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3 June 2009

Australia's Oldest Man, Last WWI Veteran Dies

Australia's oldest man and its last surviving veteran of World War I died on Wednesday at the age of 110.

Jack Ross, who joined the Australian Imperial Force in the last months of World War I 91 years ago, died in his sleep in a nursing home in the southern country town of Bendigo, the Golden Oaks Nursing Home said.

Ross, who was born in 1899, enlisted in the Australian military that fought with British forces in January 1918 and was trained in the use of radio before being assigned to the 1st Battalion in his native Victoria state.

But the Great War drew to an end in November of the same year and Ross was demobilised before being posted overseas.

Source & Full Story

By Jean-Yves BAXTER on 3 June 2009, 22:34 | Dead Persons | Permalink | no comment

2 June 2009

Last Titanic Survivor Dies At 97

The last survivor of the sinking of the Titanic has died aged 97.

Millvina Dean was nine weeks old when the liner sank after hitting an iceberg in the early hours of 15 April 1912, on its maiden voyage from Southampton.

The disaster resulted in the deaths of 1,517 people in the north Atlantic, largely due to a lack of lifeboats.

Miss Dean, who remembered nothing of the fateful journey, died on Sunday at the care home in Hampshire where she lived.

Her family had been travelling in third class to America, where they hoped to start a new life and open a tobacconist's shop in Kansas City.

Source & Full Story

By Jean-Yves BAXTER on 2 June 2009, 09:08 | Dead Persons | Permalink | no comment

29 April 2009

Great Escape' Gardener, 97, Dies

One of the last surviving prisoners of war (PoW) from Stalag Luft III, the focus of the 1963 film The Great Escape, has died in Scotland.

Alex Lees, 97, and born in Manchester, had been the gardener in the famous PoW camp in Germany during World War II.

Mr Lees used his work to help get rid of the spoil dug from the escape tunnels at the camp.

Of those who broke out of the camp only three reached safety and of the 73 recaptured, 50 were shot.

Source & Full Story

By Jean-Yves BAXTER on 29 April 2009, 12:58 | Dead Persons | Permalink | no comment

11 April 2009

Illinois Man Awarded Medal of Honor Dies at 89

Russell Dunham, an Illinois man who was awarded the Medal of Honor after killing nine German soldiers and taking two others captive while wounded during World War II, has died. He was 89.

Dunham died Monday of heart failure at his home in the southwestern Illinois community of Godfrey, said his stepdaughter, Annette Wilson. He had moved there just weeks ago from nearby Jerseyville.

Dunham never considered himself a hero on Jan. 8, 1945, when he charged a hill near Kayserberg, France, despite being wounded in the back, Wilson said Thursday.

Source & Full Story

By Jean-Yves BAXTER on 11 April 2009, 10:37 | Dead Persons | Permalink | no comment

29 March 2009

Veteran is UK's Oldest Ever Man

The UK's oldest man has reached a new milestone by becoming the oldest ever British man, after clocking up 112 years and 296 days.

Henry Allingham has lived longer than Welshman John Evans, who died in 1990 aged 112 years and 295 days.

Mr Allingham is one of two surviving World War I veterans in the UK and is also the oldest Royal Navy veteran.

Mr Allingham, who has dedicated much of his time in recent years to giving talks to schoolchildren about his experiences, will be 113 years old on 6 June.

Source & Full Story

By Jean-Yves BAXTER on 29 March 2009, 21:25 | Dead Persons | Permalink | no comment

26 March 2009

U.S. Historian John Hope Franklin Dies at 94

U.S. historian and civil rights advocate John Hope Franklin, credited with helping create the field of African-American history, died on Wednesday at age 94, Duke University said.

Franklin's book "From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African-Americans," published in 1947, is still considered the definitive account of the black experience in America. The longtime Duke professor died of congestive heart failure at Duke Hospital in Durham, North Carolina.

Source & Full Story

By Jean-Yves BAXTER on 26 March 2009, 09:19 | Dead Persons | Permalink | no comment

14 January 2009

Bill Stone, Last British Forces Veteran Of World Wars, Dies Aged 108

Bill Stone was one of just three surviving veterans of the First World War in Britain, having joined the Royal Navy on his 18th birthday and followed his three older brothers by serving as a Stoker.

As well as taking part in a round-the-world 'Empire Cruise' visiting the Colonies onboard HMS Hood, he took part in the evacuation of Dunkirk, served in the 1943 Sicily landings, experienced first-hand the horrors of the 1918 Spanish Influenza pandemic and cut the hair of General Franco's brother on rescuing him from a stricken plane.

During the Second World War he was appointed chief demolition officer for the western half of Australia.

If Japan had succeeded in invading Australia it would have been his responsibility to blow up the key strategic harbour of Fremantle, near Perth, Western Australia, to make it useless to the enemy.

Source

By Jean-Yves BAXTER on 14 January 2009, 21:37 | Dead Persons | Permalink | 2 comments

1 December 2008

Sad News: Keith Wilson, The Creator Of iFamily For Leopard Has Passed Away

I just read this post from Ben Sayer sharing that "The Mac genealogy community has suffered a significant loss. Keith Wilson, the creator of iFamily for Leopard (and Tiger before that), passed away unexpectedly on November 2nd. I’ve called him a maverick and meant it with great respect. His ingenious contributions will be missed."

By Jean-Yves BAXTER on 1 December 2008, 22:16 | Dead Persons | Permalink | no comment

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