Bertie Felstead
Encyclopedia
Bertie Felstead was a British soldier, World War I
veteran and centenarian
who gained fame at the end of his life as (or was believed so at the time) to be the last surviving soldier to have taken part in the Christmas truce
of 1915.
Felstead, who was born in London in October 1894, was called to action earlier in 1915 and went to the battlefields of France with the 15th (London Welsh) Battalion. On Christmas Day that year, he took part in the famous truce with German soldiers which took place in the form of Christmas songs and then a game of football.
When Felstead died in July 2001 at the age of 106, he was reported to be the last surviving veteran of the truce. His death also made the News of the World
football annual's obituary section when it was published a year later, a rare occurrence for someone who was never employed in football or football journalism.
After Felstead's death, however, it was reported that Alfred Anderson
(another participant of the truce) was still living. Anderson died on 21 November 2005 at the age of 109. The last known World War I veteran to have fought in the trenches (Englishman
Harry Patch
) died on 25 July 2009 aged 111, though there are still three World War I
veterans in the world (including Englishman Claude Choules
who now lives in Australia) known to be alive.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2001/aug/03/guardianobituaries1
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
veteran and centenarian
Centenarian
A centenarian is a person who is or lives beyond the age of 100 years. Because current average life expectancies across the world are less than 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. Much rarer, a supercentenarian is a person who has lived to the age of 110 or more, something only...
who gained fame at the end of his life as (or was believed so at the time) to be the last surviving soldier to have taken part in the Christmas truce
Christmas truce
Christmas truce was a series of widespread unofficial ceasefires that took place along the Western Front around Christmas of 1914, during the First World War...
of 1915.
Felstead, who was born in London in October 1894, was called to action earlier in 1915 and went to the battlefields of France with the 15th (London Welsh) Battalion. On Christmas Day that year, he took part in the famous truce with German soldiers which took place in the form of Christmas songs and then a game of football.
When Felstead died in July 2001 at the age of 106, he was reported to be the last surviving veteran of the truce. His death also made the News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
football annual's obituary section when it was published a year later, a rare occurrence for someone who was never employed in football or football journalism.
After Felstead's death, however, it was reported that Alfred Anderson
Alfred Anderson
Alfred Anderson was a Scottish joiner and veteran of the First World War. He was the last known holder of the 1914 Star , the last known combatant to participate in the 1914 World War I Christmas truce, Scotland's last known World War I veteran, and Scotland's oldest man for more than a year.In...
(another participant of the truce) was still living. Anderson died on 21 November 2005 at the age of 109. The last known World War I veteran to have fought in the trenches (Englishman
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Harry Patch
Harry Patch
Henry John "Harry" Patch , known in his latter years as "the Last Fighting Tommy", was a British supercentenarian, briefly the oldest man in Europe, and the last surviving soldier to have fought in the trenches of the First World War...
) died on 25 July 2009 aged 111, though there are still three World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
veterans in the world (including Englishman Claude Choules
Claude Choules
Claude Stanley Choules was the last World War I combat veteran, and was the last military witness to the scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow. He was also the last veteran to have served in both world wars, and the last seaman from the First World War...
who now lives in Australia) known to be alive.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2001/aug/03/guardianobituaries1