Peter Chance meets Prince Edward

Peter Chance shakes hands with Prince Edward and meets with Randall Mang, Chair of the B.C. Council for The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and Lieutenant-Commander (ret’d) Gerald Pash, a long-time member of the B.C. Council. Photo provided

Gerry Pash, Special to the Lookout — A 102-year-old Commander (retired) Peter Chance meets the new Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Edward.

Chance’s meeting with Prince Edward took place on Apr. 27 at the Fairmount Pacific Hotel in Vancouver as part of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award Ceremony. Chance told the Lookout his meeting with Prince Edward was highly rewarding. 

“Our conversation was very pleasant, and this is because Prince Edward is a very personable man,” Chance said. “I wasn’t too nervous about the meeting; our exchange was very casual and pleasant. We talked about the great success of the awards program since it began.”

It wasn’t the first time Chance has met with royalty. He previously met Prince Phillip, the founder of the program, when he founded the Duke of Edinburgh award in 1956.   

Chance served a distinguished 31 years in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War and Korea, then for five years as the first Executive Officer at Osgoode Hall Law School. At 54 years of age, in 1974, he moved to British Columbia where he established the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award as the founding Executive Director for Youth for BC/Yukon Division.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award has inspired thousands of B.C. youth to reach for their best and discover their inner strengths and then take the lessons learned into productive lives and careers.  Chance was tasked with reaching out to schools, youth groups, municipal councils, and community members across B.C. to recruit volunteer leaders and community representatives. This was undertaken with a modest honorarium and application of his own resources for 12 years from 1975 to 1987.