George Lawrence Price

Private George Lawrence Price (December 15, 1892 – November 11, 1918) was a Canadian soldier. He is traditionally recognized as the last soldier of the British Empire to be killed during the First World War.

Early life Price was born in Falmouth, Nova Scotia, on December 15, 1892, and raised on Church Street, in what is now Port Williams, Nova Scotia. George was the third child of James Ephraim and Annie Rose (Stephens) Price. He moved to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, as a young man, where he was conscripted on October 15, 1917. He served with "A" Company of the 28th Battalion (Northwest), CEF, Canadian Expeditionary Force. Before his deployment to the war, he spent a month in prison with hard labour, because he had stolen from his landlady.

November 11, 1918 The 2nd Division's 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade was selected to attack this day. From the 6th Brigade, the 28th 'North-West' Battalion and the 31st Battalion/Alberta Regiment were chosen to lead the attack. The 28th Battalion had orders for November 11 to advance from Frameries (South of Mons) and continue to the village of Havre, securing all the bridges on the Canal du Centre. The battalion advanced rapidly starting at 4:00 a.m., pushing back light German resistance and they reached their position along the canal facing Ville-sur-Haine by 9:00 a.m. where the battalion received a message that all hostilities would cease at 11:00 a.m. A Belgian family in one of the houses warned the Canadians to be careful as they followed the retreating Germans. George Price was fatally shot in the right breast by a German sniper as he stepped out of the house into the street. He was pulled into one of the houses and treated by a young Belgian nurse who ran across the street to help, but Price died a minute later at 10:58 a.m., November 11, 1918. His death was just two minutes before the armistice came into effect at 11 a.m.

Memorials Memorial dedicated to the regiment of the British Expeditionary Force which took part in actions near Mons (Belgium).

Price was originally buried in Havre Old Communal Cemetery, one of the cemeteries subsequently concentrated into the St Symphorien military cemetery, just southeast of Mons. Coincidentally, this is also the final resting place of John Parr and George Edwin Ellison, respectively the first and last British soldiers killed during the Great War. According to Veterans Affairs Canada, Price's remains were reinterred at St Symphorien Military Cemetery after the war.

In 1968, on the 50th anniversary of his death and the armistice surviving members of his company traveled to Ville-sur-Haine and a memorial plaque was placed onto a wall of a house near the location of his death. The inscription, in English and then in French, reads in English:

The house has since been torn down, but the plaque has been placed on a brick and stone monument near the site where the house originally stood, and thus still near the place where he fell.

On April 24, 2015, the local school in Ville-sur-Haine was renamed .

In 2016, Price's medal set and the memorial plaque were donated to the Canadian War Museum.

On November 10, 2018, Canadian Governor General Julie Payette and other dignitaries attended the inauguration of a teardrop shaped monument in honour of Price, located in Ville-sur-Haine.

In Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, on August 26, 2021, a plaque was unveiled in Crescent Park commemorating "The Last Commonwealth Soldier Killed In First World War".