Pat Dollard | Young Americans

End of an era…Indeed.

I would have loved to talk to this woman if only for an hour…May God keep her under his care for eternity..

The Associated Press
Saturday, August 30, 2008

LONDON — Gladys Powers, believed to be the last surviving female veteran of World War I, has died in Canada, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said Friday. She was 109.

Powers died Aug. 15 at MSA General Hospital in Abbotsford, British Columbia, a day after suffering a broken hip, according to a report in the Abbotsford Times newspaper. Her funeral was held Friday, the Ministry of Defense said.

Powers, a native of London, recalled lying about her age to join the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps at age 15 and later recalled serving as a barracks waitress in the Women’s Royal Air Force.

Her service cannot be confirmed, however, because the relevant records were destroyed during the Blitz in 1940, the ministry said.

She was thought to be the last survivor among some 80,000 women who served in British forces during the conflict. She was also Canada’s oldest war veteran.

“Gladys truly was an amazing woman,” said Ed Fast, who represents Abbotsford in Canada’s Parliament.

“She was remarkable not only for her longevity but also for her active life. She lived every moment to the very fullest, even in the last few years of her life.”

After the war, she emigrated to Canada with her husband, Canadian soldier Ed Luxford, according to the Abbotsford Times.

She later divorced Luxford, then outlived three other husbands, the newspaper said.

“Over 80,000 women served in our Armed Forces during that war,” said Derek Twigg, Britain’s veterans minister.

“Although they may not have realized it at the time, these early women volunteers did much to break down the barriers for all those service women who have come after them and who continue to serve their country today so proficiently and professionally.”