Harry Patch survived the Battle of Passchendaele, in which 70,000 of his companions died, during the War to End All Wars.
Patch didn't speak about the war until he turned 100, the Ministry of Defence said.
"He tried to suppress the memories and to live as normal a life as possible; the culture of his time said that he was fortunate to have survived and that he should get on with his life," a Ministry of Defence biography says.
"That suited Harry; he could 'forget' his demons, the memories of what happened to him and to his close friends."
In 1998, a television producer with an interest in the war talked to Patch, who then made the decision to speak of his memories, the Ministry of Defence said. He took part in a documentary on the war and began gradually to open up.
It wasn't long before Patch became a spokesman for his generation, speaking about the horrors of the war as well as his own emotions and reactions, the Ministry of Defence said.
"In speaking about his experiences, Harry began at last to come to terms with his war, and was at peace with himself and his memories," the Defence Ministry said. "His thoughts then turned to reconciliation, to the long-term effects of suffering and coming to terms with that suffering."
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