle Wyre Piddle is a village and civil parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, England. It is on the River Avon, near where that river is joined by the Piddle Brook - between Evesham and Pershore. History Two archaeological excava ...

. The son of Harry and Madeline (née Winn, known as Madge), Claude was one of seven children, although two died in early childhood. The surviving siblings were Douglas (born 1893), Henry Leslie (known as Leslie, born 1894), Phyllis (born 1899) and Madge Gwendoline (known as Gwendoline, born 1904). His mother left home when Claude was five, returning to the stage as an actress, and he and his older brothers were raised by his father. At the time of his mother's departure from the family, Claude was told that she had died and he never saw her again. His older sister Phyllis lived with the family of a paternal uncle, while his younger sister Gwendoline was adopted by the family of a paternal aunt, who lived in

Pewsey Pewsey is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish at the centre of the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire, about south of Marlborough, Wiltshire, Marlborough and west of London. It is within reach of the M4 motorway and the A303 and i ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

. Claude and his older brothers went to Pershore National Boys' School, though Douglas and Les emigrated to Western Australia in 1911. Choules was 13 on the outbreak of the First World War, and the family received letters from Douglas and Leslie who had joined the Australian Imperial Force and landed at Anzac Cove during the Gallipoli Campaign. Choules was able to leave school when he turned 14, at which point he attempted to enlist in the army as a bugler boy but was rejected as he was too young.

Naval training

Choules's father then arranged for him to train to join the navy instead, and in April 1915, at age 14, he joined the nautical training ship TS ''Mercury''. This training ship was moored on the

River Hamble The River Hamble in south Hampshire, England, source (river), rises near Bishop's Waltham and flows for through Botley, Hampshire, Botley, Bursledon, and Lower Swanwick before entering Southampton Water between Hamble Common and Warsash. The ...

, near Southampton, Hampshire, and had a dormitory ship called HMS ''President'' that had previously been . The commander of the ''Mercury'' training site was the cricketer C. B. Fry, and Choules's time there included trips to

Netley Hospital The Royal Victoria Hospital or Netley Hospital was a large British Military Hospital, military hospital in Netley, near Southampton, Hampshire, England. Construction started in 1856 at the suggestion of Queen Victoria but its design caused some ...

as part of the ''Mercury''s dancing team. The examinations taken by Choules following his training on the ''Mercury'' qualified him to attend the advanced class on the naval training ship HMS ''Impregnable'' situated at the

Devonport naval base Devonport Naval Base is the home of the Royal New Zealand Navy, located at Devonport, New Zealand on Auckland's North Shore, New Zealand, North Shore. It is currently the only base of the navy that operates ships, and has been in use as a n ...

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

. Choules transferred there on 10 October 1916, for what was to be the final stage of his training before joining the Royal Navy's

Grand Fleet The Grand Fleet was the main battlefleet of the Royal Navy during the First World War. It was established in August 1914 and disbanded in April 1919. Its main base was Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. History Formed in August 1914 from th ...

Naval service

On 20 October 1917 Choules joined the

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

, which was the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

of the First Battle Squadron stationed at

Scapa Flow Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and Hoy. Its sheltered waters have played an impor ...

in the

Orkney Islands Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland ...

. While serving aboard, Choules saw action against German

zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp. 155� ...

s, and witnessed the surrender of the

German Imperial Navy The Imperial German Navy or the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial Navy) was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly f ...

at the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is a firth in Scotland, an inlet of the North Sea that separates Fife to its north and Lothian to its south. Further inland, it becomes the estuary of the River Forth and several other rivers. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate ...

in 1918, ten days after the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...

, as well as witnessing the

. In 1926, along with 11 other Royal Navy senior sailors, Choules travelled to Australia on loan as an instructor at Flinders Naval Depot. He travelled aboard on a six-week voyage from London to Melbourne, and it was on this voyage that he met his future wife Ethel Wildgoose, who was travelling to Australia to work for the

Victoria League The Victoria League for Commonwealth Friendship (1901–present) is a voluntary charitable organisation that connects people from Commonwealth countries. There are currently branches in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand with affiliated organisatio ...

. Choules decided to transfer permanently to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) after sampling and agreeing with the Australian way of life. He took his discharge from the RAN in 1931, but remained in the reserves and rejoined the RAN in 1932 as a chief petty officer torpedo and anti-submarine instructor. He never returned to England after leaving. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Choules was the acting Torpedo Officer at HMAS ''Leeuwin'', the naval base at

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

, Western Australia, and also served as the Chief Demolition Officer on the western side of the Australian continent. He was tasked with sabotaging Fremantle harbours and related oil storage tanks in the event of a Japanese invasion. Choules was also responsible for dealing with the first German mine to wash up on Australian soil during the war, near

Esperance, Western Australia Esperance () is a town in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, on the Southern Ocean coastline approximately east-southeast of the state capital, Perth and south of Kalgoorlie. The urban population of Esperance was 12,003 ...

. Choules remained in the RAN after the Second World War and transferred to the Naval Dockyard Police (NDP) to allow him to remain in service until 1956, as retirement from the RAN for ratings in those days was at age 50, while personnel could serve until 55 years old in the NDP.

