Marcel Caux (1 March 1899 – 22 August 2004), born Harold Katte, was an Australian

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

veteran and the last known survivor of the

Battle of Pozières The Battle of Pozières (23 July – 3 September 1916) took place in northern France around the village of Pozières, during the Battle of the Somme. The costly fighting ended with the British in possession of the plateau north and east of the v ...

Military service

Lying about his age, he enlisted on 6 September 1915, aged 16, and on 20 January 1916 embarked for

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

aboard HMAT ''Runic'' with the 9th Reinforcements of the 17th Battalion,

Australian 2nd Division The 2nd Division of the Australian Army commands all the Reserve brigades in Australia. These are the 4th in Victoria, the 5th in New South Wales, the 9th in South Australia and Tasmania, the 11th in Queensland, the 13th in Western Australia, a ...

. He was transferred to the 20th Battalion with which he fought in the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

. He was wounded in the left ankle during the Battle of Pozières in 1916. He was absent without leave on two occasions. He was wounded twice more, eventually being hurt so badly in 1918 that he was unable to bend his left leg for the rest of his life. He returned to Australia on 16 March 1919. After the war he was refused an invalid

pension A pension (, from Latin ''pensiō'', "payment") is a fund into which a sum of money is added during an employee's employment years and from which payments are drawn to support the person's retirement from work in the form of periodic payments ...

, because the

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

insisted that if he could stand up, he did not need one. Disillusioned with the army over this experience, he tore up all of his army photographs, moved into the

Australian bush "The bush" is a term mostly used in the English vernacular of Australia and New Zealand where it is largely synonymous with '' backwoods'' or ''hinterland'', referring to a natural undeveloped area. The fauna and flora contained within this ...

and became a

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. ...

. He claimed until 1998 that he had been wounded in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, refusing to acknowledge his service during the First World War. He married Doris and they had one son named Marcus, but never told them about his past.

Honours

His secret was discovered in 1998, when he was made a ''Chevalier'' (Knight) of the ''

Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

'' by the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

government. After this he was able to come to terms with his past and began attending

Anzac Day , image = Dawn service gnangarra 03.jpg , caption = Anzac Day Dawn Service at Kings Park, Western Australia, 25 April 2009, 94th anniversary. , observedby = Australia Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Cook Islands New ...

ceremonies. The

centenarian A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100 years. Because life expectancies worldwide are below 100 years, the term is invariably associated with longevity. In 2012, the United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living cente ...

Caux spent his final days in a nursing home in Chatswood, a suburb of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. He remained opposed until he died to Australian involvement in foreign wars, in particular the

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

. He died peacefully in his sleep. In 2007, it was revealed that Marcel had led a complex and deceptive life. Allegations were made that he deserted his first wife, then married again without a proper divorce."Au revoir, Marcel"
''Sydney Morning Herald'', 28 August 2004

Death

Following Caux's death there were only four surviving Australian veterans of the First World War.

Honours and awards

British War Medal The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were struck in si ...

* Victory Medal *

80th Anniversary Armistice Remembrance Medal The 80th Anniversary Armistice Remembrance Medal was a commemorative medal made to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Armistice marking the end of World War I. Each of the 71 surviving Australian First World War veterans were presented with ...

(awarded on 21 April 1999) *

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

(awarded on 1 January 2002) * ''Chevalier'' (Knight) of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

(awarded on 4 July 1998)

References

External links

AIF Project entry for Caux/Katte

National Archives of Australia
Service records for Pvt H. Katte (aka M. Caux) Regt Number 3863.
Australian Light Horse Studies Centre
Transporting the

1st AIF 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 Au ...

. 1899 births 2004 deaths Australian men centenarians Australian military personnel of World War I Australian soldiers Knights of the Legion of Honour Australian carpenters {{Australia-mil-bio-stub