Swompdonkey

It's a joy to meet you, old chap!

Whenever I despair for humanity, a story like this always seems to pop up to renew my faith in Mankind.

Great War foes embrace as friends

Britain's and Germany's oldest veterans meet for the first time, 90 years after they served on the Western Front

David Smith in Witten, Germany
Sunday October 29, 2006
The Observer


'I am the enemy you killed, my friend ...' That lament from Wilfred Owen's poem 'Strange Meeting' resonated afresh yesterday when two men who were enemies in a world war 90 years ago embraced each other as friends. Henry Allingham, Britain's oldest First World War veteran, and Robert Meier, who is Germany's equivalent, braved driving rain to attend what must have been one of the most informal, and moving, of all memorial services. With a combined age of 219, these two men know better than anyone the meaning of remembrance.

Allingham, making his first trip to Germany since he served in the army of occupation after the Great War, was in Meier's home town, Witten, near Dortmund, for the special meeting ahead of next month's Armistice anniversary. The men speak different languages but communicated with perfect eloquence through their actions, clasping each other's hands and hugging warmly.

Allingham, 110, proudly wearing his war medals, said: 'I'm very happy to be here and remember how good the German people were to me when I was last here in 1919.'

Meier, 109, sporting a flamboyant black beret, added: 'It's wonderful to be together. Everybody has to be friends.' Together the centenarians, dressed smartly in suits, ignored a downpour as they were wheeled side by side to a tall, brick war memorial in the town's Lutherpark. With a monumental effort, aided by RAF men in uniform, Allingham struggled to his feet and laid a wreath of poppies at its foot.

Then the two men - who were foes in the same sector of the Western Front in 1917 - shook hands and, with unexpected tenderness, could not let one another go. For long minutes their hands remained as if welded together. Allingham glanced across at his new friend, then burst into a mischievous chuckle.

There were short speeches from Witten's mayor and from the RAF's deputy commander-in chief, Peter Dye, who said: 'It's very special that these two men are here in the spirit of friendship and peace. May their example be something we think about and reflect upon.' Then the duo were wheeled up the memorial to place the second wreath together. Dennis Goodwin, a friend who brought Allingham to Germany, exclaimed: 'Good cooperation! Bravo!' Goodwin said later: 'They say that words are a barrier but they did it all with looks and touch. They were both very happy.'

Both men have found it easier to talk about the war, and take part in public commemorations, as they have grown older. They also share a sense of humour. Allingham attributes his longevity to 'Cigarettes, whisky, and wild, wild women.' Meier puts his down to 'sport, a healthy diet, especially plenty of fish ... and the odd glass of schnapps', as well as his enduring popularity with women. He recently proposed marriage to the town mayor and a local journalist. Both declined.

Allingham and Meier are the oldest men in their respective countries. Allingham remembers watching WG Grace play cricket. Meier remembers meeting the Kaiser during the First World War. Both are fighting fit for their age. Goodwin joked: 'I said Allingham can go three rounds if you like.' He added that there had been a plan to make yesterday a three-way meeting with France's oldest veteran, but he was too frail to travel.

Yet for a long time Meier had been written out of the history books. Last year the death of 108-year-old Charles Kuentz was widely reported as the passing of Germany's last First World War veteran. In fact the number of Germans had been underestimated: Goodwin is aware of three still alive, and some sources suggest as many as eight. The number of known British veterans alive stands at nine, including one woman.

Allingham is now the most active of all of them and has attended several commemorative services in Britain and abroad. He joined the Royal Naval Air Service in 1915, became a Mechanic First Class and flew eight missions as a gunner. He served aboard one of the first aircraft carriers and witnessed the Battle of Jutland, then in early 1917 was sent to the Western Front, where he serviced planes and had to retrieve those shot down at Ypres and the Somme. In 1918 he transferred to the newly formed RAF and is its sole surviving founder member.

Not so far away, the young Meier, born in 1897 to German parents in Ukraine, was also in the trenches. He fought again in the Second World War and was taken prisoner by the Soviet Union, which held him for two years. 'The time in prison took it out of me,' he recalled, adding that without that hardship he would be even more mobile today.

Allingham, however, is still setting the pace. Next week he will be back on the road - laying a wreath in France.



November 11 is Remembrance Day. Wear a RED poppy.



Henry's trembling hand reaches out to touch Robert's cheek and, as his eyes fill up, he says: "It's a joy to meet you, old chap."

Beaming Robert clutches Henry's shoulder and says: "Wunderbar!".

Throughout lunch, the pair clutch hands and hold their heads close in conversation like old comrades rather than former foes.

An interpreter sitting with them dabs tears from his eyes because their exchanges are so affectionate. Henry tells Robert: "I can't see very well. I can't hear very well. But I can still feel. And it feels wonderful to meet you. A thousand words cannot convey how happy I feel today."

Robert responds: "You and I prove that we are never too old to make new friends - and I already consider you an old friend. You understand so much of what I am saying, but there are not many of us left."