George Lawrence Price: Difference between revisions
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{{Other persons|George Price}} |
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{{Infobox military person |
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| name = George Lawrence Price |
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| image = [[File:George lawrence price.jpg|150px]] |
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| caption = |
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| birth_date = {{Birth date|1892|12|15}} |
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| death_date = {{Death date and age|1918|11|11|1892|12|15}} |
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| placeofburial_label = |
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| placeofburial = [[St Symphorien Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery|St Symphorien Military Cemetery]], [[Mons]], Belgium |
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| birth_place =[[Falmouth, Nova Scotia|Falmouth]], [[Nova Scotia]] |
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| death_place =[[Ville-sur-Haine]], [[Belgium]] |
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| placeofburial_coordinates = {{Coord|50|25|56|N|4|0|38|E|display=inline,title}} |
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| nickname = |
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| allegiance = [[Canada]] / [[British Empire]] |
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| branch = [[Canadian Corps]] (Army) |
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| serviceyears = 1917–18 |
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| rank = Private |
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| unit = 28th 'Northwest' Battalion Canadian Infantry (Saskatchewan Regiment) aka. 'the Nor'westers' |
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| commands = |
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| battles = [[Battle of Amiens (1918)|Amiens]], [[Battle of Cambrai (1918)|Cambrai]], & the 'Pursuit to Mons' |
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}} |
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Private '''George Lawrence Price''' (Regimental Number: 256265) (December 15, 1892 – November 11, 1918) was a [[Canadians |Canadian]] [[soldier]]. He is traditionally recognized as the last soldier of the [[British Empire]] to be killed during the [[World War I|First World War]]. |
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== Early life == |
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He was born in [[Falmouth, Nova Scotia| Falmouth]], [[Nova Scotia]], on December 15, 1892, and raised on Church Street, in what is now [[Port Williams, Nova Scotia]]. He lived in [[Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan]], when he was [[Conscription Crisis of 1917 | conscripted]] on October 15, 1917.<ref name = "Matters">{{citation | url = http://www.webmatters.net/monuments/ww1_price.htm | publisher = Web matters | title = George Price | accessdate = 13 November 2010}} Contains photographs of canal, monument and plaque.</ref> He served with "A" Company of the 28th Battalion, [[Canadian Expeditionary Force]]. |
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== November 11, 1918 == |
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On November 11, Pte Price was part of an advance to take the small village of [[Havré]]. After a crossing of the [[Canal du Centre (Belgium) | Canal du Centre]] into the town of [[Ville-sur-Haine]] under German machine gun fire, Price and his patrol moved toward a row of houses intent on pursuing the machine gunner who had harassed their crossing of the canal. The patrol had entered the house from which they had thought the shooting had come, but found the Germans had exited through the back door as they entered the front. They then pursued into the house next door and again found it empty. George Price was fatally shot in the region of his heart by a German [[sniper]]<ref>{{cite book| last= Bridger| first= Geoff| title= The Great War Handbook | publisher = Pen & Sword | location = Barnsley| year = 2009| page = 182| isbn = 978-1-84415-936-9}}</ref> as he stepped out of the house into the street, against contrary advice from a house occupant, at 10:58 a.m., November 11, 1918. He died just 2 minutes before the [[armistice]] ceasefire, that ended the war, came into effect at 11 a.m.<ref name= "nwbattalion.com (November 11, 1918 - The Last Hours, The Last Man)">{{cite web| url = http://www.nwbattalion.com/last.html | title= November 11, 1918: The Last Hours, The Last Man |work= NW Battalion | accessdate = 2008-11-02 }}</ref> |
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== Memorials == |
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Price was buried in [[Havre Old Communal Cemetery]], one of the cemeteries subsequently concentrated into the [[St Symphorien Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery|St Symphorien military cemetery]], just southeast of [[Mons]].<ref name="CWGC">{{cwgc|id=894901|name=Price, George Lawrence|accessdate=13 November 2010}}</ref> Coincidentally, this is also the final resting place of [[John Parr (British Army soldier)|John Parr]] and [[George Edwin Ellison]], respectively the first and last UK soldiers killed during the Great War.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/two-soldiers-linked-in-death-by-a-bizarre-coincidence-1001080.html | location=London | work=The Independent | first1= John | last1=Lichfield | title=Two soldiers linked in death by a bizarre coincidence | date=November 8, 2008}}</ref> |
