William ‘Bill’ Stone, one of the last four remaining British servicemen from World War 1 has died, aged 108.

Mr Stone was also the last remaining British Serviceman to serve in both world wars.

I don’t know why this affects me as much as it does, there’s just something about living history, about there being people who can personally relate what happened that makes it so much more real to me.

I was born and raised in England (yes, I’m English for those of you who didn’t know) and over there the World Wars are still a pretty big deal. When I was at school we studied a lot about what WWII was like, particularly what it was like to live in the cities in Britain with air raids and rationing and the children being sent away to safer locations.

It is very easy for us to forget the true cost of our freedom and as the World Wars fade out of living memory the reality of the price that was paid for the world to be the way it is today becomes just an idea, a written concept – dry history.

Thank you to all who have served in war time or in peace to provide the freedom that we have to live the lives we live, to worship God openly, to love and laugh and live free from undue restraint. Without that freedom, it may have been illegal for me to even write this blog.

So thank you. Your sacrifice is not forgotten.

To read more about Mr Stone, visit the BBC News page here or read and watch his recollections here.