Raymond Abescat (10 September 1891 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

– 25 August 2001 in

Rueil-Malmaison Rueil-Malmaison () or simply Rueil is a Communes of France, commune in the western suburbs of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department, Île-de-France Regions of France, region. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is ...

) was one of the last surviving veterans of

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 ...

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 ...

, its oldest living man and its oldest living veteran when he died aged 109 years, 349 days.

Life

Abescat joined the military in October 1912 and spent seven years with an infantry regiment. Immediately following the French declaration of war, his unit was mobilized and sent to the Belgian frontier to await the German advance. During their first engagement his company lost all but 80 soldiers, and most of those were injured. Abescat was slightly injured in that fight. In 1916, he was seriously wounded near

Verdun Verdun ( , ; ; ; official name before 1970: Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city in the Meuse (department), Meuse departments of France, department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. In 843, the Treaty of V ...

, where fighting cost the lives of 250,000 French and German soldiers. His leg was amputated late in life, in part due to his old war wound. To his dying day, he kept several small shell fragments that had been taken from his leg in 1916. After the war, Abescat joined a state financing agency where he worked until his retirement in 1957. His memory was very clear until the end of his life. As such he was interviewed several times. Segments of his recollections appear in several documentaries. In one he recounts visiting the Exposition Universelle of 1900. Abescat became the oldest living French man upon the death of 110-year-old Alexis Daigneau on 3 April 2001. He died on 25 August 2001, just 16 days before his 110th birthday, and was succeeded as the oldest living French man by 109-year-old Polish-born Joseph Rabenda.

References

* * 1891 births 2001 deaths French men centenarians French military personnel of World War I French amputees French Army soldiers Military personnel from Paris {{France-mil-bio-stub