Marcel Caux (1 March 1899 – 22 August 2004), born Harold Katte, was an Australian

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 ...

veteran and the last known survivor of the

Battle of Pozières The Battle of Pozières (23 July – 3 September 1916) took place in northern France around the village of Pozières, during the Battle of the Somme. The costly fighting ended with the British in possession of the plateau north and east of the ...

Military service

Lying about his age, he enlisted on 6 September 1915, aged 16, and on 20 January 1916 embarked for

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

aboard HMAT ''Runic'' with the 9th Reinforcements of the 17th Battalion,

Australian 2nd Division The 2nd Division of the Australian Army, also known as the 2nd (Australian) Division, commands all the Reserve brigades in Australia. These are the 4th in Victoria and Tasmania, the 5th in New South Wales, the 11th in Queensland, the 13th in ...

. He was transferred to the 20th Battalion with which he fought in the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

. He was wounded in the left ankle during the Battle of Pozières in 1916. He was absent without leave on two occasions. He was wounded twice more, eventually being hurt so badly in 1918 that he was unable to bend his left leg for the rest of his life. He returned to Australia on 16 March 1919. After the war he was refused an invalid

pension A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a " defined benefit plan", wh ...

, because the

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

insisted that if he could stand up, he did not need one. Disillusioned with the army over this experience, he tore up all of his army photographs, moved into the

Australian bush "The bush" is a term mostly used in the English vernacular of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, where it is largely synonymous with hinterlands or backwoods. The fauna and flora contained within the bush is typically native to the regi ...

and became a

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenter ...

. He claimed until 1998 that he had been wounded in 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 ...

, refusing to acknowledge his service during the First World War. He married Doris and they had one son named Marcus, but never told them about his past.

Honours

His secret was discovered in 1998, when he was made a ''Chevalier'' (Knight) of the ''

Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

'' by the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

government. After this he was able to come to terms with his past and began attending

Anzac Day Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia, New Zealand and Tonga that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and ...

ceremonies. The

centenarian A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100. Because life expectancies at birth worldwide are well below 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. The United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living centenarian ...

Caux spent his final days in a nursing home in Chatswood, a suburb of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. He remained opposed until he died to Australian involvement in foreign wars, in particular the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He died peacefully in his sleep. In 2007, it was revealed that Marcel had led a complex and deceptive life. Allegations were made that he deserted his first wife, then married again without a proper divorce."Au revoir, Marcel"
''Sydney Morning Herald'', 28 August 2004

Death

Following Caux's death there were only four surviving Australian veterans of the First World War.

Honours and awards

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 ...

* Victory Medal * 80th Anniversary Armistice Remembrance Medal (awarded on 21 April 1999) *

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 ...

(awarded on 1 January 2002) * ''Chevalier'' (Knight) of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(awarded on 4 July 1998)

References

External links

AIF Project entry for Caux/Katte

National Archives of Australia
Service records for Pvt H. Katte (aka M. Caux) Regt Number 3863.
Australian Light Horse Studies Centre
Transporting the

1st AIF The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during the First World War. It was formed as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) following Britain's declaration of war on Germany on 15 Aug ...

. 1899 births 2004 deaths Australian men centenarians Australian military personnel of World War I Australian soldiers Knights of the Legion of Honour Australian carpenters {{Australia-mil-bio-stub