Major General The Honourable George Randolph Pearkes - North Saanich, BC - Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com

Major General The Honourable George Randolph Pearkes, VC, PC, CC, CB, DSO, MC, CD lived from February 28, 1888 to May 30, 1984. Although he was born in Watford, England, he emigrated to Canada at the age of 18 and it was as a Canadian that he achieved most of his accomplishments.

Pearkes served with the North-West Mounted Police (a forerunner of today's Royal Canadian Mounted Police) from 1911 until the beginning of World War I, at which time he enlisted with the Canadian military.

On 30 October 1917, during the Battle of Passchendaele, the gallant actions of the then Major Pearkes led to him being awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries. By the end of the war, Pearkes would reach the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and also receive the Military Cross and the Distinguished Service Order. Pearkes served as commanding officer at various posts throughout World War II before retiring as a Major General in February 1945.

A few months after retiring from the military, Pearkes was elected during the 1945 federal election as the Progressive Conservative Party candidate in the riding of Nanaimo, BC, also being re-elected in 1949. In 1953, he was elected in the riding of Esquimalt—Saanich, BC, where he was re-elected two more times in 1957 and 1958. He served as Minister of National Defence from 1957 to 1960, during which time he recommended the controversial cancellation of the Avro Arrow program. He resigned from federal political service on October 10, 1960 and was appointed the 20th Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia two days later on October 12, 1960. He served in this position until July 2, 1968.

Pearkes' name lives on in the names of several buildings and facilities, a mountain, a branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, many roads, and a Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker.

Source: Wikipedia

Description: Senior Canadian military officer, Victoria Cross winner, Canadian politician, and BC Lieutenant-Governor Date of birth: 02/28/1888 Date of death: 05/30/1984 Area of notoriety: Military Marker Type: Horizontal Marker Setting: Outdoor Fee required?: No Web site: [Web Link] Visiting Hours/Restrictions: Not listed

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