Farewell to one of the very last WW1 vets...

[Preacherman]

Only twelve - now, eleven - Great War survivors left in Britain. I wonder how many are left in the USA?

From the Telegraph, London (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/mai...r25.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/05/25/ixhome.html):

A last huzzah for the final cavalryman

By Amy Iggulden
(Filed: 25/05/2005)

Magnificent horses similar to those that defined the long life of Albert "Smiler" Marshall, the last cavalryman of the First World War, drew him to his funeral yesterday.

Decorated in the Victorian plumes of Mr Marshall's childhood and accompanied by 16 men in First World War uniform, the two Dutch Warmbloods led more than 90 mourners to St Giles's Parish Church in Ashtead, Surrey. Traffic halted on the high street as the carriage drew past, followed by two standard bearers from the Vickers Machine-Gunners Society, 14 men marching, and two terriers to signify Mr Marshall's hunting days. All were war "re-enactors" dedicated to the memory of veterans.

A volley of shots over Mr Marshall's grave as his great-granddaughter, Eloise, takes cover


The walking mourners fell in behind before joining more than 200 already gathered in the church to remember one of the final dozen Great War survivors.

Mr Marshall, who died last week aged 108, is believed to have been the last veteran of the Somme and the last British cavalryman to have served at the Western Front. He could ride before he was five and continued to do so into his early nineties.

Among the mourners was William Stone - at 104 the youngest veteran of the First World War.

The congregation heard a tribute from Mr Marshall's son John, aged 73, and a representative of the Essex Yeomanry, the regiment Mr Marshall joined after lying about his age, sounded Last Post.

 

[MassHunter2190]

Rest In Peace Mr. Marshall, and thank you.

 

[SteveS]

A great uncle of mine fought in WWI. He died 4 years ago and I believe that he was in his late 90's. He had lied about his age when he enlisted, but I am not sure how old he was.

 

[Justin]

You know, I really don't think that a thread honoring the passing of one of the last veterans of one of the greatest military conflicts this world has ever seen is the place to starting a debate about the legal policies of the nation he was from.

 

[Rovi]

Erm.....................................

I know I'm missing something here, but can I gather that PMDW posted something 'amusing' that has now been deleted, probably originally post #2?

The thing is, if I'm correct and a post has been deleted from position #2, the new #2 post (from 50 Freak) now appears to be laughing at the original article about the WWI veteran, which I'm sure wasn't his/her intention.
Would it be an idea to leave the original post there with the content deleted, to save confusion and let viewers see that subsequent posters were reacting to something that's no longer there?

Apologies if I've gotten the wrong end of the stick here, but that's what it looks like to a new visitor to the thread.

Just my (EURO)€0.02

.

 

[nomadboi]

I'm sure there are exceptions to the rules in the UK, just as there are here. If nothing else, they have their own small film/tv industry that uses modified firearms all the time, I imagine. If these guys are a part of a reenactment group, they may have some special permits... what I want to know more about is this Vickers Machine-Gunners society they mention!

 

[20cows]

Preacherman,

Thank you for the post. Sorry the others missed the point.

We salute Albert Marshall's passing.

Godspeed.

 

[Arc-Lite]

personally I find it sad to see a whole generation of warriors passing.... considering everything they provided, to our assumed way of life of today....I guess its just the way, of a culture who sees history, as something happening within their own small life. my thanks and appreciation "Smiler" your now in good company.

 

[sharpetop]

R.I.P. Albert Marshall and thank you.

 

[jsalcedo]

I got the same impression rovi.

I was just wondering the other day how many 105 year old WWI verterans were left.

Sadly WWII vets are leaving us at 1500 per day.

Hats off to Marshall for serving in what was supposed to be the last great war.

 

[El Tejon]

Remember the WWI vets when I was a kid. They used to meet at the monument downtown Indy after race day every year.

Think I'll go home and like to "Waltzing Matilda" by the Pogues.

 

[cracked butt]

I used to trapshoot with a WWI vet, in fact he was the only WWI Vet I ever met. That was 20 years ago and he was in his 90s then. The guy would carry a chair out and set it on the station and sit down to shoot as he was too old to stand for very long. Towards the end, someone else would carry his chair out and move it for him. He never missed a week of shooting right up until the end, and he was a good shot.

 

[Combat-wombat]

I met a veteran last year, and was quite surprised to find out he fought in WWI instead of WWII. He lived in my town, I wonder if he's still around today.

