Members of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 1 helped a local WWII veteran mark a special milestone yesterday.
Bill Saunders, a WWII Royal Navy veteran, celebrated his 100th birthday yesterday.
The occasion was marked with a motorcade that formed at the Dominion on Blackmarsh Road and ended up at Saunders’ home with family, friends, members of the Legion, and local politicians gathering to offer their best wishes.
The motorcade has arrived to wish Mr. Bill Saunders a happy 100th birthday.@VOCMNEWS pic.twitter.com/959Fwws3S5
— Noah Sheppard (@SheppardNoah14) July 10, 2021
Prominent government officials including Premier Andrew Furey, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Lieutenant Governor Judy Foote all sent well wishes to Saunders.
MHA Jim Dinn and St. John’s Mayor Danny Breen stop by to wish Mr. Saunders a happy 100th.@VOCMNEWS pic.twitter.com/xEUZGPr7rj
— Noah Sheppard (@SheppardNoah14) July 10, 2021
However, the most significant birthday wish came from abroad, as Queen Elizabeth II also extended her congratulations.
Saunders enlisted in the British Navy in 1940, leaving Conception Bay South for Port Smith, England. He spent time in Gibraltar and Australia and served as a gunner on the first boat sent to liberate Hong Kong.
Saunders’ granddaughter, Jenna Fitzpatrick, says it was overseas that her grandfather met his wife. They met in Port Smith while he was stationed there, and after a short period of courting, they married during the war.
He left the service in 1946, and became heavily involved in the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 1 in St. John’s.
