Claude Choules
Claude Choules (3 March 1901 – 5 May 2011)[1] was a British-Australian World War I veteran who served in the Royal Navy.
| Claude Choules | |
|---|---|
| File:Claude Choules.jpg | |
| Nickname | Chuckles |
| Allegiance | 23x15px United Kingdom Australia |
| Service/branch | Royal Navy Royal Australian Navy |
| Years of service | 1916 – 1956 |
| Rank | Acting Torpedo Officer, Fremantle Chief Demolition Officer |
| Battles/wars | World War I World War II |
Biography
World War I & World War II
Born in Wyre Piddle, son of Harry & Madeline (née Winn), near Pershore, Worcestershire, Choules joined the Royal Navy as a young man in 1916, and served aboard the Naval Training Ship HMS Circe at Plymouth. In 1917, he joined the battleship HMS Revenge, which was the flagship of the First Battle Squadron. While serving aboard her, Choules witnessed the surrender of the German Imperial Navy at the Firth of Forth in 1918, ten days after the Armistice, and was also to witness the scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow. During World War II, Choules was the Acting Torpedo Officer of Fremantle and also the Chief Demolition Officer on the western side of the Australian continent. He was tasked with sabotaging Fremantle harbors and related oil storage tanks in the event of a Japanese invasion.
He died on 5 May 2011 in Perth, Western Australia at 110 years old.
Claude Choules Media
Choules and his future wife Ethel Wildgoose, aboard Diogenes, 1926. They were married for 76 years until her death aged 98.
PO Choules aboard HMAS Canberra, 1929
HMAS Choules in December 2011
- BritishWarMedalBAR
Ribbon, World War I Victory Medal
War Medal 1939–1945 (UK) ribbon
- Australia Service Medal 1939-1945 BAR.svg
Australia Service Medal 1939-1945 BAR
UK Queen EII Coronation Medal ribbon
AUS Centenary Medal ribbon
Australian Defence Medal (Australia) ribbon
Related pages
References
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).