James Delingpole James Delingpole

The last Tommy says: ‘It was a waste of time’

Harry Patch, 109, recalls his career in Kitchener’s army

Harry Patch, 109, recalls his career in Kitchener’s army

Two years ago, when he was a mere spring chicken of 106, the last surviving Tommy, Harry Patch, was invited to inspect the Lewis guns at the museum of his old regiment, the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry, in Bodmin, Cornwall.

To help jog his memory, a young major in his party fumblingly demonstrated how to change the magazine.

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