Comrade Allan White when he first enlisted in 1943 at 21 years old, and now at 101. (Photos submitted by Tracy Lubyk/Royal Canadian Legion.)

By Nick Nielsen

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Earlier this week, the Saskatchewan Command and members from multiple Royal Canadian Legion branches came together in Prince Albert to honour 101-year-old Navy veteran Allan White. During the ceremony, White was presented with the distinction of Knight of the French National Order of the Legion of Honour, the highest order of France.

Tracy Lubyk was the lead presenter for the ceremony along with being the Commander of the Royal Canadian Legion Saskatchewan Command. She also does work at White’s local Legion branch in Smeaton as both the Secretary and Treasurer, and she said that White’s presence over the years has always been a welcome one.

“He has always been a welcoming, supportive force behind our local branch and a sharp crib player, advancing to Provincial play many times. He still attends fundraising events when he can, and encourages the current executive, saying how proud he is of the job we are doing at the Branch.”

Born in Wadena in December of 1922, White’s family moved to Smeaton in 1924, where he grew up and went to school before moving to Flin Flon in 1940 to start his professional career working delivery and mining jobs.

In 1943, the same year he met his first wife Betsy Jacobson, White joined the Navy in Saskatoon where he received his basic training. After his advanced training in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia, White gained the rank of Able Seaman and served on the HMS Guysborough.

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White’s served his time in the Navy sitting in the cabin with a pair of headphones and then listening to radar for objects under the water such as submarines and mines. The Guysborough was an integral part of the storming of Normandy, more specifically the American invasion of Utah Beach. The Guysborough went ahead of other ships to clear one of two paths used to bring American soldiers to the during the D-Day attacks the night of June 5-6, 1944.

After 13 months of service, White finished his time with the Navy and came back to Saskatchewan in August of 1945 to work as a farmer and maintaining highways. He had six children with his wife Betsy before she passed away from cancer in 1958, and he’d welcome two more children into his life when he married Irene Meyers in 1967.

After buying Betsy’s parents’ farm in 1949, White spent the next 62 years of his life farming both grain and cattle, and served on a number of boards and committees in the community. According to Lubyk, the Legion in Smeaton would not be the proud organization it is today without White’s contributions as a founding member.

“He still attends fundraising events when he can, and encourages the current executive, saying how proud he is of the job we are doing at the Branch. Comrade White is a Lifetime Member of the Royal Canadian Legion and his 77 years of Legion service is an enduring legacy as he has instilled his belief in the Legion in his family, who have been and continue to be involved with our Branch. Our Branch would not be what it is today without Comrades like Allan White.”

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nick.nielsen@pattisonmedia.com