Last Post: The Final Word From Our First World War Soldiers

by Max Arthur

LAST POST is very consciously the last word from the handful of First World War survivors who were left alive in 2004. Now they have passed away, our final human connection with the First World War has been broken.

Max Arthur, a skilled interviewer, took the very last chance we had to ask questions of those who were there.

Now updated to include a new introduction by the author for the centenary of the First World War.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, War, World War I, Military History, Military Fiction, Biography

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Max Arthur is an author who specialises in first-hand recollections of historical events. He has worked closely with the Imperial War Museum to bring together two books in the Forgotten Voices series, Forgotten Voices of the Great War and Forgotten Voices of the Second World War. Prior to becoming a writer, he served with the Royal Air Force and for some years was an actor.

Reviews

[Jeslyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank goodness for authors such as Max Arthur (and Lyn MacDonald, among others), who succeeded in obtaining oral histories from WWI veterans, individuals who usually were understandably unwilling to talk about their experiences. In Last Post, Arthur interviews all of his subjects when they are past their century mark - in fact, these were the final 21 British veterans of WWI; all have since passed away, Harry Patch being the last in July 2009, just days after the oldest, Henry Allingham, at 113 years old.

These interviews are conducted as an arc, not simply "what happened in the war?", and the memories of these men are far clearer than one might expect, given their age. They describe their childhoods, family life, and the years before the war as clearly as they do the years after - meeting and marrying spouses, raising children, employment, etc. For me, it made their accounts of wartime experience all the more poignant, as it is clear that they remember those years as vividly, years most would prefer to forget.

The interviews convey grace, dignity, and a remembrance of beloved friends who didn't come back that hasn't dimmed in the near-century of separation. The photographs are wonderful as well, as they are testimony to the care provided by family, careworkers and others - these men do not appear physically neglected, but respectfully cared for.

In particular, several of the veterans commented on the "secret" of how they lived so long, and how they "moved past" the war; it is sound advice for all of us, whatever our difficulties. Alfred Anderson is quoted:

"But I didn't want to go over those old memories. It's over - it's passed. If I dwelled on what happened during those terrible times, I would never have lived to see the age I am now. I've tried to put all those thoughts behind me. I've no wish to revive them. But what I saw and went through still affects me, even to this day...It doesn't do to look back. We lived for each day during the war - and even at my age, now, I do the same thing. I'm still looking forward. I'm more interested in what's happening now."

A wise balance between remembering, but not dwelling on, difficult times.

I specifically chose to read this before this centennial began, and it was good to read about the full arc of their life and see that they indeed had full lives, that the war didn't rob them of happiness for the rest of their lives.

[Siobhan Logan · Rating 5 out of 5]

As part of a writing project, I have been immersed recently in research about the First World War. It's a dark place to go at the best of times. I was especially moved and frankly disturbed by the testimony of survivors of the trenches who in their final years tried to voice the terrible experiences of their youth. 'Last Post', edited by Max Arthur, brought together interviews with 21 of the last British veterans back in 2005. By now, only their words remain. A good third of these veterans were Boy Soldiers, amongst the 250,000 recruited during Kitchener's campaign. This summer I was watching the same generation on TV recounting how they came to be caught up in the 'Pals Regiments' of that war. Raw, heartbreaking accounts of the friends they lost, of the wounded, of the 'wall of bullets whizzing by' as they stumbled over the top.

A hundred years ago our politicians and generals declared war, along with their counterparts in Europe. As summer waned, they marshalled music-hall acts and sportsmen, viscounts and ministers, editors and poster-makers, to bang the war drums. Arthur's elderly Tommies recalled all of those scenes in the early months of war. How recruiting sergeants and well-heeled women handed out white feathers and reeled in the young men. They promised 'see the world' and 'home by Christmas'. They said they'd 'make a man out of you.' They shamed and applauded and corralled a generation of youngsters into the Recruitment Office. 'You're just the Boys we wanted', said the Sargeant as they arrived. They openly signed up children who 'lied' about their age. (The youngest in this country was twelve.) 'I thought I was a big man,' said William Roberts who joined up at 17, 'but I got a shock.'

The Army sent Our Boys to the Front often on cattle trains 'with a little straw on the floor'. They shovelled them into trenches to crouch and sleep where they could; up to their knees in water, under shell-fire, often with little to eat, for days or weeks at a time. The war broke men into pieces but the Army patched them up in military hospitals and sent them back. They didn't only shoot the enemy. They shot men, and children too, at dawn when they fell apart. 'Age no excuse'. 'Shell-shock' something that only happened to officers. Cecil Withers, one of those Boy Soldiers who enlisted at 17, said: 'Our people treated us like dogs. They were cruel bastards compared with the Germans.'

