War Veteran Featured on Old $10 Bill
If you hold an old $10 bill from the early 2000’s and flip it over on the back right you will see an old veteran standing at attention near the Ottawa war memorial.
Many believe this veteran to be Robert Metcalfe, who fought in the second world war and passed away in September of 2007 at the age of 90.
English born in 1915, he joined the British army in 1935 and was mobilized for the second world war in 1939. Metcalfe was sent to France where he fought his first battle on Vimy Ridge and battled General Rommel. A few days later he was wounded with shrapnel while attending to a wounded comrade.
While being transported to the hospital in an ambulance they encountered a German tank behind the British lines. The tank opened fire, but only fired one round, Metcalfe believes it is because the tank did not see the red cross on the ambulance at first. Miraculously the tank stopped firing and the ambulance turned around.
Later, he was sent to allied campaigns in North Africa, sailing in the largest convoy ever to leave the British isles. They were on the water for two months, his ship was chased by the famous German battleship Bismarck. In North Africa he served under General Montgomery before being sent to the Italian campaign. There, in a Canadian hospital he met his future wife, a lieutenant and physiotherapist. On their wedding day they were married in the morning by the mayor of the Italian town and were married again by a British padre in the afternoon.
After the war in 1948 Metcalfe and his wife settled in Chatham, Ontario. Metcalfe referred to himself as a ‘war bridegroom’. While in Chatham, he became involved in politics and became the warden on the county. Upon his retirement he and his wife moved to Ottawa. At the age of 80 Metcalfe wrote a book to recount his experiences.
On day Metcalfe was called by a government official asking him to go to the Ottawa War Memorial for a photo op. According to the Bank of Canada, Metcalfe was one of the handful of veterans chosen to pose for the new ten dollar bill.
While the Bank of Canada states that the veteran is a composite character of different veterans those who knew him insist they recognize the resemblance. Metcalfe’s daughter also agrees that the veteran on the bill looks exactly like her father.
While we may never know for sure, the next time you hold an old ten dollar bill in your hand remember what our veterans have done for us.
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