Harry Patch, known as the “Last Fighting Tommy” died on Saturday, July 25th. He certainly had a good innings – Harry had just celebrated his 111th birthday on June 17.

Verified as the third-oldest man in Europe, Harry Patch was also the last surviving British soldier to have fought in the trenches of World War I.   During his lifetime,  he saw in two centuries, the reign of six monarchs and the governance of  twenty prime ministers.

Harry Patch’s biography, The Last Fighting Tommy: The Life of Harry Patch, the Only Surviving Veteran of the Trenches, written with Richard Van Emden,  has been on Amazon.co.uk’s top 100 history bestsellers for the past 364 days.

Harry Patch in 2007:

Biographer Richard Van Emden speaks about The Last Fighting Tommy: