Military Figure. He was the world's last surviving combat veteran of World War I. In 1916, the 15 year-old Choules joined the British Royal Navy and served on the battleship HMS Revenge, which saw action in the North Sea. He witnessed the surrender of the German Imperial Navy in 1918 and the scuttling of the fleet in Scapa Flow. After the war he served as a peacekeeper in the Black Sea and was posted as an instructor to Flinders Naval Depot, Melbourne, Australia. In 1926, he transferred to the Royal Australian Navy and was promoted Chief Petty Officer in 1932. During World War II, he served as chief demolition officer for the western half of Australia. After the war, he joined the Naval Dockyard Police where he served until retiring from active duty in 1956. After the death of England's Harry Patch in 2009, Choules was declared the last known surviving combatant of the Great War. He also appeared in the BBC radio documentaries "The Last Tommy" (2005) and "Harry Patch, The Last Tommy" (2009). He died in his sleep at the age of 110.
Military Figure. He was the world's last surviving combat veteran of World War I. In 1916, the 15 year-old Choules joined the British Royal Navy and served on the battleship HMS Revenge, which saw action in the North Sea. He witnessed the surrender of the German Imperial Navy in 1918 and the scuttling of the fleet in Scapa Flow. After the war he served as a peacekeeper in the Black Sea and was posted as an instructor to Flinders Naval Depot, Melbourne, Australia. In 1926, he transferred to the Royal Australian Navy and was promoted Chief Petty Officer in 1932. During World War II, he served as chief demolition officer for the western half of Australia. After the war, he joined the Naval Dockyard Police where he served until retiring from active duty in 1956. After the death of England's Harry Patch in 2009, Choules was declared the last known surviving combatant of the Great War. He also appeared in the BBC radio documentaries "The Last Tommy" (2005) and "Harry Patch, The Last Tommy" (2009). He died in his sleep at the age of 110.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
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