Claude Stanley Choules (/ˈʃuːlz/;[2] 3 March 1901 – 5 May 2011) was a British-born military serviceman from Pershore, Worcestershire, who at the time of his death was the oldest combat veteran of the First World War from England, having served with the Royal Navy from 1915 until 1926.

At the time of his death, he was the third-oldest verified military veteran in the world and the oldest known living man in Australia.

Claude Choules was born in Bridge Street, Pershore,[1] Worcestershire, on 3 March 1901 and raised in the nearby village of Wyre Piddle.

[9] Claude and his older brothers went to Pershore National Boys' School, though Douglas and Les emigrated to Western Australia in 1911.

[10] Choules was 13 on the outbreak of the First World War, and the family received letters from Douglas[11] and Leslie[12][13][14] who had joined the Australian Imperial Force and landed at Anzac Cove during the Gallipoli Campaign.

Choules was able to leave school when he turned 14, at which point he attempted to enlist in the army as a bugler boy but was rejected as he was too young.

[19] On 20 October 1917 Choules joined the battleship Revenge, which was the flagship of the First Battle Squadron stationed at Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands.

[21] In 1926, along with 11 other Royal Navy senior sailors, Choules travelled to Australia on loan as an instructor at Flinders Naval Depot.

[25] Choules was also responsible for dealing with the first German mine to wash up on Australian soil during the war, near Esperance, Western Australia.

After his death, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard stated, "Mr Choules and his generation made a sacrifice for our freedom and liberty we will never forget".

Guests included the West Australian Premier Colin Barnett, state Opposition Leader Eric Ripper and federal Defence Minister Stephen Smith, who gave a reading during the service.