Tommy Atkins - The Last Tommy

The Last Tommy

On 25 July 2009, the death of the last "Tommy" from World War I, Harry Patch (at 111 the oldest man in the United Kingdom and also in Europe), left Claude Choules as the last serviceman of the British forces in World War I.

There was a growing opinion that the passing of the last of them should be marked in an appropriate manner. This was the subject of a cross party campaign led by the politician Iain Duncan Smith. It was originally proposed that the last veteran to die should be given a state funeral. However, this met with opposition from the veterans themselves, few of whom wanted to be singled out in this way. As of 28 June 2006, it was decided that a service at Westminster Abbey would be held upon the death of the last veteran.