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THE VETERAN ON OUR TEN DOLLAR BILL *

If you look at the back right-hand side of a Canadian $10 bill,
you will see an old veteran standing at attention near the
Ottawa War Memorial. His name is Robert Metcalfe and he died
last month at the age of 90.

That he managed to live to that age is rather remarkable, given
what happened in the Second World War. Born in England , he was
one of the 400,000 members of the British Expeditionary Force
sent to the mainland where they found themselves facing the new
German warfare technique - the Blitzkrieg. He was treating a
wounded comrade when he was hit in the legs by shrapnel. En
route to hospital, his ambulance came under fire from a German
tank, which then miraculously ceased fire. Evacuated from
Dunkirk on HMS Grenade, two of the sister ships with them were
sunk.

Recovered, he was sent to allied campaigns in North Africa and
Italy . En route, his ship was chased by the German battleship
Bismarck. In North Africa he served under General Montgomery
against the Desert Fox, Rommel. Sent into the Italian campaign,
he met his future wife, a lieutenant and physiotherapist in a
Canadian hospital. They were married in the morning by the mayor
of the Italian town, and again in the afternoon by a British padre.

After the war they settled in Chatham, Ontario where he went into
politics and became the warden (chairman) of the county and on
his retirement, he and his wife moved to Ottawa . At the age of
80 he wrote a book about his experiences. One day out of the
blue he received a call from a government official asking him to
go downtown for a photo op. He wasn't told what the photo was
for or why they chose him. 'He had no idea he would be on the
bill,' his daughter said.
And now you know the story of the old veteran on the $10 bill.