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In 1968, on the 50th anniversary of his death and the armistice surviving members of his company traveled to Ville-sur-Haine and a [[memorial plaque]] was placed onto a wall of a house near the location of his death. The inscription, in English and then in French, reads in English: |
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{{quote | |
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To the memory of 256265 Private George Lawrence Price, [[28th North West Battalion]], [[6th Canadian Infantry Brigade]], [[2nd Canadian Division]], killed in action near this spot at 10.58 hours, November 11th, 1918, the last Canadian soldier to die on the Western Front in the First World War. Erected by his comrades, November 11th, 1968.}} |
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The house has since been torn down, but the plaque has been placed on a brick and stone monument near the site where the house originally stood, and thus still near the place where he fell.<ref name = "Matters" /> |
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In 1991, the town of [[Ville-sur-Haine]] erected a new footbridge across the adjacent [[Canal du Centre (Belgium)|Canal du Centre]]. A plebiscite was held and on 11 November of that year the bridge was officially named the [[George Price Footbridge]] (French: Passerelle George Price).<ref>{{citation |last=Le Clercq |first=Jean |url=http://users.skynet.be/leclercq/lr11.htm |title=Le Rœulx: le village de Ville-sur-Haine |language=French |place=Belgium |accessdate = 13 November 2010}}{{primary-inline|date=December 2011}}. Contains photographs of bridge and monument, and record (in English) by Price's nephew George Barkhouse as guest at the naming of the bridge.</ref> |
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==See also== |
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* [[Augustin Trébuchon]], last French soldier killed in World War I, 10:45 a.m. November 11, 1918 |
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==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
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==External links== |
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* {{citation | url = http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=9792310 | title = George Lawrence Price | publisher = Find A Grave}} |
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* {{citation | url = http://www.nwbattalion.com/memorial/gl_price1.doc | title = Private George Lawrence Price, Last Man Killed in WWI | format = MS Word Doc | publisher = NW Battalion}}. |
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* {{citation | url = http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=894901 | publisher = Commonwealth War Graves Commission | type = article | title = George Price}}. |
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* {{citation | url = http://wikimapia.org/beta/#lat=50.4744543&lon=4.0673769&z=17&l=0&m=b&v=1&show=/10206207/the-George-Lawerence-Price-Site-Monument&search=george%20lawerence%20price | publisher = Wikimapia | type = image | title = Pte. Price's monument & bridge in Ville-sur-Haine}}. |
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* {{citation | url = http://cefww1soldiergprice.blogspot.com/ | publisher = Canadian Expeditionary Force | title = Study Group Blog on George Lawrence Price}}. Contains eyewitness account of Price's death. |
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{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. --> |
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| NAME = Price, George Lawrence |
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| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = |
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| SHORT DESCRIPTION = |
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| DATE OF BIRTH = 1892-12-15 |
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| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Falmouth, Nova Scotia]] |
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| DATE OF DEATH = 1918-11-11 |
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| PLACE OF DEATH = [[Ville-sur-Haine]], [[Belgium]] |
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}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Price, George Lawrence}} |
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[[Category:World War I memorials in Belgium]] |
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[[Category:1892 births]] |
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[[Category:1918 deaths]] |
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[[Category:Canadian Expeditionary Force soldiers]] |
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[[Category:Canadian military personnel killed in World War I]] |
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[[Category:Canada in World War I]] |
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[[Category:People from Hants County, Nova Scotia]] |
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[[Category:People from Kings County, Nova Scotia]] |
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[[Category:People from Moose Jaw]] |
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[[de:George Lawrence Price]] |
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[[es:George Lawrence Price]] |
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[[hu:George Lawrence Price]] |
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[[ja:ジョージ・プライス]] |
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Revision as of 15:53, 5 April 2012
George Lawrence Price | |
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| Born | December 15, 1892 Falmouth, Nova Scotia |
| Died | November 11, 1918 (aged 25) Ville-sur-Haine, Belgium |
| Buried | 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/ | 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.