The undoubted bravery of those who enlisted and their comradeship and lifelong friendships were smothered under horror. Men were left crying for help in all languages in No Man's Land. Veterans' descriptions of those scenes will stay with me a long time. And the living too eaten by rats and cockroaches and the inescapable lice. Harry Patch describes how the men clung together and depended on each other:

'I mean, these boys were with you night and day … we belonged to each other. We were a little team together and those men … carrying the ammunition got blown to pieces. It was like losing part of my life. It upset me more than anything.'

The Armies of this 'Great War' invented new weapons and these boys and men on both sides were guinea-pigs for a new technology of killing. Green poison gas. Aerial bombardment. Tanks. The modern age speeded-up even as the war trapped combatants in holes in the ground. Another survivor, Albert Finnegan, decided after the war never to have children, 'I was not prepared to produce cannon fodder for the army, not fodder for industry.'

In 2014 David Cameron's Letter to the Unknown Soldier in Paddington Station claimed: '… our world would have been far darker if you had declined the call to act. Without your service, our security, our values, our very way of life would have been lost.' http://www.1418now.org.uk/letter/new-...

How could any imagined apocalypse be darker than this? 16 million dead in 4 years. The searingly honest accounts in Max Arthur's collection of interviews belie the attempts of politicians then and now to wrap the slaughter in sanctifying flags. For me the most powerful voice was that of the last man standing, Harry Patch; a veteran who spent his final years nailing what so many of the 'Last Post' Tommies spoke of as the 'idiocy' of the 'Great War':

“We've had ... years to think what war is. To me, it's a licence to go out and murder. Why should the British government call me up and take me out to a battlefield to shoot a man I never knew, whose language I couldn't speak? All those lives lost for a war finished over a table. Now what is the sense in that?"

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book I do not think many people will read but I feel that it is a book that many people need to read. We glamorize and romanticize war, this book does not do that. This is the story of normal men, who lived and saw things that normal people should not see. Many of the men speak of how they have never really spoken of what happened to them, some speak out to let the world know the truth hoping that it will be used as a warning against more wars.
A book well worth reading.

[James Tidd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Max Arthur interviewed the last twenty-one survivors from the First World War. The words of these men speak for an entire generation. It is amazing to think that within twenty years, a similar book will be needed for the last twenty-one survivors from the Second World War.

Sergeant Alfred Anderson 25/6/1896 - 21/11/2005, aged 105. 5th Battalion (TA) Black Watch
Private Albert 'Smiler' Marshall 15/3/1897 - 16/5/2005, aged 108. 1st Battalion Essex Yeomanry
Air Mechanic Henry Allingham 6/6/1896 - 18/7/2009, aged 113. Royal Naval Air Service
Private Cecil Withers 9/6/1898 - 17/4/2005, aged 106. 17th Battalion Royal Fusiliers
Gunner Alfred Finnigan 18/9/1896 - 11/5/2005, aged 108. Royal Field Artillery
Private Fred Lloyd 23/2/1898 - 28/4/2005, aged 107. Royal Field Artillery
*Private Harry Patch 17/6/1898 - 25/7/2009, aged 111. Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
Corporal William Roberts 29/9/1900 - 30/4/2006, aged 105. Royal Flying Corps
Surgeon Lieutenant Tom Kirk 13/1/1899 - 9/11/2004, aged 105. Royal Navy
Private Harold Lawton 27/7/1899 - 24/12/2005, aged 106. Cheshire Regiment attached to 4th East Yorkshire Regiment.
Private George Rice 18/6/1897 - 17/9/2005, aged 108. 1/5th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry
Private George Charles 2/10/1899 - 10/12/2004, aged 105. 7th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry
Sergeant Charles Watson 16/11/1899 - 1/1/2005, aged 105. 11 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps
Corporal John Oborne 11/5/1900 - 23/10/2004, aged 104. 4th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment
Midshipman Kenneth Cummins 6/3/1900 - 10/12/2006, aged 106. Royal Naval Reserve
Radio Operator Nicholas Swarbrick 14/11/1898 - 2/2/2006, aged 107. Merchant Navy
Private Ted Rayns 9/2/1899 - 30/12/2004, aged 105. Army Service Corps
Gunner William Elder 5/5/1897 - 22/6/2005, aged 108. Royal Garrison Artillery
Private George Hardy 2/12/1899 - 22/1/2005, aged 105. 5th Inniskilling Dragoons
Private Bert Clark 20/11/1899 - 3/6/2006, aged 106. Northamptonshire Regiment
Ordinary Seaman Stoker Bill Stone 23/9/1900 - 10/1/2009, aged 108. Royal Navy

* Harry Patch was the last of the survivors, passing away a week after Henry Allingham.

