List of last surviving Canadian war veterans

This is an incomplete list of the last surviving veterans of Canadian wars. The last surviving veteran of any particular war, upon his death, marks the end of a historic era. Exactly who is the last surviving veteran is often an issue of contention, especially with records from long-ago wars. The "last man standing" was often very young at the time of enlistment and in many cases had lied about his age to gain entry into the service, which confuses matters further. There were also sometimes incentives for men to lie about their ages after their military service ended.

1882 studio portrait of the (then) last surviving Six Nations warriors who fought with the British in the War of 1812: (left to right) John Smoke Johnson, John Tutela and Young Warner.

19th century

War of 1812 (1812–1815)

• Sir Provo Wallis (1791–1892) — Royal Navy. Served on HMS Shannon. Also a Napoleonic Wars veteran.^[1]
• John Tutela (1797–1888) — Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) Warrior. Last Six Nations veteran. Member of the Cayuga nation. Later became a chief.^[2][3]
• John Smoke Johnson (1792–1886) — Iroquois Warrior. Member of the Mohawk nation. Later became a chief.^[4][2]
• Young Warner (c. 1794–c. 1882) — Iroquois Warrior. Member of the Cayuga nation.^[2]

Rebellions of 1837–1838

• Samuel Filgate (1818–1919) — Canadian militia.^[5]
• François X. Matthieu (1818–1914) — Parti Patriote.^[6]

American Civil War (1861–1865)

• George F. Stuart (1845–1946) — Union Army. Born in New Brunswick.^{[7]: 931 [8]}
• Donat Courville (1844–1943) — Confederate Army. Born in Quebec.^[7]: 930

Fenian raids (1866–1871)

• Henry Bayles Hooke (1849–1954) — Canadian Army. Fought in the raid of 1866 at Ridgeway.^[9][10]
• William Craig (1850–1951) — Canadian Army. Fought in the raids of 1870–71.^[11][12]

North-West Rebellion (1885)

• William Dickie Mills (1866–1971) — Canadian Army.^[13]
• Jean Dumont (1858–1961) — Métis militia. Nephew of Gabriel Dumont.^[14]

20th century

Second Boer War (1899–1902)

• George Frederick Ives (1881–1993) — British Army. Served in the Imperial Yeomanry. Later emigrated to Canada.^[15]
• Sir Richard Ernest William Turner (1871—1961) — Canadian Army. Last Canadian Victoria Cross recipient. Served in Queen's Own Canadian Hussars. Later promoted to Lieutenant General and served in World War I.

World War I (1914–1918)

Main article: List of last surviving World War I veterans

1920 portrait of John Babcock, the last known surviving veteran of the Canadian military to have served in the First World War

• John Babcock (1900–2010) — Canadian Expeditionary Force. Last Canadian veteran.^[16]
• Gladys Powers (1899–2008) — British Army. Served in the WAAC and Royal Air Force; the WRAF. Last female veteran and last veteran residing in Canada.^[17]
• Charles Laking (1899–2005) — Canadian Expeditionary Force. Last combat veteran.^[18][19]
• Henry Botterell (1896–2003) — Royal Air Force. Born in Canada. Served in the RNAS before joining the RAF. Last pilot.^[20]
• Edward H. Harlow (1899–2002) — Royal Canadian Navy. Served on HMCS Niobe. Survived the Halifax Explosion.^[21]
• Charles Smith Rutherford (1892–1989) – Canadian Army 5th Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles. Last Canadian Victoria Cross Recipient.

World War II (1939–1945)

• Ernest Smith (1914–2005) – Canadian Army. The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada. Last Canadian Victoria Cross Recipient.

See also

• Military history of Canada
• List of last surviving veterans of military insurgencies and wars
• List of last surviving veterans of military operations
• Last European veterans by war
• Last surviving United States war veterans

References

1. Christie, Carl (1990). "Wallis, Sir Provo William Parry". In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. XII (1891–1900) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
2. "Studio portrait taken in July 1882 of the surviving Six Nations warriors who fought with the British in the War of 1812". Library and Archives Canada. July 1882. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
3. Ontario Historical Society (1910). Ontario history, Volumes 9–12. New York City: Kraus Reprint Co. ISBN 978-0-217-52479-7.
4. Leighton, Douglas. "JOHNSON, JOHN". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
5. "Captain Filgate Died in His 101st Year". The Montreal Gazette. 28 January 1919. p. 7. Retrieved 20 April 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Lyman, H. S. (1900). Reminiscences of FX Matthieu. Vol. 1. Portland: Oregon Historical Society.
7. Hoar, Jay S. (2007). The North's Last Boys in Blue. Vol. 2. Higginson Book Co. ISBN 978-0-7404-5907-8.
8. "Canadian, Civil War Veteran to Be Citizen". The Hartford Courant. 4 February 1941. p. 16. Retrieved 18 December 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
9. Kernodle, R; Beard, Belle; Wilson, Nera; Wilson, Albert (September 1991). "Centenarians: The New Generation". Contemporary Sociology. 20 (5). American Sociological Association: 28. doi:10.2307/2072275. JSTOR 2072275.
10. "Leonia Man Honored At 101st Birthday". The Herald-News. 17 July 1950. p. 14. Retrieved 20 April 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Fenian Raid Veteran Wm Craig, 102, Dies". The Ottawa Journal. 13 February 1951. p. 7. Retrieved 30 April 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Legionnaire Veteran Of Fenian Raids". The Edmonton Journal. 11 July 1949. p. 2. Retrieved 30 April 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Fought Against Riel". The Brandon Sun. March 8, 1966. p. 9. Retrieved August 11, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Riel Rebellion Veteran Nears 102". The Edmonton Journal. 15 July 1961. p. 14. Retrieved 20 April 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
15. Davies, David Twiston (1996). Canada from afar: the Daily telegraph book of Canadian obituaries. Toronto: Dundurn Group. pp. 1–3.
16. Goldstein, Richard (24 February 2010). "John Babcock, Last Canadian World War I Veteran, Dies at 109". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
17. The Province (24 August 2008). "Canada's oldest First World War vet dies". Postmedia News. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
18. "Remembering the last Canadian combat veteran". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 28 November 2005. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
19. Oliver, Myrna (3 December 2005). "Charles Laking, 106; One of Last 5 Canadian Veterans of World War I". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
20. "Henry John Lawrence Botterell (1896-2003), First World War combat pilot". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
21. Nolte, Carl (12 September 2002). "Edward Harlow -- World War I veteran". SFGate.com. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 25 May 2019.