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Professor Harold Lawton, who died on Christmas Eve aged 106, was an authority on 16th- and 17th-century literature in France, and is thought to have been the last surviving Allied soldier captured on the Western Front.

Lawton crossed the Channel in March 1918 and was sent to join the 4th Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment, in reinforcing the line at Bethune after a Portuguese battalion had been overwhelmed by a German artillery barrage at Armentières.

When he arrived the situation was chaotic, with the trenches little more than shallow scrapes, so that he and the other new arrivals had to dig in. When the Germans infiltrated their lines, outflanked them and swept past, Lawton and six comrades were cut off for several days without food, ammunition or orders. Eventually the Germans returned, and they had no option but to surrender.

That night, the seven prisoners were put in a wire cage, and taken through Lille. The townspeople were hungry themselves, but they came out and tried to give them bread. It was a kindness that Lawton never forgot. He was incarcerated in a fortress known as the Black Hole of Lille, where hundreds of men were crammed into cells, and had to sleep on wooden shelves. The sanitary conditions were appalling, and many died from wounds, dysentery and influenza.

Lawton was reported missing, believed killed, and it was some time before he was able to write home. Eventually, he was moved to Limburg, Westphalia, and then to a PoW camp at Minden, from which he was released after the Armistice was signed in November. Even then he did not feel entirely safe. During the return to England, in a captured German vessel, the captain told Lawton that there were still mines in the North Sea, and that if the ship was hit, the passengers were to assemble on deck - assuming that it was still there.

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The last remaining merchant sailor from the First World War has died aged 107, his family have said.
Nicholas Swarbrick died peacefully last Thursday at the nursing home in Grimsargh, Lancashire, where he spent his final years.
His death leaves just 11 soldiers, sailors and airmen from the Great War, said a National Archives spokesman.
Most of these live in the south of England, apart from two in Australia and one who lives in Derby.
Mr Swarbrick served as a merchant seaman during the 1914-1918 conflict.
His nephew, Rodney Swarbrick, said : "We are coming to the end of an era.
"He was a remarkable man. He thought he had lived in the most exciting century the world has ever seen. He thought he had been lucky to live through a century of such unparalleled endeavour and achievement for mankind."
In an interview last year to mark Armistice Day, Mr Swarbrick said he could still recall the death of Queen Victoria as a boy and his memories of the war years lived on with him.
Born in Grimsargh, near Preston, he joined the Merchant Navy aged 17 and trained as a radio officer. German U-Boats took a terrible toll on Allied shipping, sending thousands of service personnel, and civilians, to a watery grave.
Mr Swarbrick said: "I was the radio officer and could hear when ships were being sunk.
SOS distress
"I could hear the SOS messages from torpedoed ships, ships in distress and going down and hearing their death throes. It was pretty horrifying to hear what was happening on the airwaves.
"And the instructions we had was not to go to their aid, because you yourself then became a target for the sub lurking close by.
"You had to get the hell out of it rather than go to help - that would be merely to commit suicide.
"I always expected us to be next, I think we just got used to that fear, but it never happened to us."
Working life
Mr Swarbrick remained in the Merchant Navy for 13 years.
He switched to his father's farm business in Grimsargh for the rest of his working life.
Mr Swarbrick remained teetotal and single all his life, but one of his nephews is an officer in the Royal Navy.
He died in a nursing home which overlooks land which his father and he once farmed.
The veteran will be cremated at Preston Crematorium on Friday.
According to the National Archives there are three sailors from the Royal Navy, who served in the First World War, who are still alive, four soldiers, three members of the Royal Flying Corps and one member of the Royal Navy Air Service.

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The nation will say thank-you to its veterans this summer with the launch of Britain's annual Veterans Day. Veterans' Minister Don Touhig announced today that young and old will join together on June 27 for a national event in London, with local celebrations across the country.

As well as inaugurating June 27 as Veterans' Day, this year's events will honour the holders of the Victoria Cross and George Cross.

Mr Touhig said: "I am truly excited about the celebrations in London.
But I am also keen that Veterans Day should be a genuinely national occasion. So, I am calling on communities across Britain to organise their own local celebrations for Veterans Day."

Mr Touhig added: "This announcement follows the great success of last year's Veterans Awareness Week. Every year, June 27 will be our chance to thank our veterans for the sacrifices they have made for us. It will also let us honour the serving men and women of our Armed Forces.

"In Britain we can vote, learn, speak and live freely because our armed forces have defended our values. Our message is simple: if you enjoy your freedom, thank our veterans.

"Veterans come in all ages, shapes and sizes. They may be old or young but they have the same distinction. They have worn their country's uniform with pride and have honoured their promise to defend their country."

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It is reported that a national day of commemoration could be staged to mark the passing of the last British veterans of the First World War, the Government has indicated. Don Touhig, the defence minister responsible for veterans, told MPs that the Government was considering proposals for a national memorial service, which could be accompanied by events in communities and schools across the country. There had been a campaign for a state funeral to be held for the last First World War veteran. But Mr Touhig voiced doubts about calls this proposal, as it was riddled with difficulties. Ministers did not have a comprehensive list of surviving veterans, making it "impossible" to identify the last survivor with any certainty, he said. "Inevitably the numbers of surviving veterans of World War One will dwindle, but the numbers of those known to us do go up as well as down," he added.

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"Inevitably the numbers of surviving veterans of World War One will dwindle, but the numbers of those known to us do go up as well as down," he added.

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