Harry Patch: Anti War Hero
Private Harry Patch, aged 111, popularly known as ‘The Last Tommy’ through being the last soldier to survive WW1, was,
in fact, an outspoken antiwar refusenik.
A warmongering UK Establishment would try to commandeer him and his memory in order to glorify their notion of “the good
war” – as if Harry was just a poppy to put in their buttonholes – but Harry wouldn’t have it. He firmly believed that
‘Thou shalt not kill’ trumped all demands of ‘King and Country’ and said so.
Heathcote Williams
ENDS