Lloyd Gates, one of P.E.I.’s last surviving Second World War veterans, dies at 101

One of Prince Edward Island’s last surviving Second World War veterans has died.

Lloyd Gates was 101 years old when he died Saturday, Dec. 13 in Charlottetown. He joined the military at age 18 and served for three years with the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War.

His stepson, Paul Robinson, said that while those three years may seem like a small portion of Gates’s long life, it was a time in which he took great pride.

“He did see himself as a military man right to the end and took a lot of pride in being a Legion member,” Robinson told CBC’s Island Morning on Wednesday, ahead of Gates’s funeral later that day.

“Every Remembrance Day he was out in his finery... to represent. So I think his military time really defined him as who he was.”

Gates leaves behind his wife, Mary, as well as many children, stepchildren and grandchildren.

Robinson said he got to know Gates when Gates married his mother, Mary. The two had known each other through church and came together later in life after their respective spouses had died.

Gates grew up on a farm in West Royalty near the former Upton Airport, northwest of Charlottetown.

Gates recalled in a previous interview with CBC News that as a boy, he and his brother Bob became fascinated with airplanes, often watching them land and take off from the nearby airfield.

When the Second World War broke out, both brothers wanted to join the Royal Canadian Air Force. At age 17, Lloyd tried to enlist alongside his 18-year-old brother, but was turned away.

“He had a desire to go. All of his buddies were signing up,” Robinson said. “Much of it was a desire to get away from the farm and see some of the world. Many people left, you know, looking for adventure in their lives.”

After officially joining the air force when he turned 18, Gates was posted to an air base in Eindhoven, Holland, where he tested airplane radios. He served as a radio telegraph operator in the RCAF from 1943 to 1945.

Bob, who was also serving in the air force, died in a plane crash over Italy.

“That affected Lloyd a lot,” Robinson said, adding that Gates’s close bond with his brother came up often over the years through stories and memories he shared.