ww2 veterans left

[mollykins]

How many ww2 veterans do you think are still with us?

And do people like my grandad count? He wasn't old enough to be a soldier during the actual war, but was training during it and was stationed in India just as the war was finishing and for a couple of years after.

[ummmm]

My Grandad.

[China Doll]

My grandad too.

[carolegif]

My Dad is still alive at 91, he joined up at the end of 1938 as he was in the TA. He still keeps in touch with his old regiment and there are only 6 of them left.

[ummmm]

How old is your Grandad China? Mine joined up in Belfast.

[China Doll]

88 I think... He's on the cornish side of my family, (my paternal grandad got run over and killed while he was drunk, stories vary as to whether it was a bus or guiness truck that did it! Bloody irish and their stories ;0) Maternal grandad was in the navy and was on 3 ships that sunk and was one of a handful of survivers on each ship.

[ummmm]

My other Grandad got run over getting a packet of fags. No lie...

It's a pity I didn't ask more questions. I try talking to him now but he just shouts 'WHAT' at me. Nan doesn't even know who she is :-(

[carolegif]

Neither does my Mum, it is very sad. Dad visits her every day and she forgets he has been to see her.

[China Doll]

My grandad likes to talk about the war, he's sad because my nan is dead and so are most of his friends from those days. He'll say quite openly that he liked the war because he got to travel and it felt to him like they were 'all in it together'... He had some remarkable experiences. He lied about his age to get in so he was actually only 14 when he signed up.

[jno]

there are still three surviving veterans of the First World War

http://en.wikipedia.o...terans_of_World_War_I

[mollykins]

I know there were those three last remembrance sunday but I thought at least one of them had passed away since, I thought I saw it on the news.

[jackles]

quite alot. any one over 85 were prob in the war.my father in law fought with the gurkas.never really spoke about it.my dad just said he spent his time in the french woods catching rabbits.! both now sadly passed away.

[ironmonger]

There must be thousands. In a radius of half a mile where I live there are twelve I know
I am one of them. If you go to your to your local British Legion parade on remembrance Sunday you will get a good idea how many there are.

[dundurn]

My Dad was in North Africa and Italy during the War. He joined the Home Guard as a teenager (think Private Pike?) and then when he was 17 joined the Army. Last year he was on a coach trip to Italy and discovered this group of 15 or so "old codgers" who were grappling with a map and the local lingo. They were all "D-Day Dodgers" like him and go round Italy laying wreaths on the graves of their mates who didn't make it home. Dad speaks pretty good Italian so he was appointed tour guide for the time they were together. He was 87 this year and some of the group he met could give him a few years.

[mike11111]

Assuming an age of 16, anyone who saw action before VE day must be at least 81, unless they lied about their age. I'm sure there are plenty of men still alive of this age or older.

[paddywak]

However many of these old boys are left I would like to wish them all many more healthy and happy years

[paddywak]

This question aroused my intrest Molly so I did a bit of googling and while not connected with "our" war it shows that things sometimes aren't as far away as we think. The American Civil War ended in 1865 but the last Union survivor , Albert Woodson did not die untill 1956 and the last Confederate Walter Williams lived untill 1959

[mollykins]

Wow, that's suprising paddy.

[ann_h]

Anyone born before 1928 is old enough to have served in WW2, so aged 81 plus as mike said. This is realistically only a generation ago, in that I am in my 40's and my father served in WW2, and my great-uncles who were in WW1 only died when I was in my early teens.
In the 2001 census there were 1,877,000 men 70-79 and 793,000 aged 80+ so coming up to the 3 million mark who were the right age to have been called up - although many of those might have stayed in Britain as Policemen, teachers etc