On July 25th, and at 111 years of age, Harry Patch died the oldest man in Europe and one of four remaining men to have fought in World War I. Radiohead are offering a new track, “Harry Patch (In Memory Of)” for paid download in tribute to the good Brit.

Harry, an iconic anti-war figure, boasted openly of having never taken the life of another man– not even during the battles he fought in France, 1917. In his autobiography, The Last Fighting Tommy, Harry recommended that adversarial statesmen take up arms and settle their own grievances, rather than “organising nothing better than legalised mass murder.” He didn’t like war so much. In fact, Harry didn’t think a single life was worth it, anytime.

Harry Patch spent his last days lecturing against war – even the very popular, story book wars that begin with ‘World’ – and attempting to convince young enlistees to turn away from a career in the military.

He was also a plumber.

You can purchase the new Radiohead track “Harry Patch (In Memory Of)” here for £1. All profit will be donated to the Royal British Legion, a UK organization for veterans. BBC is streaming the track here.

The lyrics are comprised of Harry’s own quotes.

Come to think of it, you should probably just buy The Last Fighting Tommy, and be all the smarter for it.

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