All Londoner George Beardshaw knew was that someone in his Queen’s Own Rifles association unit was being honoured.
What the Second World War veteran didn’t know was that that someone was him.
Sunday, Beardshaw was awarded the Legion of Honor medal, the highest honor awarded by the French government, giving him the rank of Knight of the French Legion of Honour.
He received the honor in recognition of his involvement in the liberation of France during the Second World War.
“This is amazing, fantastic,” Beardshaw said of the ceremony, which was also used to celebrate his upcoming 99th birthday.
“I didn’t know this was going to happen. I just thought it would be a few people, but there’s tons of people.”
Beardshaw fought in France as part of the Canadian forces during the Second World War, landing on Juno Beach and helping liberate French towns from Nazi Germany’s control. Toward the end of the war, he was also captured and held captive as a war prisoner for 18 days.
“For what you did, we never forget and will always be grateful,” said Col. Roger Vandomme, deputy defense attaché for France, as he pinned the medal, designed by Napoleon Bonaparte, on Beardshaw.
But the medal wasn’t the only surprise Beardshaw received.
Beardshaw, born on Sept. 14, 1923, is the last living orphan to come to Canada as part of the Home Children program, through which more than 100,000 youth were sent to Canada from the UK between the late 1860s and 1948.
On Sunday, Home Children Canada announced it will be naming after Beardshaw a new museum in Orillia to commemorate the history of the Home Children. It will be called the George Beardshaw Gallery.
In his case, Beardshaw was placed in an orphanage at the age of three and was sent to Canada when he was 14.
Many of the Home Children youth, including Beardshaw, were used as a source of cheap labor for farmers. Many of them faced abuse.
At 18, Beardshaw enlisted in the Canadian armed forces, one of his proudest decisions, said Judi Helle, a friend who helped care for Beardshaw and organize Sunday’s ceremonies.
“He’s very proud to be a Canadian,” she said. “And he’s very proud to have gone back to fight for Canada during the war.”
At the end of the ceremony, Beardshaw said he was overwhelmed with all the recognitions, adding he only thought of himself as another soldier who fought in the Second World War.
He described it all simply: “A wonderful day for me.”
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