George Lawrence Price
| George Lawrence Price | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
December 15, 1892 Falmouth, Nova Scotia |
| Died | November 11, 1918 (aged 25) Ville-sur-Haine, Belgium |
| Buried at | St Symphorien Military Cemetery, Mons, Belgium (50°25′56″N 4°0′38″E / 50.43222°N 4.01056°E) |
| Allegiance | Canada / British Empire |
| Service/branch | Canadian Corps (Army) |
| Years of service | 1917–18 |
| Rank | Private |
| Unit | 28th 'Northwest' Battalion Canadian Infantry (Saskatchewan Regiment) aka. 'the Nor'westers' |
| Battles/wars | Amiens, Cambrai, & the 'Pursuit to Mons' |
Private George Lawrence Price (Regimental Number: 256265) (December 15, 1892 – November 11, 1918) was a Canadian soldier. He is traditionally recognized as the last soldier of the British Empire to be killed during the First World War.
He was born in Falmouth, Nova Scotia, on December 15, 1892, and raised on Church Street, in what is now Port Williams, Nova Scotia. He moved to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan as a young man, where he was conscripted on October 15, 1917. He served with "A" Company of the 28th Battalion, (Saskatchewan North West Regiment), Canadian Expeditionary Force.
The 28th Battalion had orders for November 11 to advance from Frameries (South of Mons) and continue to the village of Havre, securing all the bridges on the Canal du Centre. The battalion advanced rapidly starting at 4:00 a.m., pushing back light German resistance and they reached their position along the canal facing Ville-sur-Haine by 9:00 a.m. where the battalion received a message that all hostilities would cease at 11:00 a.m. Price and fellow soldier Art Goodworthy were worried that the battalion's position on the open canal bank was exposed to German positions on the opposite side of the canal where they could see bricks had been knocked out from house dormers to create firing positions. According to Goodworthy, they decided on their own initiative to take a patrol of five men across the bridge to search the houses. Reaching the houses and checking them one by one, they discovered German soldiers mounting machine guns along a brick wall overlooking the canal. The Germans opened fire on the patrol with heavy machine gun fire but the Canadians were protected by the brick walls of one of the houses. Aware that they had been discovered and outflanked, the Germans began to retreat. A Belgian family in one of the houses warned the Canadians to be careful as they followed the retreating Germans. George Price was fatally shot in the chest by a German sniper as he stepped out of the house into the street. He was pulled into one of the houses and treated by a young Belgian nurse who ran across the street to help, but died a minute later at 10:58 a.m., November 11, 1918. His death was just two minutes before the armistice came into effect at 11 a.m.
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