By Canadian Press

B.C. veteran, 101, recalls danger, discipline of war, as Vancouver cenotaph turns 100

Nov 11, 2024 | 2:16 PM

Second World War veteran Percival Smith says he entered the British Merchant Navy as a teenager and came out as a man, going home to a family that he “couldn’t even recognize” after the war

Smith, 101, was among thousands who gathered in downtown Vancouver for the 100th Remembrance Day ceremony to be held at the Victory Square Cenotaph.

He says he’s glad to remember friends who gave up their lives to serve king and country during the Second World War, but he doesn’t know if his health will stand up to next year’s ceremony at the memorial that was inaugurated the year after his birth.

Smith says he was in “terrible danger” during most of his service, but he and his shipmates didn’t think of dying, but rather “what the next day was going to be like.”

Smith says the dangers aside, his time at war gave him discipline and it was “the best time” of his life.

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Remembrance Day services were held across B.C., including Victoria, where about 5,000 people gathered at the cenotaph at the legislature.

Retired Cpl. Neil Dancer, who served in Afghanistan with the 3rd Battalion of Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, said the service helps in his struggles to overcome mental health issues connected to his military service.

“I ended up carrying a lot of responsibility over there and it really messed with my head over the years,” he said.

“You live with the decisions you had to make. It’s not always easy and that’s why we show up here every year just so none of the kids that are here have to go through what any of us had to go through.”

Retired Capt. Tim Cheesman, who served with the Royal Regina Rifles reserve regiment, said he was pleased to see the large crowd in Victoria, especially so many young people.

Cheesman said he was not deployed overseas but the regiment served in conflict zones.

“We deployed numerous times to peacekeeping and numerous times to Afghanistan and everybody out of our regiment made it back safely.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 11, 2024.

Darryl Greer and Dirk Meisner, The Canadian Press