Fernand Goux
Encyclopedia
Fernand Goux was, at age 108, the penultimate French
World War I
veteran, with Pierre Picault
being the last. Born in Sceaux-du-Gâtinais
, Loiret
, Goux was called up for service on April 19, 1918. Goux was deployed behind the front lines with the 85th Infantry Regiment, supplying the troops and burying the dead. On November 3, 1918, he was sent to the front line
with the 82nd Infantry Regiment for the last week of the war. This made him one of two remaining trench veterans, along with Englishman Harry Patch
.
However the French government did not recognize Goux as a poilu
as he fought less than the requisite three months. The last official veteran thus remains Italian-born Lazare Ponticelli
, who was buried with state honours on March 17, 2008, with Louis de Cazenave
the last recognized native Frenchman to have served. After the war Goux worked as a farmer and he lived in the Île-de-France
region.
Surviving veterans of World War I
List of last surviving World War I veterans by country
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
veteran, with Pierre Picault
Pierre Picault
Pierre Picault was, at age 109, France's last surviving French veteran of World War I and eldest man. He became the last French World War I veteran following the death of 108-year-old Fernand Goux on 9 November 2008....
being the last. Born in Sceaux-du-Gâtinais
Sceaux-du-Gâtinais
Sceaux-du-Gâtinais is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France.-See also:*Communes of the Loiret department...
, Loiret
Loiret
Loiret is a department in north-central FranceThe department is named after the river Loiret, a tributary of the Loire. The Loiret is located wholly within the department.- History :...
, Goux was called up for service on April 19, 1918. Goux was deployed behind the front lines with the 85th Infantry Regiment, supplying the troops and burying the dead. On November 3, 1918, he was sent to the front line
Front line
A front line is the farthest-most forward position of an armed force's personnel and equipment - generally in respect of maritime or land forces. Forward Line of Own Troops , or Forward Edge of Battle Area are technical terms used by all branches of the armed services...
with the 82nd Infantry Regiment for the last week of the war. This made him one of two remaining trench veterans, along with Englishman Harry Patch
Harry Patch
Henry John "Harry" Patch , known in his latter years as "the Last Fighting Tommy", was a British supercentenarian, briefly the oldest man in Europe, and the last surviving soldier to have fought in the trenches of the First World War...
.
However the French government did not recognize Goux as a poilu
Poilu
Poilu is a warmly informal term for a French World War I infantryman, meaning, literally, hairy one. The term came into popular usage in France during the era of Napoleon Bonaparte and his massive citizen armies, though the term grognard was also common. It is still widely used as a term of...
as he fought less than the requisite three months. The last official veteran thus remains Italian-born Lazare Ponticelli
Lazare Ponticelli
Lazare Ponticelli , Knight of Vittorio Veneto, was at 110, the last surviving officially recognized veteran of the First World War from France and the last poilu of its trenches to die. Born in Italy, he travelled on his own to France at the age of eight...
, who was buried with state honours on March 17, 2008, with Louis de Cazenave
Louis de Cazenave
Louis de Cazenave was, at the time of his death, the oldest surviving French veteran of World War I.De Cazenave became the oldest poilu following the death of 111-year-old Maurice Floquet on November 10, 2006...
the last recognized native Frenchman to have served. After the war Goux worked as a farmer and he lived in the Île-de-France
Île-de-France (région)
Île-de-France is the wealthiest and most populated of the twenty-two administrative regions of France, composed mostly of the Paris metropolitan area....
region.
See also
Veterans of World War I who died in 2008Veterans of World War I who died in 2008
The following is a list of known veterans of the First World War who died in 2008.-Veterans by country of service - 17 veterans:...
Surviving veterans of World War I
Surviving veterans of World War I
The last living verified veteran of World War I is Florence Green, a British woman who served in the Allied armed forces. The last combat veteran was Claude Choules who served in the British Royal Navy , and died 5 May 2011, aged 110...
List of last surviving World War I veterans by country