The Horsell's Mouth Politics, pedantry and personal interests

Having referred to the death of Henry Allingham just a week ago, I cannot let the sad passing of Harry Patch go without comment.

I said in my previous post that it could not be long before the final link to the First World War was broken and the whole terrible business passed out of living memory of Europe. Harry Patch may not have been as famous as Henry Allingham (presumably only because Henry Allingham was older) but he exuded all the same qualities – dignity, humility and latterly a real commitment to keeping first-hand accounts of the awful conflict alive.

Now he is gone, it becomes ever more important that we strive to understand what the First World War was about, why it was fought and how to ensure we don’t make similar mistake in a more advanced and deadly age.