[Rabspur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Max Arthur historian has visited 21 WWi veterans all aged 100, or over, he has written their accounts of their experiences during the Great War fascinating stories from all including their lives prior to the war and post war, all were heroes in their own right, a good read and recommended.

[ღ❀ ℭaroline ❀ღ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly fascinating read, although towards the end of the book quite a few of the veterans were conscripted and by the time they had finished their training some of them never even made it into battle. If I could have met any of them it would have had to of been Smiler Marshall. His chapter was the most interesting.

I had heard that other armies notably the Russians were known for shooting their officers in battle if they were of a vindictive and nasty disposition, but I’d never heard of it happening in the British Army. This is why I felt that the statement which refers to 1918 from Cecil Withers should have been excluded... quote “I remember a major from the East Surrey Regiment... He was a rotten swine. Eventually we heard that somebody shot him. That sort of thing could happen.” unquote.

I just hope that for his descendants sake that this particular major survived, because in “Officers Died in the Great War 1914-1919,” there are only five East Surrey majors killed or died during WWI, and only 1 of them died in 1918. He had probably volunteered to fight and for their sakes that would not be a nice thing to find out.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

These stories are the lives of men who served in WWI, and who survived more than 100 years. Most are simple stories of young men who went to war for various reasons at a young age. Some of the stories are more detailed than others, but all include something about their personal lives, including what they did in WWII. Some of the men were married over 60 years and had large families although I liked the story of man who never married--and was happy about it.

One of the men who was a sailor mentioned the incident in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1917, when an ammunition ship blew up. Evidently, he believed it was due to a U-boat, but in actuality, it was due to a collision with another ship. I thought it was interesting that he was never told the truth.

It's a poignant book with one major thing in common. The men regretted the lives that were lost in a senseless war due battle and disease. They did their duty even if they were never sure why they should have been there.

[Carina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the Last Post, though some of the entries are definitely better than others. Some of these definitely show the age of the people involved there's a fair amount of casual racism in this in places, but also a lot of insight into a time long since passed.

Given we are on the brink of WW3 at the moment it's interesting that so many survivors of WW1 all agree that war is pointless. If only the people 'in charge' could see the same way.

[Mancman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was full of warmth, fascination and humanity. The recollections of the last veterans of World War I make for a wonderful read.
The memories vary in their depth and detail, which isn’t surprising, given that they’re all over a century old.
But the tales are mesmerising, and I found myself hooked in immediately,
Their take on the events they lived through shouldn’t be underestimated.

[Darla Ebert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling stories from survivors of the Great War. Each story was interesting and stirred up many feelings (for me). I would recommend it for anyone who wants more of the "inside story" from the first person accounts of the men who fought and lived to tell the tale.

[Jye Douthat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very sobering read. We’ve learnt nothing as a civilisation. These WW1 veterans would be turning in their graves looking at the state of the world and the atrocities Western governments are happy to ignore.

[Jessica Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Transcripts from interviews with the last living British veterans of WW1. Very moving, as well as a fascinating record of social history.

[ShanLouVicxo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raw emotional funny and somewhat heartwarming in places, beautifully compiled stories and stunning photographs.
I'd happily read it again and again!

[Ness · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tear jerker! Such Heroes!

[Efranken · Rating 4 out of 5]

British mystery

[Geraldine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A worthwhile read but only up to a point.

An amazing collection of transcripts with a select group of men. Men who had served in the First World War and had lived to be over a hundred, in the 21st century. The premise of the book is the most interesting thing about it.

And it is actually a gobsmacking fact. I don't think any of them would have imagined living to over a hundred years old. Think about it. When the NHS was set up in 1948, when these men were already in their 50s, little thought was given to the over-Eighties, because their numbers were negligible.

Many of these men lost siblings young, through the attrition of child mortality (I watched a programme last night which said that within a year of the NHS being set up, child mortality HALVED. Because it was awful before then, and worse in the 1890s and 1900s). Many of the men lost brothers and friends (neighbours or comrades) in the War, most of them suffered some injury. One of them survived an outbreak of meningitis that pretty much wiped out his brothers in arms before they had completed their training. Others lost family and friends in the Spanish flu. and of course many of their contemporaries who survived the War dropped through the decades in the normal ways - RTCs, heart attacks, cancer, perhaps also the blitz. But these men survived all that and more!