Personal life

Choules and his wife Ethel were married for 76 years, until her death in 2003 at the age 98. Choules shunned celebrations of the Armistice, because he was against the glorification of war. His autobiography ''

The Last of the Last ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' was first published in Perth in 2009, followed by an annotated edition for UK readers in 2010. On 6 August 2009, although almost blind and deaf, he was still mentally active and gave a television interview. In late April 2010, Choules's daughter Daphne Choules-Edinger reported that his health was declining and he was unlikely to give any further interviews. He celebrated his 110th birthday in March 2011. In the final years of his life, he resided at Gracewood Hostel in

Salter Point Salter may refer to: * Salter (surname) *Salter (trap) *Salter Brecknell, a manufacturer of light commercial weighing scales, part of Avery Weigh-Tronix *Salter Housewares, a manufacturer of consumer weighing scales * Salters Steamers, a boating ...

, a suburb of

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Media appearances

Claude Choules appeared in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

documentaries '' The Last Tommy'' (2005) and ''

Harry Patch Henry John Patch (17 June 1898 – 25 July 2009), dubbed in his later years "the Last Fighting Tommy", was an English supercentenarian, briefly the oldest man in Europe, and the world's last surviving trench combat soldier of the First World ...

– The Last Tommy'' (2009). After his death,

Australian Prime Minister The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister is the chair of the Cabinet of Australia and thus the head of the federal executive government. Under the principles of responsibl ...

Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013. She held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously served as the ...

stated, "Mr Choules and his generation made a sacrifice for our freedom and liberty we will never forget".

Death and funeral

Choules died on 5 May 2011. He was survived by three children, 11 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren. He was given a naval funeral in Fremantle, Western Australia on 20 May 2011. Guests included the West Australian Premier

Colin Barnett Colin James Barnett (born 15 July 1950) is an Australian former politician who was the 29th Premier of Western Australia. He concurrently served as the state's Treasurer at several points during his tenure and had previously held various other ...

, state

Opposition Leader The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

Eric Ripper Eric Stephen Ripper (born 13 September 1951) is an Australian former politician. From 2008 to 2012 he was Leader of the Opposition and leader of the Labor Party in Western Australia. He grew up on a wheat/sheep farm near Nyabing. Ripper late ...

and federal

Defence Minister A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

Stephen Smith, who gave a reading during the service. Choules's son Adrian gave the eulogy. On 13 December 2011, the former

Royal Fleet Auxiliary The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service and provides logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The RF ...

landing ship was commissioned into the

as . The decision to name the ship after Claude Choules came about because of his status as the last surviving veteran of World War I; the naming recognises the service of enlisted sailors as part of celebrations of the navy's centenary (the ship is only the second vessel named after a sailor), and also acknowledges the ship's previous service under British control (Choules served in both the Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy during his career). Choules was the last surviving male veteran of World War I and the last surviving veteran who saw active service. His death left Florence Green (19 February 1901 – 4 February 2012) as the last surviving veteran.

Legacy

On 10 April 2014, after a campaign by a distant relative, the

Town Council agreed to honour Choules by naming a street ("Choules Close") after him, in recognition of the fact that he was born in Bridge Street in the centre of the town.

Awards

In November 2009, Choules became the oldest recipient of the Australian Defence Medal. (The medal was established in 2006 to recognise members of the

Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the Armed forces, military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia and its national interests. It consists of three branches: the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army and the Royal Aus ...

who have served for more than four years after 3 September 1945).Australian Government, ''Defence Honours and Awards'', Issue 9 (April 2010) and Issue 12 (April 2012). He was also awarded the

British War Medal The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men and women of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were st ...

1914–18, the Victory Medal 1914–18, the War Medal 1939–45, the

Australia Service Medal 1939–45 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It has a total area of , making it the sixth-largest country in ...

, the

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal () is a commemorative medal instituted to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953. Award This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir from the Queen to members of the Royal Family ...

, the

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or g ...

and the Royal Navy Long Service and Good Conduct Medal with Clasp.Choules's medals.
Photo taken prior to addition of Australian Defence Medal. Copyright REUTERS

Notes

References

External links

Imperial War Museum InterviewWWI veteran Claude has a 108th birthday dateView the Royal Navy service record (1916–1926) of Claude Choules Catalogue entry
UK National Archives
Five videos
2009 interview with of Claude Choules, ITV News

5 May 2011, ABC *Copyright photos:
Claude Choules receiving the Australian Defence Medal
**At Monument Hill War Memorial in Fremantle
Claude and family
http://www.hmascanberra.com/media/Claude%20at%20Memorial.jpg Claude]
An active Claude at 105

100-year-old Claude with his wife Ethel, 97, celebrating their 75th wedding anniversary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Choules, Claude 1901 births 2011 deaths Australian supercentenarians Australian men centenarians British supercentenarians British emigrants to Australia Naturalised citizens of Australia People from Pershore Military personnel from Perth, Western Australia Royal Australian Navy personnel of World War II Royal Australian Navy sailors Royal Navy personnel of World War I Royal Navy sailors Men supercentenarians Military personnel from Worcestershire British men centenarians