Remembrance Day in Nanaimo has been held every year since 1919, including during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, marking the end of the First World War.
One of the veterans attending the ceremony this year, as he has for many years, was Victor Osborne who was born on Armistice Day in 1918 and turned 106 on Monday.
An annual tradition of the Remembrance Day ceremony in Nanaimo is singing Happy Birthday to Osborne.
Osborne served in the Royal Navy on HMS Hood, seeing action escorting merchant ships during the Spanish Civil war, before volunteering for special operations missions in Southeast Asia against the Japanese after his father was killed in the London Blitz.
Even though it was a dangerous assignment Osborne survived the war, avoiding the fate of the HMS Hood which was sunk by the German Navy in 1941.
I had the opportunity to briefly meet Victor on Monday after photographing the Remembrance Day Ceremony and hope to be able to tell more of his story in the future.
Photos by Mick Sweetman / The Discourse.
For all of the photos from the Remembrance Day ceremony, please see the below slideshow.
Correction: This story has been updated with the correct spelling of Victor Osborne’s last name. We regret the error.
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