Customer Reviews
Disappointing - By: Derek Massey, 03 Dec 2008 
Disappointing. Patch's own words are fine, especially for a man of his age, but the ghost-writer (Richard van Emden) is too intrusive & spoils the flow of the narrative.
The Last fighting Tommy, The life of Harry Patch - By: Mrs. S. T. Hayward, 18 Nov 2008 
Amazing this all I can say, Im not a fan of War books, but this is truly brilliant, Richard VAN Emden has put this together amazingly, Im going to read a few more of his books. READ IT
A century of experiences - By: John Hopper, 12 Nov 2008 I saved this for now as it is the 90th anniversary of the end of WWI. It is amazing how clear Harry's memories are &in what fine fettle he is considering his great age. The most remarkable thing about him is that he was an unremarkable manin remarkable, indeed shattering & horrific, times. Worth reading for a century & more of an ordinary man's life & memories.
A hero tells his story and let us never forget. - By: Peter A. Colwill, 06 Oct 2008 I have just read Henry Allingham's book which led me to reread Jimmy Corbin's ,(please read my reviews on these books), & now I have just finished rereading Harry's book.
It is very interesting to hear how their lives panned out & when you consider how differently these three mens lives are it beggars belief to even contemplate the lives of every other fighter from ww1 & 2. One thing I know is that every last one of them would have a story worth reading though.
I would distrust anyone who considers this book to be worthy of less than 5 stars as this man like so many others did his duty so we were able to keep our freedom. These boys were fighting for more than their own lives as some reviewers seem to forget.
sour grapes are best left with footballers wives & the likes.
A Patchwork Quilt named Peace - By: Christian Spriet, 04 Oct 2008 No more than a week or so ago the nearby village of Langemarck-Poelkapelle hailed our long-term & cherished visitor Harry Patch. Patch, who has recently turned an unheard of 110 (!) & boasts an equally impressive score of visits to our Salient, had been a simple plumber before he came over to fight, which turned him into a hero just by surviving & then waiting (and testifying).
At Langemarck, where thousands of German young students were laid to rest, Harry pointed out the very spot wherein 1917 he & his fellow-soldiers crossed the Steenbeek (een beek is a brook; Steenbeek could be Stone brook) & insisted on a simple memorial stone to be erected therein an act of commemoration of all his fellow-soldiers, whether or not they made it, even whether or not they hade been on his own or on the other side.
Mr Patch is cherished especially as he is one of the very last three (3!) Tommies to have survived the war and, like Harry, are wellin their 100s themselves now.
Around the same time as Harry's visit, which - as the media said - might well be his last, a Belgian soldier & inhabitant of Langemarck-Poelkapelle (35) met his death while attempting to `put away with a shell' whilein the course of a peaceful UN missionin the Lebanon.
Perhaps the long & the short of it is that what one tries to do herein our region is to enhance & foster the awareness that no, this war is anything but over; what the concept of the prospective Peace Park Flanders comes up to is to continue to draw that thin line of life that stretches from here to way back there. Pretty much as Harry Patch does, if one comes to think of it.
It is as thin as the line between love & hate. And thin as the line between reminiscence & forgetfulness.
As our unholy holy region of Ypres was & is burdened with history, let us continue to preserve the memory of all those nameless shameless names. `Lest I my pangèd grave must share with you. / Else dead. Else cold.', as the passionate soldier-poet Ivor Gurney said it. Remembering is conservative.
It sets out to preserve the past & keep it unscathed, for the benefit of ourselves & our future.
What a character you are, Harry! Thank you, for just being yourself.
