Surviving veterans of World War I

Encyclopedia : S : SU : SUR : Surviving veterans of World War I

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The following is a list of known surviving veterans of the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918). The total number of personnel who participated in the war is unknown, but there were an estimated 9 million military casualties during the war.

Veterans, for the purposes of this list, have been agreed to be those that were members of the armed forces of one of the nations involved in the war, up to and including the date of the German armstice that ended the war on Nov 11, 1918. Other World-War I era veterans are listed separately. This policy may vary from the policy in actual use in some countries.

Puerto Rico resident Emiliano Mercado del Toro, born 21 August 1891, is believed to be the oldest surviving veteran, and is, since 19 November 2004, the world's oldest verified living man.

Living in Australia - 4 veterans

Name	DOB		Nationality	Force Served	Notes
Choules, Claude Stanley	1901	3 March	British	British Royal Navy	Subsequently emigrated to Australia
Lucas, Sydney (Syd)	1900	21 September	British	British - 1st Sherwood Foresters	Did not see action (was still in training when the war ended)
Ross, John Campbell	1899	11 March	Australian	Australian	Last Australian digger
Young, William (Will)	1900	4 January	British	British Royal Flying Corps	Moved to Australia after World War II

Living in Austria - 1 veteran

Name	DOB		Nationality	Force Served	Notes
Bischof, August	1900	18 August	Austrian	Austria-Hungary

Living in Canada - 3 veterans

Name	DOB		Nationality	Force Served	Notes
Clemett, Victor Lloyd	1899	10 December	Canadian	Canadian	Lives in Toronto
Powers, Gladys	1899	10 May	Canadian	British	Lives in Abbotsford, British Columbia
Wilson, Dwight (Percy)	1901	26 February	Canadian	Canadian	Lives in Oshawa

Living in France - 8 veterans

Name	DOB		Nationality	Force Served	Notes
De Cazenave, Louis	1897	16 December	French	French
Floquet, Maurice Noël	1894	25 December	French	French
Grelaud, Jean	1898	26 October	French	French
Jaffré, François	1901	28 May	French	French	Reintegrated in ONAC (Office national des anciens combattants) lists at the beginning of 2006. (served in submarine)
Lagaurnadie, Louis	1899	17 June	French	French	Excluded in French government lists as it only counts those with more than 3 months of combat service.
Ponticelli, Lazarre	1897	7 December	Italian	French, Italian	Birth name "Lazzaro". Moved to France in 1907. Served in French army first, later in Italian army.
Riffaud, René Félix	1898	19 December	French	French	Reintegrated in ONAC (Office national des anciens combattants) lists at the beginning of 2006.
Tuveri, Justin	1898	15 May	Italian	Italian	Birth name "Giustino".

Living in Germany - 9 veterans

Name	DOB		Nationality	Force Served	Notes
Brandmeier, Franz Xaver	1899	16 July	German	German-Navy
Christmann, Rudolf	1900	10 January	German	German
Fuchs, Konrad	1897	15 October	German	German
Klöpper, Hans	1900	10 August	German	German
Künstler, Franz	1900	24 July	German	German
Meier, Robert	1897	10 March	German	German
Seim, Rudolf	1899	31 January	German	German
Solveen, Hermann	1899	20 February	German	German
Velten, Wilhelm	1899	2 September	German	German

Living in Italy - 13 veterans

Name	DOB		Nationality	Force Served	Notes
Agazzi, Alberto	1899	30 January	Italian	Italian
Bertolami, Carmelo	1900	8 December	Italian	Italian	Excluded from Italian government lists as it only counts those with more than 6 months of service.
Borroni, Delfino	1898	23 August	Italian	Italian
Camillo, Angelo Michele	1899	18 November	Italian	Italian
Carta, Giovanni Antonio	1899	28 December	Italian	Italian
Chiarello, Francesco Domenico	1898	5 November	Italian	Italian
Ciarniello, Annibale	1900	9 January	Italian	Italian	Excluded from Italian government lists as it only counts those with more than 6 months of service.
Costanzo, Pasquale	1899	21 May	Italian	Italian
De Bettin Casanova, Antonia	1900	17 Dec	Italian	Italian	Last Italian female veteran.
De Cristofaro, Domenico	1899	21 November	Italian	Italian
Sarrocco, Italo	1898	11 May	Italian	Italian
Saravalle, Ido Giorgetto	1899	16 November	Italian	Italian
Serioli, Battista	1900	26 November	Italian	Italian	Excluded from Italian government lists as it only counts those with more than 6 months of service.

