George Frederick Ives

George Frederick Ives (17 November 1881 – 12 April 1993) was a British Canadian army veteran, who became known as the last surviving veteran of the Boer Wars.[1] Ives became known in the UK after a piece in the Peterborough Column in the Daily Telegraph. His record as oldest British veteran, at 111 years, 146 days, of any war was broken on 1 November 2007 by First World War veteran Henry Allingham.

George Frederick Ives
Born17 November 1881
Brighton, East Sussex, England
Died12 April 1993
(aged 111 years, 146 days)
White Rock, British Columbia, Canada
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Years of service1899–1902
UnitImperial Yeomanry

Biography

Ives was born in Brighton, England.[1] The family worked for the Tidmarsh family. He worked in his father's workshop in Bristol until 1899.[2] That December, Ives was eager to enlist after hearing that the British had been defeated at Colenso, Magersfontein.[2]

In the Boer War, George fought with the Imperial Yeomanry, along with 122 other veterans, of the British Army in South Africa.[2]

Ives emigrated to Canada in 1903 with his father and purchased 160 acres (0.65 km2) of land for ten dollars. On that land in Alberta he began to farm and would spend most of his life doing so.[1][3] He was rejected from service in World War I because of a heart murmur.[3]

In 1910, he married Kay Nelson.[3] The couple had three sons and three daughters.[3] Nelson disliked the hard life of the Canadian Prairies, so the family moved in 1919 to White Rock, British Columbia.[3][4] Ives owned a farm there and eventually retired from it in 1941.[3] He looked and found another job because he said that his retirement was an excuse to change jobs. He worked in a shipyard building wooden scows for another 15 years until 1956, when he finally announced his retirement.[3]

The Ives resided in the same house until 1984, after which they moved into a retirement home.[5] His wife died in 1987.[1] He attended the Royal Albert Hall service on Remembrance day 1992 in England and met Queen Elizabeth and her mother; Margaret Thatcher, and Prime Minister John Major.[5][1] At the time, he was the last living veteran entitled to wear a Queen Victoria Medal and laid a wreath at the memorial.[1] Ives died on 12 April 1993 at aged 111 years, 146 days in White Rock, British Columbia, Canada.[5]

Notes
  1. "George Ives Last Boer War veteran: Vancouver, British Columbia..." Baltimore Sun. 16 April 1993. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  2. Davies 1996, p. 1
  3. Davies 1996, p. 2
  4. Stephen J. Thorne (3 July 2019). "Last men standing". The Royal Canadian Legion. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  5. Davies 1996, p. 3

Sources
  • Davies, David T. (1996). Canada From Afar. Dundurn Press. ISBN 1-55002-252-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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