Friends, family and legion members gathered in Nanaimo to remember a veteran who had been the last-known living crew member of the HMS Hood.

Victor Osborne, 106, died on Feb. 1 and a memorial service was held Sunday, March 16, at Royal Canadian Legion Mount Benson Branch 256, paying tribute to the Second World War veteran. Fittingly, he was born on Nov. 11, 1918, the end of the First World War.

At the service, Lew Forth, friend and former branch president, said that in 1934, after basic training, Osborne was assigned to the Hood where he served for a number of years. Osborne's father, who survived both the Boer War and the First World War, was killed in the first daylight bombing on London. 

"They kept it quiet, because they wanted to keep morale up and not disturb everybody about the attack 鈥� so he didn't learn for over a year that his dad had died," said Forth. "When he did, he was pissed off and he now was going to do whatever he could to get back at the enemy."

Lisa Marie Barron, Nanaimo-Ladysmith member of Parliament, said Osborne referred to her as the teenage MP and said because of his "youthful energy," it seemed like he would be around forever. She enjoyed the stories he told about his service and his family, whom he "loved deeply."

She said Osborne's wartime experience also provided a personal bridge to the past for her, as Osborne was re-assigned from the HMS Hood prior to its sinking in 1941.

"Of those tragically lost was my grandmother's brother and my great-uncle Jack that I never had the chance to meet," said Barron. "I'm so happy that Victor and I were, in fact, able to meet during his incredible lifetime. Victor was the last surviving member of the Hood, as I'm told 鈥� It was undeniable that Victor contributed, in so many ways, to the peace and freedoms that we enjoy today and for me, [he] was a connection to family lost."

Gary Osborne, Victor's nephew, was always struck by how people would sing Happy Birthday to his uncle at Remembrance Day ceremonies.

"This is how he spent his birthdays for some 30 years, was at the cenotaph in Nanaimo and he was religious about it, in terms of [attending],鈥� Gary said. "Before he was less mobile, he was actually marching in the parade 鈥� if you've been looking at the past videos and photos, there was a diminishing list of actual veterans there. This last November, he was the only veteran of World War Two there. It's important in the ongoing history of Nanaimo."

About 130 people were in attendance at this past weekend's memorial, according to Forth.