B.C. veteran turns 105, has raised more than 450K for charity

A B.C. veteran is proving again that you’re never too old to inspire and help others.

Oak Bay resident John Hillman has been raising money for charity for the past four years by walking his age around the courtyard of Carlton House over 10 days.

When he was 101, he walked 101 laps. When he was 102, he walked 102 laps. When he turned 103, he walked 103 laps and last year he walked 104 laps.

Every penny raised went to Save the Children’s emergency fund — $460,000 total and counting.

But this year Hillman turned 105 years old on March 18 and he’s been moved to Veterans Memorial Lodge in Victoria as he needs more care.

“I’ve submitted an application for permanent residence,” Hillman told Global News. “I don’t know how long that’s likely to be. I feel that it could be quite a substantial time because I don’t feel anywhere near the end of my existence yet. However, we’ll see.”

Hillman can’t complete 105 laps this year but that didn’t stop him from taking what he called a celebratory lap around his former home.

“I felt elated doing that lap,” he said. “It brought back all of the memories of those four years I’ve done many times around that circuit.

“My health is good but my physical abilities are not as good as they used to be,” Hillman added. “So I did one walk round as a token of the past. And I had, something in the region of, 50 people come and walk with me.”

Even though Hillman has moved out, Carlton House wanted to throw him a party for his 105th birthday.

“Carlton House gave me a party, and, there were 125 people as sat down to tea,” Hillman said “The owners and the staff were all there, and we had, entertainment by Stephanie Graves, who is a very dear friend of mine.”

Jacqueline Prewett, Carlton House digital marking manager, said people around the world seem to identify with Hillman’s mission.

“He seems to really inspire people,” she said. “He’s even received recognition from the Royal family. I think people are so inspired by how, it’s not just the fact that he’s raising money or how much money he’s raised, it’s the fact that he’s started doing this at such an advanced age. And then he continued on with his work.”

Prewett said Hillman is still working to raise money even if he can’t walk all those steps.

Hillman said he was first inspired to raise money by Capt. Tom Moore in England, who was also a Second World War veteran.

He walked into the hearts of a nation in lockdown as he shuffled up and down his garden to raise money for healthcare workers.

Captain Tom, as he became known in newspaper headlines and TV interviews, set out to raise 1,000 pounds for Britain’s National Health Service by walking 100 laps of his backyard. But his quest went viral and caught the imagination of millions stuck at home during the first wave of the pandemic.

Donations poured in from across Britain and as far away as the United States and Japan, raising some 33 million pounds ($40 million).

Moore died at the age of 100 after testing positive for COVID-19.

Hillman continues the work and even though he’s slowing down, he continues to make strides.

“I’ve had a very good life and I’m proud of what I’m doing.”

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