Patch fought in the trenches in World War I. He became a plumber and firefighter. He never talked to anybody about his experiences in the trenches. When he was 100 years old he decided he should tell people about what he had seen in the war. He still had 11 more years to live after that. When he died at the age of 111 he was the last British person who had fought in the First World War. This is why he was known as "the Last Tommy". For the last seven days of his life he was the oldest man in Europe. He did not want to have a state funeral. The funeral was at Wells Cathedral. A very large number of people came. They were mostly ordinary people, but there were also some important people including Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. For many of the people there it was a last opportunity to pay respects to the people who fought in the war.