Living in Poland - 4 veterans

Name	DOB		Nationality	Force Served	Notes
Kosa, Jozef	1900	27 September	Polish*	German	Resides in Sierakowice
Parniak, Pawel	1890?	27 February	Polish*	Austria-Hungary	DOB claim is not authenticated
Solinski, Stanislaw	1900	11 February	Polish*	Russian	Resides in Russia?
Wycech, Stanislaw	1902		Polish*	??

* "Polish nationality" refers to ethnic Poles at the outbreak of war in 1914, since Poland as a state regained its independence only in 1918, as a result of the Versailles Peace Treaty

Living in the United Kingdom - 7 veterans

Name	DOB		Nationality	Force Served	Notes
Allingham, Henry	1896	6 June	British	British - Royal Naval Air Service (later RAF)	Granted [Freedom of Eastbourne] in April 2006
Cummins, Kenneth	1900	6 March	British	British - Royal Navy
Mayne, Phillip	1899	26 November	British	British - Royal Engineers	Did not see action
Newman, John	1901	15 January	British	British - Westminster Rifles	Did not see action (was still in training)
Newcombe, Harry	1900	5 August	British	British - 8th Sussex Regiment	Did not see action (was still in training)
Patch, Harry	1898	17 June	British	British - Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry	Is also a WWII veteran
Stone, William (Bill)	1900	23 September	British	British - Royal Navy	Did not see action (was still in training)

Living in the USA - 18 veterans

Name	DOB		Nationality	Force Served	Notes
Anderson, Homer	1897	24 December	American	USA-Balloon Corps	Resides in Florida
Babcock, John F.	1900	23 July	Canadian	Canadian	Resides in Spokane, Washington
Brown, Lloyd	1901	7 October	American	USA-Navy	Resides in Maryland
Buchanan, Russell	1900	24 January	American	USA-Navy	Resides in Watertown, Massachusetts, and is also a WWII veteran
Buckles, Frank Woodroff	1901	February 1	American	USA-Army	Resides in West Virginia
Coffey, J. Russell	1898	1 September	American	USA-Army	Resides in Ohio
Gardner, Harold	1898	3 December	American	USA-Army	Served in USA-army less than 24 hours, and resides in Pennsylvania
Goldberg, Samuel	1900	19 March	American	USA-Army(Cavalry)	Resides in Greenville, Rhode Island
Hardy, Moses	1893 or 1894	6 January	American	USA	Resides in Mississippi
Johnson, George	1894	1 May	American	USA	Resides in California
Lincoln, Jim	1898	June	American	USA	Resides in Oregon
Mercado del Toro, Emiliano	1891	21 August	Puerto Rican	USA	Resides in Puerto Rico
Pierro, Antonio	1896	22 February	Italo-American	USA	Born in Italy as Antonio, a USA national, who resides in Swampscott, Massachusetts
Pusey, Ernest Charles	1895	5 May	American	USA-Navy	Resides in Florida
Ramsey, Howard Verne	1898	2 April	American	USA-Army	Resides in Oregon
Starkey, Maurice	1901	3 December	American	USA-Navy submariner	Resides in Pennsylvania
Wagner, Albert F. (Jud)	1899	5 September	American	USA-Marines	Resides in Kansas
Winters, Charlotte	1897	10 November	American	USA-Navy	Resides in Maryland

Other World War I-Era Veterans - 2 veterans

Listed here are those that joined the armed services after the Armistice date, or where there is debate on their join-date but for some reason are considered WWI-era vets by some authority.

Name	DOB		Nationality	Force Served	Notes
Munger, Stillman Hiram	1902	25 November	American	USA-Navy	Resides in Massachusetts; WWI veteran status disputed
Rex, Robley H.	1901	4 May	American	USA	Resides in Kentucky [link]

World Totals - 69 veterans

• Totals joined by Armistice Day: 67
• *Allies (including Italy): 55
• *Central Powers: 12

See also

• Veterans of the First World War who died in 2006
• Veterans of the First World War who died in 2005
• Veterans of the First World War who died in 2004
• Veterans of the First World War who died in 2003
• Veterans of the First World War who died in 2002
• Veterans of the First World War who died in 2001
• Veterans of the First World War who died in 2000

External links

• [The Great War Society]
• [The Great War Primary Documents Archive]
• [For Centenarian, Haircut is Old Hat]
• [Surviving British veterans in full detail]
• [Mentioning of Kosa's 103rd birthday at the time]
• [WWI soldier, at 110, among last survivors of an era]
• [Article on Dwight Wilson]
• [Article on Kenneth Cummins]
• [Article on Andrew Rigby's 103rd birthday]
• [Article on Andrew Rigby's 105th birthday]

 

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