- Born
- Died
- Birth nameClaude Stanley Choules
- Nickname
- Chuckles
- Claude Choules was born on March 3, 1901 in Pershore, Worcester, Worcestershire, England, UK. He was married to Ethel Sim Wildgoose. He died on May 5, 2011 in Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia.
- SpouseEthel Sim Wildgoose(December 3, 1926 - 2003) (her death, 3 children)
- As of 25th July 2009 was the last British person to have served in World War I.
- With the death of American veteran Frank Buckles on February 27, 2011 he became the last known surviving male WWI veteran in the world.
- Some obituaries incorrectly stated that he was born in Wyre Piddle, Worcestershire, England, rather than Pershore. His obituary in the local "Worcester News" reported, "Some people believed he was born in Wyre Piddle but Coun Wood was shown a Census form which proved Mr. Choules was actually born at 88 Bridge Street in Pershore.".
- He lied about his age to enlist when he was 14 years old. Though he wanted to be a bugler in the army, he was instead assigned to a Royal Navy training ship. He later served on the battleship HMS Revenge, where he saw action in the North Sea and witnessed the surrender of the German fleet in November 1918.
- He became a chief petty officer in the Royal Australian Navy in 1932, and when World War II began was appointed chief demolition officer for the western half of the country. In this capacity he defused the first mine to wash onto Australia's shores during the war. He retired from the Navy at age 50 and worked as a member of the naval dockyard police before retiring in 1956.
- Laughing is much easier than crying.
- [on the secret to his longevity] Don't die.
- [When asked what he put his long life down to] I just keep breathing.
- I've had the luckiest life in the world, I reckon. If I had my time over again, I'd do exactly what I did do.
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