That he  managed to live to that age is rather remarkable, given what  happened in the Second World War. Born in  England, he was  one of the 400,000 members of the British Expeditionary Force  sent to the mainland where they found themselves facing the  new German warfare technique - the Blitzkrieg.  
He was  treating a wounded comrade when he was hit in the legs by  shrapnel.   En route  to hospital, his ambulance came under fire from a German tank,  which then miraculously ceased fire. Later, while being evacuated from Dunkirk on HMS Grenade, two of the sister ships with them were sunk.
 

Following his recovery,  he was sent to allied campaigns in North Africa and  Italy. En route  his ship was chased by the German battleship Bismarck.  In  North  Africa he served  under General Montgomery against the Desert Fox,  Rommel.

Later, sent into the Italian campaign (which made him a D-Day Dodger), he met his future wife, a lieutenant and  physiotherapist in a Canadian hospital. They were married in  the morning by the mayor of the Italian town, and again in the  afternoon by a British padre.

After the  war they settled in Chatham where he  went into politics and became the warden (chairman) of the  county and on his retirement he and his wife moved to  Ottawa. At the  age of 80 he wrote a book about his  experiences.

One day out of the blue he received a call from a government official  asking him to go downtown to the War Memorial for a photo op. He wasn't told what  the photo was for or why they chose him. "He had no idea he  would be on the bill," his daughter  said.

And now  you know the story of the old veteran on the $10  bill.

10/01/2008