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Claude Choules
Claude Stanley Choules (; 3 March 1901 – 5 May 2011) was an English-born military serviceman from Pershore, Worcestershire, who at the time of his death was the oldest combat veteran of the First World War from England, having served with the Royal Navy from 1915 until 1926. After having emigrated to Australia he served with the Royal Australian Navy, from 1926 until 1956, as a Chief Petty Officer and was a naturalised Australian citizen. He was the last surviving military witness to the scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow in 1919 and the last surviving veteran to have served in both world wars. At the time of his death, he was the third-oldest verified military veteran in the world and the oldest known living man in Australia. He was the seventh-oldest living man in the world. Choules became the oldest man born in the United Kingdom following the death of Stanley Lucas on 21 June 2010. Choules died at the age of 110 years and 63 days. He had been the oldest Briti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pershore
Pershore is a market town in the Wychavon district in Worcestershire, England, on the banks of the River Avon. The town is part of the West Worcestershire parliamentary constituency. At the 2011 census, the population was 7,125. The town is best known for Pershore Abbey, Pershore College (now a campus of Warwickshire College) and plums grown locally. Pershore is situated on the River Avon, west of Evesham and east of Upton-upon-Severn in the Vale of Evesham, a district rich in fruit and vegetable production. History The town contains much elegant Georgian architecture. In 1964 the Council for British Archaeology included Pershore in its list of 51 British "Gem Towns" worthy of special consideration for historic preservation, and it has been listed as an outstanding conservation area. Parts of the abbey, which stand in an expanse of public grassland close to the centre of the town, date from the 11th century. The current structure is far smaller than the original build ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scuttling Of The German Fleet In Scapa Flow
Shortly after the end of the First World War, the German Kaiserliche Marine was scuttled by its sailors while held off the harbor of the British Royal Navy base at Scapa Flow, in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. The High Seas Fleet was interned there under the terms of the Armistice while negotiations took place over the fate of the ships. Fearing that either the UK would seize the ships unilaterally or the German government at the time might reject the Treaty of Versailles and resume the war effort (in which case the ships could be used against Germany), Admiral Ludwig von Reuter decided to scuttle the fleet. The scuttling was carried out on 21 June 1919. Intervening British guard ships were able to beach some of the ships, but 52 of the 74 interned vessels sank. Many of the wrecks were salvaged over the next two decades and were towed away for scrapping. Those that remain are popular diving sites. The ships are a source of low-background steel. Background The signing o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Netley Hospital
The Royal Victoria Hospital or Netley Hospital was a large military hospital in Netley, near Southampton, Hampshire, England. Construction started in 1856 at the suggestion of Queen Victoria but its design caused some controversy, chiefly from Florence Nightingale. Often visited by Queen Victoria, the hospital was extensively used during the First World War. It became the 28th US General Hospital during the invasion of mainland Europe in the Second World War.Spike Island. Philip Hoare. . The main building – the world's longest building when it was completed – was entirely demolished in 1966, except for the chapel and former YMCA building, which still survive. The extensive outbuildings, which once occupied a vast acreage of land to the rear of the main building, finally succumbed in 1978. The site of the hospital can be seen and explored in Royal Victoria Country Park. The hospital was situated within the larger area of land bounded by the River Itchen and River Hamble, par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
River Hamble
The River Hamble is located in south Hampshire, England. It rises near Bishop's Waltham and flows for through Botley, Bursledon, and Lower Swanwick before entering Southampton Water between Hamble Common and Warsash. The Hamble is tidal for about half its length and is navigable below Botley. From the medieval period to the present it has been a major ship and boat-building area. Leisure craft are still built by the Hamble today. One of the main builders was '' Luke & Co'', later ''Luke Bros'', a well-reputed yard from around 1890 to its closure in 1945. The lower reaches are a major yachting area with easy access to the sheltered waters of Southampton Water and The Solent. Course From source to mouth the river makes a repeated curve heading south-southwest. It gains tributary streams before reaching Botley, the site of an ancient watermill. Below Botley, the river becomes tidal and navigable. It gains strength from adjoining streams, draining surrounding Hedge End, Curd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
TS Mercury
