From world wars and pandemics to social justice movements and the birth of the internet, Albert Middleton saw it all.
When Middleton died last week, he was 109 years old and the oldest living man in Canada, although his life did not begin here. Middleton immigrated to Canada at 14 years old, going on to fight for Canada in the Second World War, and was the oldest Canadian veteran of the Second World War when he died.
“I feel prouder all the time that the veterans are still with us because they’re very quickly not lasting. I’m very lucky that my dad was a veteran,” Darlene Van Raay, Middleton’s daughter, told Victoria News at Middleton's 109th birthday celebration last year.
From his early life in Canada as a farmhand in Halifax working to repay the cost of his journey to Canada, to his days in the Royal Canadian Air Force, he was a man who lived many lives. Eventually through the Veterans Land Act, he purchased a hobby farm in 1952 where he kept pigs and cattle.
Over the years he kept several odd jobs, attended night school and eventually retired in 1980. He even immigrated back to England at age 70 with his then-wife. After she passed, 90-year-old Middleton opted to return to Canada, this time choosing Victoria as his home. When he arrived in Victoria, he took up residence in an apartment across from Beacon Hill Park until the age of 101.
In his final years, he lived at Broadmead Care’s Veterans Memorial Lodge.
“He's been a very big part of our community here,” said Janet Power, the lodge's executive director. She described Middleton as very active up until the week before his passing.
“He was known for whistling and ... he propelled his wheelchair down the hallway with his feet.”
The Centurian's life's pleasures were music, candy, and the odd glass of Crown Royal Whiskey.
“He loved people coming together. He was always cheerful and so many staff have known him for several years; they’re sad and missing him dearly. He was a big part of the lodge where he lived,” Power said.
“He had a great smile, and that English accent and he’s just left a lot of great memories here. The staff really miss him.”
Middelton was married and widowed twice, and had three children. On March 11, he would have turned 110. Veterans Memorial Lodge plans to host a celebration of life for family and friends on that day.
