Donald Hodge (veteran)
Encyclopedia
Donald Arthur Hodge was one of the last surviving veteran
s of the First World War.
Hodge was born in Kent
, England
, and was educated at The Judd School
in Tonbridge
, where he has a house
named in his honour. Following the outbreak of war, Hodge - like many others - enlisted in the armed forces with the illusion of being part of a glorious battle.
Hodge survived the war, but with great regret - stating ""I lost all my youth, the best years of my life you might say and I lost so many friends. A few medals don't make up for that. Nobody wins in a war, they lost but we didn't win."
In 1995, after passing 100 years old, Hodge was one of the veterans to appear in "Age of Hope" - the first part of the Emmy Award
-winning BBC
/PBS
series "People's Century
" - where he recounted his experiences of the war. He also appeared in the second part of ABC
's 1999 series "The Century: America's Time
", in a segment entitled "Shell Shock - The Great War". He was President of the British First World War Veterans’ Association.
Veteran
A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...
s of the First World War.
Hodge was born in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and was educated at The Judd School
The Judd School
The Judd School is a state secondary school in Tonbridge, Kent, southeast England. It was established in 1888 at Stafford House on East Street in Tonbridge, where it remained for eight years before moving to its present location on Brook Street, in the south of the town...
in Tonbridge
Tonbridge
Tonbridge is a market town in the English county of Kent, with a population of 30,340 in 2007. It is located on the River Medway, approximately 4 miles north of Tunbridge Wells, 12 miles south west of Maidstone and 29 miles south east of London...
, where he has a house
House system
The house system is a traditional feature of British schools, and schools in the Commonwealth. Historically, it was associated with established public schools, where a 'house' refers to a boarding house or dormitory of a boarding school...
named in his honour. Following the outbreak of war, Hodge - like many others - enlisted in the armed forces with the illusion of being part of a glorious battle.
"I was in a crowd of other 18, 19, 20-year old boys and we thought it was going to be a tremendous lot to go and knock the Kaiser off his throne."
Hodge survived the war, but with great regret - stating ""I lost all my youth, the best years of my life you might say and I lost so many friends. A few medals don't make up for that. Nobody wins in a war, they lost but we didn't win."
In 1995, after passing 100 years old, Hodge was one of the veterans to appear in "Age of Hope" - the first part of the Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
-winning BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
/PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
series "People's Century
People's Century
People's Century is a television documentary series examining the 20th century. It was a joint production of the BBC in the United Kingdom and PBS member station WGBH Boston in the United States. First shown on BBC in 1995, the 26 parts of one hour deal with the socio-economic, political, and...
" - where he recounted his experiences of the war. He also appeared in the second part of ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's 1999 series "The Century: America's Time
The Century: America's Time
The Century: America's Time is a 15-part series of documentaries produced by the American Broadcasting Company on the 20th century and the rise of the United States as a superpower...
", in a segment entitled "Shell Shock - The Great War". He was President of the British First World War Veterans’ Association.