PERTH, Australia, May 5 (UPI) -- Claude Choules, believed to be the world's last surviving World War I combat veteran, has died at his home in Australia. He was 110.
Choules died at his hostel home, Gracewood, in Salter Point, Wednesday, daughter Daphne Edinger said. He was believed to be the seventh oldest man in the world and the oldest known man living in Australia.
The West Australian said Choules was the last known survivor of the more than 70 million military personnel mobilized globally during the war. Choules joined the British Navy in 1915 at the age of 14.
"I have had a happy life," Choules said from his home in 2009. "I don't think there was anything in my life I would wish had not happened."
Choules celebrated his 110th birthday in March. Ethel Choules, his wife of 76 years, died in 2003 at age 98.
Choules also served in World War II.
He was born in Britain and his mother left the home to pursue a career when he was five. He never saw her again.
In an autobiography called "The Last of the Last," Choules said, "My family is the most important thing."