 

[RevDisk]

RIP, Albert Marshall...



When I was a kid, I loved talking to my Uncle "Rags". He was in WWII, and had some great 2LT stories. (Sadly, I personally saw new 2LT's do the same things my Uncle described.)

My favorite was when he was in North Africa (my memory is hazy, I was 8 or 9 at the time) as a tanker. His 2LT tells the troops to wash down the tanks and make them shiney, as the general is coming around. The troops stare at the guy like the Lt has just lost his mind. But hey, orders are orders.

As they're scrubbing down the tanks, a passing jeep slams on the brakes, and a short guy comes running up swearing at the top of his lungs. After the general learned which 2LT ordered the tanks cleaned, my uncle and his troops spent the rest of the day in the shade pleasantly watching that 2LT tossing dirt back onto the tanks.

 

[Byron Quick]

I don't know any living WWI vets. I knew about ten or so when I was a teenager and in my twenties. I can still remember a few marching in parades.
My thanks to them all.

It's amazing how many ignorant 2LT's I met in just three years. What really amazed me though, was how many 1LT's had gotten squared away. Somebody somewhere is putting a polish on many of them.

 

[Rovi]

I've posted this to THR before, but it's applicable to this thread too.
There's a wonderful DVD box set titled The Great War.
This TV series was made by the BBC in 1964 and it contains many interviews with veterans, men then in their 60s and 70s. Mostly British vets of course (it IS a BBC production, after all), but it's facinating to see these ordinary looking gentlemen talking about their extraordinary experiences in The War To End All Wars. Truly humbling stuff!

Unfortunately, I can only find this DVD set in Region 2 PAL format, which probably won't suit most of you in Region 1 (USA, Canada, and various other places, NTSC format), but I'd still urge anyone interested to check it out.


.

 

[Smokey Joe]

In memoriam

Hats off for Mr. Marshall!

I'm trying to think of something pithy and appropriate to say. Can't come up with anything better than

THANK YOU SIR!

 

[grampster]

RIP, Mr. Marshall. Godspeed.

 

[svtruth]

Veterans

When I was in high school, I took Latin and Spanish from a terrific guy, Henry W. Greene. He was a veteran of the Spanish American War and had played football against Jim Thorpe.

 

[jeff-10]

My stepmother's great uncle passed away about 5 years ago. He was a WWI vet and a Bonus Marcher. From what he told her about combat it was in some ways far worse than what the average infantryman saw in WWII.

 

[heypete]

*comes as close to "attention" as he can at work*

*salutes*

Thank you, Mr. Marshall. As a former tanker, I have great respect for cav. Back then, it quite literally was real cavalry with horses. You, sir, have my eternal respect and gratitude. May wherever you are now be restful and better than this world.

 

[Phantom Warrior]

Another good man has gone home to his reward. Rest in peace, Mr. Marshall...




(Thanks for the story, RevDisk. I'm hoping to be a 2LT in a few years, so I'll be sure never to make that mistake. )

 

[MassHunter2190]

Yes Rovi, that is what happened.

I'll edit my original post so I don't look like a _____.
(you can fill in the blank)

 

[ARGarrison]

My grandfather was in the Great War. He was in a Coastal Artillery Battery. He passed away before I was born. I wish I knew more about what he did back when than the stories my Father has passed down.

 

[Wombat]

My grandfather served during the Great War as well. He was a Corporal in Company F of the 212th Engineer Regiment of the 12th Division. I picked up a few items he kept from his service days from my mother a couple of weeks ago. One of the items is a Regimental history book which relates that the 212th along with the entire 12th Division would have embarked for France in October 1918 had not their camp been ravaged by the Spanish Influenza epidemic in mid September. The flu incapacitated 30 percent of the men and killed 700, including 37 from the 212th. Quite a toll from a group of young and fit men.

Other items of interest I got include his rifle qualification record book (he qualified but was no Sgt. York), a "Parley Voo Booklet" of "Practical French and German Phrases And How To Pronounce Them" (provided by the Kolynos Dental Cream Company whose product was not only the "Soldier's Dentifrice", but suitable for application to wounds and burns as well !); and an official Army Song Book. I don't think today's Army publishes the equivalant of "Keep your head down, Fritzie Boy!" for our troops serving in the sand box. Not real PC.

Treasured mementos from a man I knew while a boy and young man prior to his passing to the great parade ground in the sky in 1975.