Harry Patch never spoke publicly about his experiences on the frontline of the First World War until he had turned 100.

From then on he was to become an eloquent ambassador for those who had lost their lives on both sides.

He returned to Passchendaele in 2007 for the 90th anniversary of the battle, laying a wreath, not only on a memorial for the British dead, but also at a cemetery for the German victims of the offensive.

He also went to the Menin Gate where he made this speech.

He died in July 2009, aged 111. He was the last of the British veterans of the Western Front.