Most of them were on active service - on the Western Front, at sea or in the air - although towards the end of the book we have slightly younger men who had enlisted before the Armistice but didn't complete their training and weren't sent into War. So this did make me wonder why they were included but no women. Of course a much a smaller number of women were active even to the point they were permitted. But they were therefore much likelier statistically to survive the war, and, given the demographic fact that women live longer, it's a pity that the author could not have found one former VAD, ambulance driver or even a munitions worker.

It seems invidious to single out one person but I must mention Harry Patch https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_P... who in his very late years emerged as a passionate advocate for peace, and became a bit of a hero of mine (and many other people too).

The book was very worthwhile to have been produced, and, yes, it was interesting to read, not only about the War but about their lives before and after. But, ultimately, there is a limit to what can be captured in interviews, especially with very old people (although the long term memory is more reliable than the short term memory). I would recommend it to anyone who appreciated first hand accounts of the 20th Century - the People's Century. But I think I might be approaching satiation in World War 1 history for now.

[TwoDrinks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this in a holiday home that I'm staying in. Truthfully, I wasn't expecting to enjoy this at all because it's edited transcripts of the still living British WW1 soldiers and I thought it would be a bit pants. Well, it wasn't. It made a really interesting read for several reasons:
1. Some of the blokes had been at the same battles so you heard tales from several different angles
2. The difference in fortune both pre and post-war was fascinating, particularly the difference in fortune and health when it came to different classes
3. It was amazing how resourceful they were in finding work post-war. Loads of them moved about the country to find work, which was quite inspiring.
4. The pictures of the veterans were fascinating. There were only about two per person, but it's always nice to put a face to a name.

There were some wonderful quotations or interesting bits of information as well:

'I've had a unique sort of life. I've scraped the barrel and I've had the cream' - Henry Allingham
'These days if a trigger-happy politician wants to start another war, it's my job to let people know what that means. Politicians today are pitiless humbugs. What do they know? Only those who were there can tell what really happened. Tell of the suffering and misery' - Cecil Withers
'These days I've got no time for governments or politicians - or for any form of religion. None of these emerged from the Great War with flying colours. Lessons have gone unheeded and mankind keeps on repeating its mistakes ... I'd rather cut myself off from what goes on in the world today. The Firs World War was idiotic. It started out idiotic and it stayed idiotic. It was damned silly, all of it' - Alfred Finnigan
'At some point you showed your emotions. That was why our comradeship was so important, because I was scared more or less all the time I was out there' - Harry Patch
'All those lives lost for a war finished over a table. Now what is the sense in that? It's just an argument between two governments. Neither Charles [a German soldier Harry met in 2003] nor I ever want any other young man ever to go through what we did again, but still we sent our lads to war. In Iraq, our young men are being killed and told to kill.' - Harry Patch
'What would I say to an eighteen-year-old boy? I suppose I'd say, 'At work, make a good job of it and be more polite to people - have better manners.' A lot of them haven't today. I don't think they'll be wanted for a war - but if they were, they haven't got the stamina. They couldn't stand what we went through in the First World War. The youth of today couldn't stand it.' - John Oborne
'Iv'e no idea what the secret is to living so long. I just keep on going - a bit like an infantryman; - John Oborne
'No, I don't volunteer for anything, I'm like a wheelbarrow - I go where I'm pushed' - Bill Stone


I'm not sure if it's the speed of its production, but there are a few typos in this book, possibly a result of not knowing the geography of the area or errors of transcription. So, 'Usher College' should read, 'Ushaw College' (it's still a seminary in Durham), 'Sorby Bridge' should read, 'Sowerby Bridge' (the pronunciation is the former, but it's written the latter way). There was another one relating to the North of England but I can't remember what it was off the top of my head.

