Thomas Shaw (June 1899 – 2 March 2002) was the last surviving Irish veteran of
World War I
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 ...
. He served in the
Royal Irish Rifles regiment of the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
after joining up in 1916 and fought in battles such as
Passchendaele.
Biography
Shaw was born in
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
, Ireland, in June 1899. He first enlisted as a rifleman at 15 in 1914 and went into battle, but was sent home after his brother, a
military policeman
Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, Screening (tactical), ...
, met him by chance while in
France. In 1916 he joined the 16th battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles and fought in battles such as
Messines
Messines may refer to:
* Mesen (in French: Messines), a village in Belgium
** Battle of Messines (disambiguation), World War I battles
* Messines, Quebec, a municipality in Canada
* Messines, a village in Portugal
* Messines, Queensland, a sett ...
and
Passchendaele. He stayed in
Germany as part of the Army of Occupation for six months after the war ended and returned home in April 1919.
During
World War II he was in charge of meat rations in Belfast. In 1942, he married his girlfriend Nell.
Shaw and his wife spent his last 12 years living at The Savoy, a
sheltered accommodation development in
Bangor, County Down. He died on 2 March 2002 at the age of and was buried in Clandeboye cemetery in Bangor. A plaque in honour of Thomas Shaw was put up at the front door of The Savoy on 4 August 2014.
See also
*
List of last surviving World War I veterans by country
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Thomas
1899 births
2002 deaths
Military personnel from Belfast
People from Bangor, County Down
British Army personnel of World War I
British men centenarians
Irish people of World War I
Ulster Protestants
Royal Ulster Rifles soldiers
Child soldiers in World War I
Burials in Northern Ireland
Military personnel from County Down