Memory Project Archive
Charles Laking (Primary Source)
The Memory Project interviewed Charles Laking, a veteran of the First World War. The following recording (and transcript) is an excerpt from this interview. Laking was born on 21 February 1899 in Campbellville, Ontario, and died on 26 November 2005 in Toronto. In 1917, at the age of 18, he enlisted in the Canadian Field Artillery in Guelph, Ontario, against the wishes of his father, a Methodist minister. (See Canadian Army and Canadian Expeditionary Force.) He served in France and Belgium as a signaler and was discharged on 27 May 1919. After the war, he worked in the lumber business; in 1941, he took over Danforth Wallboard and Insulation Ltd., retiring in 1965. Upon his death on 26 November 2005 at the age of 106, he was one of only five remaining First World War veterans in Canada. Laking was awarded the French Legion of Honor and the Golden Jubilee Medal. Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker's recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.