Fernand Goux (31 December 1899 – 9 November 2008) was, at age 108, the penultimate
French World War I
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 ...
veteran, with Pierre Picault being the last.
[ "On a retrouvé un soldat de 1918 vivant". '' Ouest-France'' (19 June 2008).]
Born in
Sceaux-du-Gâtinais,
Loiret, Goux was called up for service on 19 April 1918.
[ Goux was deployed behind the front lines with the 85th Infantry Regiment, supplying the troops and burying the dead.][ On 3 November 1918, he was sent to the front line with the 82nd Infantry Regiment for the last week of the war.][ This made him one of two remaining trench veterans, along with Englishman Harry Patch.
However the French government did not recognize Goux as a '' poilu'' as he fought less than the requisite three months. The last official veteran thus remains Italian-born Lazare Ponticelli, who was buried with state honours on 17 March 2008, with Louis de Cazenave the last recognized native Frenchman to have served. After the war Goux worked as a farmer and he lived in the ]ÃŽle-de-France
The ÃŽle-de-France (; ; ) is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France, with an official estimated population of 12,271,794 residents on 1 January 2023. Centered on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the cou ...
region.Le dernier Poilu de 14-18 n'est pas mort
See also
* List of last surviving World War I veterans by country
References
1899 births
2008 deaths
French men centenarians
French military personnel of World War I
People from Loiret
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