[Laurent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Notice: I read this book on and off due to lots of personal stuff so my review shouldnt be counted as the most trustworthy

I liked this book. I got this at a book sale at school from old books for 50 cent. A great prize for something so good. This book starts of with a good forward, thanking people and such including introducing us into the scope of the book. It then continues on with the interviews of the veterans, sometimes stating their death date. This might also explain why some interviews span pages in this book while some are 2-3 as they have passed away in the making of this book sadly. Still it was amazing to read the stories of some. It is clear that sometimes the stories jump from one timeframe to another such as in the war to before and after and back into the war. Im not sure if that is just the writers form of noting down the stories of these veterans in the exact order they said them in or if its just some bad planning on the writers end. However this isnt a big issue for me as I can understand if they were written down in the order that these veterans said them in, as one can expect such from elderly people. The book does have a sudden end which I cant complain too much about as I myself would be clueless on how to end it. Positive point for including a index in which one can easily search up specific locations (of war) and open up the page of veterans speaking about their experience in it. All in all, do expect bias in this book as these veterans were let to speak on their personal experience and feelings rather than give a sort of historical perspective of the war.

[Marathon County Public Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being unfamiliar with much about the WWI, the last great war, I was eager to hear of stories from the mouths of those few soldiers still left to tell the tale. This 2005 book is a narrative account of those few British soldiers still alive and able to relay their firsthand accounts and stories of an era that will perish when they do. Approximately 20 men, all over 100 and some 106 and 107 years old tell of a different time and place. They share a brief personal account of their lives from birth, growing up, joining up to fight and living out their later years. If you are interested in gaining an understanding of the historical period of the turning into the 20th century and the war years, this will be an interesting read. It was a bittersweet read, in that the reader can be quite certain, all of these men are now deceased.

Marsha Y. / Marathon County Public Library
Find this book in our library catalog.

[Aileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author interviewed several WW1 veterans and this is the account of some of them. I listened to this on audiobook and hearing about the early lives, war years and then their later lives was so sad. The men were all over 100 years old when they were interviewed, including the lovely Harry Patch, sadly all of them are no longer with us. What came across to me was how young they all were, how they were looked on as 'cannon fodder' and the long, horrible days of the trenches. It's easy to see why these men never forgot this war, today there would be counselling, medical treatment and assistance, but these brave men just got on with it. There were touches of humour too. I particularly liked the story of the Germans throwing over a pipe bomb with 2 cigarettes attached. Our boys smoked them, then threw the bomb back with a packet of Players attached. A very thought provoking listen, which I have learnt a lot from.

[Rue Baldry · Rating 4 out of 5]

What this eclectic group of English men have in common is that they lived to a great age across the span of the twentieth century, although Max Arthur picked almost the last minute to gather their memories as most of the twenty one men were dead by the time the book was published.

Apart from the information about the Great War and the last century, what's interesting about this is how different the men's attitudes are to each others: from a conservative nostalgia, to a progressive optimist, to a negative cynic and all shades in between. Yes, there is misogyny, class prejudice, jingoism, but a lot less than I had expected given the times in which they were raised. The most striking fact is that they almost all end their sections by saying that they have had a happy life.

[Christopher Bashforth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of personal memoirs of the last surviving veterans of World War 1 - Sad that they have now all passed away. As I get older I definitely get the sense of time moving on relentlessly; when WW2 veterans are all passed away I think I will be even more sad that history moves on. When struck me about this book was the different England that these men inhabited compared to today – very much more agricultural and industrial – no one had a customer service job. The other major revelation was that disliked officers would often be shot by their men during an attack – I knew this happened in other armies (particularly Russia) but Britain? Good read.

[Dianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very worthy oral history project. Surviving combatants from WW1, all centenarians, tell their individual stories. One combatant had an excellent recollections of pre-1914 childhood, and this particular chapter is really worth reading for its picture of the life at this time. Apart from this I did not find anything of particular interest.

[Steve Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a re-read. As it's the year of the 100th anniversary of the end of WW1, I thought I might revisit some of my books and this was the first of what might be a few of the same theme I read this year.
I love this type of book. It is poignant, humorous, heart-breaking and thoughtful as well as inspiring. I have total admiration for the people in this book. These are my heroes.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written memories of these men who were all from different backgrounds. Wonderfully individualistic chapters letting each man tell his story with memories from before, during and after the war which belonged solely to them.

[Venky · Rating 4 out of 5]

beautiful collection of the experiences in the theatre of destruction and doom that was World War -I as recounted by the last surviving heroes from Great Britain. More than the fatalities, the futility of waging a war shine through the pages.

[Barry Bridges · Rating 4 out of 5]

A touching and honest view of the First World War told by the last survivors at the beginning of the 21st Century. Let's hope that none of us have to experience what these brave men went through.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely Brilliant read.A book that you could read and read again! Definitely worth 5 stars!

[Maxime · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book that brings a tear to the eye moving accounts of the 1st world war