Burnaby, British Columbia
At the outset of the Second World War, Mr. Pritchard enlisted in the Canadian Army and two years later transferred to the Royal Canadian Air Force. Following the war, he joined the Vancouver Fire Department and served in varying capacities for 34 years. In 1980 he retired as a senior captain in the Firefighting Section. Mr. Pritchard has been an active member of the Army, Navy & Air Force Veterans in Canada for the past 64 years. He has held many executive positions at the local, Provincial and Dominion levels. For 12 years, he served in various positions on the British Columbia Provincial Command and eventually acceded to the position of Provincial President from 1991 to 1992. He moved to the Dominion Command as Vice President and in August 1998, Mr. Pritchard was elected Dominion President of the Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans in Canada. For his many years of service to the Association and to Canada he has received a number of awards such as Life Membership, the Order for Service, and the Award of Merit, the Royal Canadian Legion's Friendship Award as well as the American-Canadian Friendship Award. Canada has honoured Mr. Pritchard with the Queen's Medal for Firefighting and Canada's 125 Anniversary of Confederation Medal.