Harry Patch, 111-year-old FHM columnist, has died
Harry Patch was born in 1898. Having lived through the 20th Century in its entirety, he died 111 years later, peacefully in his sleep, in a nursing home in Somerset. That’s some long-haul living to get your head around. But Harry Patch is more than a century-straddling king of the wrinklies. As the last remaining soldier on any side to have fought in the trenches, his passing marks the death of human experience on the Western Front.
Our respects, then, to a man who nearly died in Passchendaele in 1917, a battle which he recalled as “mud, mud and more mud mixed together with blood”. A man who forged a pact with his mates not to kill anyone if they could avoid it. A man who lost those same friends when a shell blew them to pieces and left Harry with a shrapnel wound that ended his war.
A man who, having declined to talk publicly about his war experiences for over 80 years, returned to Passcchendaele in 2007 to lay two wreaths, one for the British dead and another for the German soldiers who died in battle. In September that year, Harry opened up to become a columnist for FHM – one of our four centurions – and record his life in a book called The Last Fighting Tommy. Rest in peace, Harry Patch.
Here are some of his best contributions to FHM:
FHM asks: “I’m planning a trip with a few friends this winter. But I’m fed up with following my generational flock to places like Australia, Thailand and Ibiza – I don’t want to go abroad, only to bump into people I left the UK to avoid. Where have you been that has stuck with you throughout the years?”
Harry: “It’s more about what you make of a place and who you go with than where you go. For my most memorable trip I didn’t even leave these shores. I went to Weymouth in Dorset with my late wife Ena, all the way back in 1930. As long as you’re with people you’re going to enjoy yourself with, there’s no need to travel all over the planet. Go camping or something with your friends in the UK.”
(September 2007)
Q: “My girlfriend wants to become a glamour model, which would entail going topless sometimes. Should I intervene? She’s one of those spur of the moment, artistic kind of girls, and I can’t help thinking she’ll regret it in a few months time. And that’s before my family and friends see it. What should I do? Carl, Glasgow
Harry: “You must intervene. She can be a perfectly good model without taking her clothes off. I never paid much attention to Page 3 myself, but I’m aware that there are advertisements on billboards today which I could never have imagined being there a few years ago. Some of it goes too far and I would never have had a girlfriend who behaved like that – mother wouldn’t approve! But it shouldn’t reflect on you. It is her choice and she needs to realise that it affects others.”
(April 2008)
Q: I’m in the army and have just come home from six months in Iraq. Coming home from the First World War must have been harder than what I’m experiencing, but I’m struggling to deal with people’s reactions. Nobody’s bothered about us risking our lives out there. Will it get easier?” Stuart, Carlisle
A: “It was good to get back to ordinary life, but things had changed and it was never the same. You just need to get on with life and look to the future. I lost three good friends on Pilckem Ridge [near Ypres] and that has always stayed with me. Then when I came home I lost touch with friends I had made, like Digger who went home to Australia. New acquaintances come along and go, but your family is always there, so spend time with them. Don’t be resentful as people just don’t know what it is like. They are lucky.”
(February 2008)
Q: I want to write a book. My mates say my short stories are good, but it seems like a big step. I’ve seen Harry’s autobiography in the shop – how did he do it? And has it made him rich? Stewart Hinter, Keswick
A: “ I had the help of a good friend, but like anything in life, just start at the beginning and stick at it, however long it takes. You hear of books taking years to complete, so there’s no hurry. It hasn’t made me rich at all though: the proceeds went to the RNLI charity, which I support whenever I can. Everyone has a tale to tell, it’s just whether other people would be interested in it and you never know till you try.”
(October 2008)
Also available from FHM
-
Hit me!
Play a few hands of Atlantic City Blackjack at FHM Casino. We'll double your first deposit and give you an extra fiver on top of that. Stick.
-
Girlfriends! Flirting! Sex!
There are thousands of girls taking pictures of themselves in their bedrooms on FHM Single Girls. Some want you for flirty chat online, some want to meet you for mischief
You need to be an FHM member to leave your comment.
Sign In
or
Sign Up
More collections in Funny