Federal Retirees would like to recognize long-time member and volunteer Nelson Whatmore, who recently celebrated his 100th birthday.
Federal Retirees member Nelson Whatmore celebrated his 100th birthday on Nov. 20, 2022, and he’s still a volunteer for the National Association of Federal Retirees. Whatmore has served for many years as a member of the North Okanagan Branch executive and continues to do so into his second century.
Whatmore was a member of the Canadian Armed Forces (army) and was deployed to France during the Second World War and served during the D-Day battle at Normandy. He was a signaler and gun position officer.
“We were under fire all the time,” he told the Vernon Morning Star in 2017, the year he was awarded the French Legion of Honour for his service in France. “We just did the job and didn’t think about it. We kept going ahead and then we were called back to help liberate Calais, which was still held by the Germans. I stayed in reconnaissance until the end.”
Whatmore remained in the army for 30 years, serving in Canada and Europe. He moved his family, including his British war bride, to the Okanagan in 1962.