The Training Ship ''Mercury'', or TS ''Mercury'', was a shore-based naval training establishment at Hamble-le-Rice, Hamble in Hampshire. History The Training Ship ''Mercury'' was one of a number of similar, mostly static training ships located round the coasts of Britain and founded during the Victorian period to provide boy recruits for the Royal Navy and mercantile marine. It was founded in 1885 as a charitable venture by Charles Hoare (cricketer, born 1847), Charles Arthur Richard Hoare, a partner in the banking firm of C. Hoare & Co, with the objective of rescuing poor boys of good character and training them for naval service. Initially the facility was based at Binstead on the Isle of Wight where the boys lived in the barque ''Illovo''. Over the years the establishment was increasingly managed by Charles Hoare's mistress Beatrice Holme Sumner, with whom he was to have a son (Robin Hoare) and a daughter. The entire establishment was moved from Binstead to Hamble-le-Rice, Hamble ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
First Australian Imperial Force
The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during the First World War. It was formed as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) following Britain's declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry division and one light horse brigade. The infantry division subsequently fought at Gallipoli between April and December 1915, with a newly raised second division, as well as three light horse brigades, reinforcing the committed units. After being evacuated to Egypt, the AIF was expanded to five infantry divisions, which were committed to the fighting in France and Belgium along the Western Front in March 1916. A sixth infantry division was partially raised in 1917 in the United Kingdom, but was broken up and used as reinforcements following heavy casualties on the Western Front. Meanwhile, two mounted divisions remained in the Middle East to fight against Turkish forces in the Sinai an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Military Medal
The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award was established in 1916, with retrospective application to 1914, and was awarded to other ranks for "acts of gallantry and devotion to duty under fire". The award was discontinued in 1993, when it was replaced by the Military Cross, which was extended to all ranks, while other Commonwealth nations instituted their own award systems in the post war period. History The Military Medal was established on 25 March 1916. It was awarded to other ranks including non-commissioned officers and warrant officers, and ranked below the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM). Awards to British and Commonwealth forces were announced in the ''London Gazette'', but not honorary awards to allied forces. (Lists of awards to allied forces were published by The N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the northeast and Berkshire to the east. The county town was originally Wilton, after which the county is named, but Wiltshire Council is now based in the county town of Trowbridge. Within the county's boundary are two unitary authority areas, Wiltshire and Swindon, governed respectively by Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Council. Wiltshire is characterised by its high downland and wide valleys. Salisbury Plain is noted for being the location of the Stonehenge and Avebury stone circles (which together are a UNESCO Cultural and World Heritage site) and other ancient landmarks, and as a training area for the British Army. The city of Salisbury is notable for its medieval cathedral. Swindon is the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pewsey
Pewsey is a large village and civil parish at the centre of the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire, about south of Marlborough and west of London. It is within reach of the M4 motorway and the A303 and is served by Pewsey railway station on the Reading to Taunton line. The parish includes these small settlements: * Kepnal – east of the village, south of the Burbage road * Pewsey Wharf – north, where the A345 crosses the Kennet and Avon canal * Sharcott – west, by the Avon; marked on some maps as East Sharcott as distinct from West Sharcott, a short distance downstream in Manningford parish * Southcott – close to the southeast of the village. History Archaeological excavations on Pewsey Hill show evidence of a settlement in the 6th century. In the Tudor era, the Manor of Pewsey belonged to the Duchess of Somerset. Several of the village's houses were built in this era: the timber framed cruck house at Ball Corner, Bridge Cottage on the Avon and the Court House by the Chur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wyre Piddle
Wyre Piddle is a village and civil parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, England. It is on the River Avon, near where that river is joined by the Piddle Brook - between Evesham and Pershore. History Two archaeological excavations in the area have found evidence of late Iron Age and Roman occupation and also an enclosed pastoral settlement with four periods of occupation dating from the Middle Iron Age. In 1967 a hoard of 219 silver coins, some from as early as 1280 and none later than 1467, was found there. It was the home village of Claude Choules, who was born in Pershore Pershore is a market town in the Wychavon district in Worcestershire, England, on the banks of the River Avon. The town is part of the West Worcestershire parliamentary constituency. At the 2011 census, the population was 7,125. The town is ... on 3 March 1901 and became the last surviving male veteran of World War I. He moved to Australia in 1926 and died in Perth, Western Austral ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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