The George Pearkes Legion is downtown, on Bridge Street and near the town hall, the post office, the museum and most everything else in Princeton. The post received its letters of incorporation in 1927.
This post is named for
Major General George Randolph Pearkes, a Victoria Cross Recipient, soldier and politician. Pearkes was awarded the Victoria Cross for his gallantry and leadership in the Battle of Passchendaele during World War I and went on to become a career soldier, taking part in World War II as well. Altogether, in World War I he received the Victoria Cross, the Military Cross and the Distinguished Service Order.
Following the second world war he entered politics and served as a Member of Parliament from 1945 to 1960 in the ridings of Nanaimo and Esquimalt—Saanich, BC. He served as Minister of National Defence from 1957 to 1960 under Prime Minister John Diefenbaker and was the one who recommended to Prime Minister Diefenbaker that the
Avro Arrow be cancelled. In 1960 he retired from federal politics and became Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia on October 13, 1960. Pearkes died on May 30, 1984 in Victoria, British Columbia.