Today Harry Patch celebrates his 111th birthday, a special milestone in anyone's book but Harry is the last surviving Tommy who fought in the trenches of World War 1. A very modest man he didn't even start talking about his WW1 experiences until he was over 90. Since then he's achieved celebrity status and been awarded many accolades and medals from admirers.
While not wishing to dwell on the subject of mortality, Harry is at the moment a tangible and living link with the horror of WW1 but in the future there will be no one left who can describe those events first hand. This was reinforced a couple of weeks a go when the last survivor of the Titanic died. Although she was only 6 weeks old on 14th April 1912 she was never the less personally affected by the disaster and again was an actual link with the event and had a story to tell.
Once the "first person" has gone we are left with history or heritage. It is why it is important to glean what we can from the living before they are no longer with us. Once gone only their stories remain, that can be in danger of being amended or suffer from Chinese Whsipers, so losing their validity and reality.
So this is what the title of this post is about, when living memory passes into history.
Let's wish Harry a very Happy Birthday, but not forget that his like will not be seen again. We must honour and remember all our histories and heritage, whether it be personal, regional, national or international.
It's why I do the job I do. It's what makes it so rewarding: and important for future generations who are currently living somebody else's "eventual history".
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