Louis Barthe

Louis Barthe, artilleryman at Tarbes and last of the "poilus", at 106 years old, at home, seated in an armchair in a dressing gown and beret (he died on June 3, 2003).

The term Poilu ("Hairy One") refers to the appearance of the regular French infantryman during The Great War. It became custom for French soldiers to grow their hair and beards long at the outbreak of the war as an expression of their masculinity.