Key Events in the History of the Last Post Fund

1873 - June 14 in London, birth of Arthur Harold Douglas Hair, founder of the Last Post Fund. He arrives in Canada in 1886 and works in a farm as a laborer and household servant. At 16, he enlists as a trumpeter in the Canadian Artillery regiment in Québec City.

1908 - End of December, at the Montreal General Hospital, former trooper James Daly dies in extreme poverty. Outraged by Daly’s sad fate, the head orderly Arthur Hair, a veteran himself, raises funds so that the old soldier can get a decent burial. This is the catalyst for the creation of the “Last Post Imperial Naval and Military Contingency Fund”, which would become the Last Post Fund.

1909 - April 19 in Montreal, first meeting of the future trustees of the Last Post Fund, with Montreal Archdeacon John M. Almond acting as its first president (1909-1915 and 1932-1939). Arthur Hair is elected secretary-treasurer of the Last Post Fund to which he will devote 38 years of his life. Their mission: to ensure that no eligible veteran is deprived of a dignified funeral, burial and headstone for lack of financial resources.

1909 - On June 11, the Last Post Fund receives its Letters Patent from the province of Québec.

1909 - In April, first official interment sponsored by the Last Post Fund in the protestant Mount Royal Cemetery: A. Walter Walters, a veteran of the Boers War who died in dire poverty. In October – First interment in the Côte-des-Neiges catholic cemetery: Patrick Brosnan, a veteran from the 2nd West Yorkshire Regiment in the British army.

1909 - Lord Earl Grey, Governor General of Canada, becomes the first honorary patron of the Last Post Fund, establishing a tradition whereas each Canadian Governor General will be the Fund’s honorary patron.

1910 - In April, purchase of two burial plots, each containing 10 gravesites at the Mount Royal Cemetery (protestant) and the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery (catholic).

1910 - On May 7, the Last Post Fund’s first formal interments: five veterans are buried in the Mount Royal Cemetery, followed by two others in the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery.

1914 - Beginning of the First World War (1914-1919). More than 65,000 Canadian soldiers are killed and some 172,000 others are injured.

1921 - Federal incorporation of the Last Post Fund. However, in order to receive federal funding, the Fund has to make its services available to veterans from coast to coast, an enormous task which Arthur Hair duly undertakes.

1922 - On November 10 in Toronto, the Last Post Fund’s first interment outside of Québec, coinciding with the incorporation of the Ontario Branch.

1922 - On December 21, incorporation of the Manitoba Branch.

1923 - On March 9, incorporation of the British Columbia Branch.

1923 - On March 23, incorporation of the Alberta Branch.

1924 - General Sir Arthur Currie becomes the 5th Last Post Fund president (1924-1932). He had led the Canadian Corps through the impressive victories of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, the Passchendaele battle and those of the last 100 days of the First World War.

1927 - On May 11, incorporation of the Saskatchewan Branch.

1930 - On September 21, inaugural ceremony and official opening of the National Field of Honour in Pointe-Claire, Québec.

1934 - On May 24, erection of the Cross of Remembrance in the National Field of Honour, dedicated to the memory of General Sir Arthur Currie who died in 1933.

1937 - Inauguration of the Gate of Remembrance at the National Field of Honour, a memorial to all those who made the supreme sacrifice for their country.

1939 - Beginning of the Second World War (1939-1945). More than 42,000 Canadian soldiers are killed and 55,000 more are injured.

1942 - The City of Montreal purchases the land of the old Papineau military cemetery, the resting place of soldiers and members of their families who served in the British troops in Montreal from 1814 to 1869.

1944 - Transfer of the soldiers’ graves from the Papineau cemetery to the National Field of Honour, including the remains of Lieutenant General Sir Benjamin d'Urban, Commander-in-chief of the British troops in North America, who died in 1849. A total of 1,797 graves were listed.

1944 - On June 6, Normandy landing of 15,000 soldiers from the Canadian army, hundreds from the Royal Canadian Air Force and crews from 60 warships of the Canadian Royal Navy. They are part of an invasion force of some 150,000 allied fighters (1,074 Canadian casualties, among whom 359 died).

1945 - On May 8, Victory Day marking the end of the World War II.

1947 - On June 27 in Montreal, death of Arthur Hair, founder of the Last Post Fund. He is interred at the National Field of Honour on June 30.

1950 - Beginning of the Korean War (1950-1953). Canadian casualties: 516 deaths and 1,042 injured.

1953 - On February 26, incorporation of the Newfoundland Branch. It will eventually become the Newfoundland-Labrador Branch.

1983 - On July 2, opening of the Newfoundland-Labrador Field of Honour in St. John’s.

1985 - On January 31, incorporation of the Maritime Branch, covering Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. It will eventually become the Nova Scotia Branch.

1991 - On January 15, incorporation of the New-Brunswick and Prince Edward Island Branch.

1998 - The Last Post Fund becomes the sole administrator of the Veterans Affairs Canada Funeral and Burial Program. It is now the only organization providing this service to veterans all through Canada.

2007 - On June 1st, incorporation of the Manitoba-Saskatchewan Branch.

2009 - On April 19, the Last Post Fund is 100 years old.

2009 - On June 21, the Last Post Fund National Field of Honour is designated as a National Historic Site by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.

LEST WE FORGET