| George Frederick Ives | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 17, 1881 Brighton, England |
| Died | April 12, 1993 (aged 111 years, 146 days) British Columbia, Canada |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | British Army |
| Years of service | 1899–1902 |
| Unit | Imperial Yeomanry |
George Frederick Ives (November 17, 1881 – April 12, 1993) was the last surviving veteran of the Boer Wars. George Ives became known in the UK after a piece in the Peterborough Column in the Daily Telegraph. His record as oldest British veteran, at 111 years and 146 days, of any war was broken on November 1, 2007 by First World War veteran Henry Allingham.
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Ives was born at Brighton, England.[1] The family worked for the Tidmarsh family. He worked in his father's work shop in Bristol until 1899.[2] That December, Ives was eager to enlist after hearing that the British had been defeated at Colenso, Magersfontein.[2]
In the Boer War, George fought with the Imperial Yeomanry, along with 122 other veterans, of the British Army in South Africa.[2]
Ives emigrated to Canada in 1903 with his father and purchased 160 acres (0.65 km2) of land for ten dollars.[3] He was rejected from service in World War I because of a heart murmur.[3]
In 1910, he married Kay Nelson.[3] The couple had three sons and three daughters.[3] Nelson disliked hard-life of the prairies, so the family moved in 1919 to White Rock, British Columbia.[3] Ives owned a farm there and eventually retired from it in 1941.[3] He looked and found another job because he said that his retirement was an excuse to change jobs. So until 1956, 15 years later, he worked in a shipyard building wooden scows, and confirmed his retirement.[3]
The couple had resided in that same house until 1984, until moving into a retirement home.[4] He attended the Albert Hall service on Remembrance day 1992 in England and met Queen Elizabeth and her mother; Baroness Margaret Thatcher, and Prime Minister John Major.[4] Ives died on April 12, 1993 at aged 111 years, 146 days in Canada.[4]