Celebration for centenarian
Borden-Carleton Legion to celebrate 100th birthday of veteran Austin Gaudet
The Borden-Carleton Legion will celebrate the 100th birthday of Second World War veteran Austin Gaudet on Sunday, May 21.
His actual birthday took place on May 8, which the legion observed when branch service officer Peter Valkenburg personally delivered the veteran a birthday card.
Born in Bedeque to Moise Gaudet and Agnes Desroches, Gaudet enlisted on June 23, 1941, as a gunner and was a member of the Seventh Canadian Regiment (Canadian artillery).
Gaudet’s daughter, Sylvia Magnotta, notes that “he was also a scout. It was dangerous because he was a target at all times, sometimes working.”
Gaudet saw action on the beaches of Normandy, going on to fight in France, Italy, Germany and Belgium before being honorably discharged on March 29, 1946. Along the way, Gaudet fell in love with an English girl, Mabel Dudman, who was in the United Kingdom Nursing Corps.
Magnotta relates the story of their meeting: “One night on leave, everyone was at a pub. A lot of the men had asked mom out, but she repeatedly said no. Dad noticed mom and told the other men that he would like to ask her out. They laughed and bet that he would not get her to go out with him. Dad never backed down from a bet. So he asked mom out. Her response was, “You are being sent on a mission tomorrow, but if you come back alive, I will go on a date with you.”
They married in England on Feb. 9, 1946, and all three children were born in England – Douglas, Sylvia and Elizabeth. In 1962, the moved to P.E.I. Gaudet went to work at Campbell and Burns in Bedeque and then for the Department of Highways where he stayed until retirement.
Both Gaudet and his wife were avid fishers, a passion they shared until Mabel’s death in April 2000. Gaudet’s name, ‘Austie’, is even inscribed on the concrete slab in his favourite fishing spot at the pier in Borden-Carleton.
Gaudet continues to fish and
awaits his annual deep sea fishing expedition with Joey’s Deep Sea Fishing in Rustico.
“Dad had a mild stroke, so Joey and his dedicated staff lift him in a wheelchair onto the boat,’’ said Magnotta.
Since his stroke, Gaudet lives at Wedgewood Manor in Summerside.
Anyone wishing to send a greeting to Gaudet is welcome to do so (Austin Gaudet, c/o Wedgewood Manor, 310 Brophy Ave., Summerside, P.E.I., C1N 5N4).
It’s a special year for Gaudet in another way, too. Not only is it his centenary, but greatgrandson Austin Samuel Kelly was born March 27.
“Dad was so excited to have a (great-)grandson named after him and is alive to see this,’’ Magnotta said.