Claude Choules
| Claude Choules | |
|---|---|
Chief Petty Officer Claude Choules c. 1936
|
|
| Born |
3 March 1901 Pershore, Worcestershire |
| Died | 5 May 2011 (aged 110 years, 63 days) Perth, Western Australia |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom Australia |
| Service/branch |
Royal Navy (1915–26) Royal Australian Navy (1926–56) |
| Years of service | 1915–1956 |
| Rank | Chief Petty Officer |
| Commands held | Acting Torpedo Officer, HMAS Leeuwin Chief Demolition Officer, HMAS Leeuwin |
| Battles/wars |
First World War Second World War |
Claude Stanley Choules (/ˈʃuːlz/; 3 March 1901 – 5 May 2011) was an English Australian who was the last surviving combat veteran of the First World War, and the last surviving military witness to the scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow. He was also the last surviving veteran to have served in both world wars, and the last surviving seaman from the First World War. At the time of his death, he was also 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 in Perth, Western Australia, at the age of 110. He had been the oldest British-born man; following his death, that honour went to the Reverend Reginald Dean (1902–2013). In December 2011, the landing ship HMAS Choules was named after him, only the second Royal Australian Navy vessel named after a sailor.
Claude Choules was born in Pershore,Worcestershire, on 3 March 1901 and raised in nearby Wyre Piddle. The son of Harry and Madeline (née Winn), Claude was one of seven children, although two died in early childhood. The surviving siblings were Douglas, Leslie, Phyllis and Gwendoline. 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. 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. Claude and his older brothers went to Pershore National Boys' School, though Douglas (born 1893) and Leslie (born 1894) emigrated to Western Australia in 1911.
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