A D-Day veteran who survived the World War II Battle of Dunkirk died in Calgary this weekend.
Ninety-eight-year-old Ken Sturdy became well-known after being featured on Global News attending the Dunkirk movie premiere in 2017.
He became emotional watching the film, describing it as a very real depiction of what happened in that 1940 battle when he was a 20-year-old signal man with the Royal Canadian Navy.
Director Christopher Nolan had the veteran flown down to Hollywood to accept an award and speak to actors.
“He had a standing ovation there,” daughter Honey Sturdy said. “It was quite incredible. He never forgot that experience.”
WATCH: Jul 22, 2017: The movie Dunkirk tells the story of allied soldiers who were evacuated during a fierce WWII battle. As Carolyn Kury de Castillo reports, a 97-year-old Calgary man who was actually at the battle, had to see the movie for himself.
Ken was a chairperson with the Normandy Veterans’ Association and participated in Remembrance Day ceremonies over the years, visiting schools to talk to students about his experiences.
“It was more in his later years when he was really opening up about it,” Honey said. “I think it helped him a lot to talk about it.”
Ken shared his story with all age groups.
WATCH: Jul 25, 2017: Dunkirk veteran Ken Sturdy was moved by the realism of Christopher Nolan’s new film Dunkirk at a Calgary theatre.
Ken was born in Cardiff, Wales, raised in London, England and moved to Canada in his early 30s.
He married twice and was the father of six children — two boys and a girl from each marriage.
The family lived in Montreal, later moving to Scotland so he could teach at the Glasgow School of Art.
Ken later moved to Calgary, working as the head of the Alberta College of Art and Design (ACAD) from around 1973 to 1985.
“We had that kind of creativity in our house growing up… and a lot of travel,” she said. “When we were younger we travelled through Europe. He was always a big traveller and encouraged us to do so.”
He studied oil painting, sculpture and design at an art school in London and was known to paint Polluck-style. The Glenbow Museum even featured some of his work.
(Supplied photo: Ken and Honey Sturdy in 2015)
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Honey’s parents moved back to England for retirement.
After Una Sturdy — Ken’s wife and Honey’s mom — died in 2015, the family moved Ken back to Calgary in 2016.
Honey will remember her father as a “people person” who could strike up a conversation with anyone.
“He was able to reach out to people and was wanting to know what they’re interested in,” she said. “He just had that kind of charisma.”
“The word ‘worldly’ comes up because he was,” Honey added. “He knew a lot. He was a walking encyclopedia. He was just full of facts. We always said, ‘Dad knows. Go ask dad,’ because he would just pull facts from his experience.”
“He went through so many chapters in his life and so many different things happened to him that it was like, ‘What hasn’t he done?’
“He had done it all.”
Friends told Global News Ken passed away on Sunday morning at the Peter Lougheed Centre surrounded by family.
He is survived by five children who live in Calgary.
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