Early life
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 lived in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, when he was conscripted on October 15, 1917.[1] He served with "A" Company of the 28th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force.
November 11, 1918
On November 11, Pte Price was part of an advance to take the small village of Havré. After a crossing of the Canal du Centre into the town of Ville-sur-Haine under German machine gun fire, Price and his patrol moved toward a row of houses intent on pursuing the machine gunner who had harassed their crossing of the canal. The patrol had entered the house from which they had thought the shooting had come, but found the Germans had exited through the back door as they entered the front. They then pursued into the house next door and again found it empty. George Price was fatally shot in the region of his heart by a German sniper[2] as he stepped out of the house into the street, against contrary advice from a house occupant, at 10:58 a.m., November 11, 1918. He died just 2 minutes before the armistice ceasefire, that ended the war, came into effect at 11 a.m.[3]
Memorials
Price was buried in Havre Old Communal Cemetery, one of the cemeteries subsequently concentrated into the St Symphorien military cemetery, just southeast of Mons.[4] Coincidentally, this is also the final resting place of John Parr and George Edwin Ellison, respectively the first and last UK soldiers killed during the Great War.[5]
In 1968, on the 50th anniversary of his death and the armistice surviving members of his company traveled to Ville-sur-Haine and a memorial plaque was placed onto a wall of a house near the location of his death. The inscription, in English and then in French, reads in English:
To the memory of 256265 Private George Lawrence Price, 28th North West Battalion, 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade, 2nd Canadian Division, killed in action near this spot at 10.58 hours, November 11th, 1918, the last Canadian soldier to die on the Western Front in the First World War. Erected by his comrades, November 11th, 1968.
The house has since been torn down, but the plaque has been placed on a brick and stone monument near the site where the house originally stood, and thus still near the place where he fell.[1]
In 1991, the town of Ville-sur-Haine erected a new footbridge across the adjacent Canal du Centre. A plebiscite was held and on 11 November of that year the bridge was officially named the George Price Footbridge (French: Passerelle George Price).[6]
See also
- Augustin Trébuchon, last French soldier killed in World War I, 10:45 a.m. November 11, 1918
References
- ^ a b George Price, Web matters, retrieved 13 November 2010 Contains photographs of canal, monument and plaque.
- ^ Bridger, Geoff (2009). The Great War Handbook. Barnsley: Pen & Sword. p. 182. ISBN 978-1-84415-936-9.
- ^ "November 11, 1918: The Last Hours, The Last Man". NW Battalion. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
- ^ "Casualty Details: Price, George Lawrence". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
- ^ Lichfield, John (November 8, 2008). "Two soldiers linked in death by a bizarre coincidence". The Independent. London.
- ^ Le Clercq, Jean, Le Rœulx: le village de Ville-sur-Haine (in French), Belgium, retrieved 13 November 2010[non-primary source needed]. Contains photographs of bridge and monument, and record (in English) by Price's nephew George Barkhouse as guest at the naming of the bridge.
External links
- George Lawrence Price, Find A Grave
- Private George Lawrence Price, Last Man Killed in WWI (MS Word Doc), NW Battalion.
- George Price (article), Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
- Pte. Price's monument & bridge in Ville-sur-Haine (image), Wikimapia.
- Study Group Blog on George Lawrence Price, Canadian Expeditionary Force. Contains eyewitness account of Price's death.