‘Lots of memories’: 100th birthday party for Alberta WWII veteran

A 100th birthday celebration was held in Calgary to honor a World War II veteran.

Bill Wilson looks back fondly but shows no signs of stopping as he completes a century.

“A hundred is a long time. There are so many memories,” says Wilson, who was a gunner at HMCS Ottawa.

Born in Winnipeg in 1924, Wilson joined the Navy at age 13.

He was a gunner on D-Day when he was 19 years old.

“All these kids are dead. They were kids,” he says from his home in High River.

Wilson says his biggest influences are his parents, his love of reading and the Navy.

“You would either work together, or if it ended badly, you would swim together,” he says.

His ability to work with others has led him to a variety of roles.

“I’ve worked in every city in Canada. I’ve lived in four provinces,” he says.

Wilson was a long-time CPR employee, transportation manager for the ’88 Olympics, and a leader in establishing the Alberta Maritime Museum.

“He was one in a million. (World War II) A million people from Canada served but since then he’s one in a million. He’s so unique in terms of what he was able to accomplish,” said Scott Hausberg, President of the Canadian Naval Association – Calgary .

Wilson’s family and friends describe him as humble, dedicated to the Navy and say he always had a project he was working on.

“He just finds things to do. He never raises his voice, he just does things for the good of Canada and the Navy,” says his wife, Phyllis Wilson.

Wilson’s first wife has died, but he and Phyllis will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in January.

He had a son by his first wife, and Phyllis had three children when the two married.

The two also have eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Wilson says turning 100 is just another day.

He says the most important thing is people.

“The only time I think about age is when I remember the people I’ve had the pleasure of knowing over the years,” he says.

Wilson says the world is completely different now, and in some ways scary.

But he appreciates that there is a better awareness of the differences.

It’s not like when he joined the Navy.

“You can’t be agnostic; you’re Protestant or Roman Catholic. It doesn’t make any difference today, you accept that there are probably close to 50 different religions and you accept that,” he says.

“It’s a big difference. You don’t always understand it but you know they exist, whether you respect them or not, it depends on how you were raised.”

His hope for future generations is that they learn Canadian history and don’t forget the sacrifices people made for the country.

Although his actual birthday is November 5, Wilson will be out of the country on that date, so a special party has been arranged for October 25 aboard HMCS Tecumseh.

Calgary’s mayor and premier are expected to speak.