Percy "Dwight" Wilson (February 26, 1901 – May 9, 2007) was the second-last surviving

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

veteran of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Born in Vienna, Ontario, he signed up as a 15-year-old boy in 1916. When asked about his actual age, he told the recruiting officer 16, which was good enough for the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) was the expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry division ...

. On the two-week voyage crossing the North Atlantic to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, he entertained the other troops on the RMS ''Grampian'' liner by singing. On his arrival, Wilson's youth was quickly discovered, and did not get a chance to visit the battlefield, as he was returned to Canada in 1917. Still determined, he enlisted again and wound up once more at

Camp Petawawa Garrison Petawawa is located in Petawawa, Ontario. It is operated as an army base by the Canadian Army. Garrison facts The Garrison is located in the Ottawa Valley in Renfrew County, northwest of Ottawa along the western bank of the Ottawa ...

for military training. The war overseas ended before he got another chance. Wilson and his wife Eleanor were married in 1927, and they stayed together until she died at the age of 94. They had two sons, Dean and Paul. Shortly after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

began, Wilson enlisted for a third time. This time, however, due to his old age, he was unable to participate in the war. He spent the war as a captain in the Perth County Reserves. Wilson lived at

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (SHSC), commonly known as Sunnybrook Hospital or simply Sunnybrook, is an academic health science centre An academic medical centre (AMC), variously also known as academic health science centre, academic healt ...

in the Veterans Residence in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

for the last year of his life. He died at the age of 106 from complications of a broken hip, which had occurred two weeks earlier. His death left John Babcock, who lived in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...

, United States, as the only surviving Canadian veteran of the First World War.

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Hear him talk about his World War I experiences, but mostly hear what he loved doing most: singing
1901 births 2007 deaths Canadian centenarians Men centenarians Canadian military personnel of World War I Canadian military personnel of World War II People from Elgin County Child soldiers in World War I Canadian military personnel from Ontario {{Canada-mil-bio-stub