Rosa ‘George Lawrence Price’

Family / Families: Rosaceae
Scientific Name(s): Rosa 'George Lawrence Price'
Location(s): Le Rœulx, Belgium
Entry Author(s): Daniel Mosquin
Copyright Holder(s): Bernard Lafaut
Image Permissions: Please contact the copyright holder for permission to use.
Photographer(s) Appreciation: A humble thank you to Bernard Lafaut of Belgium for sharing today's photograph via email.
Tags: Rosaceae, Rosales, via Email

Rosa ‘George Lawrence Price’

One hundred years ago today, Private George Lawrence Price (a Canadian) became the last soldier of the-then British Empire to die before the 11 a.m. Armistice of November 11. In the Belgian village of Ville-sur-Haine, Private Price was shot and killed by a sniper at 10:58 a.m.

Rosa ‘George Lawrence Price’ was named in September 2018 by the Belgian rose breeder Jaak Vangampelaere in conjunction with the Ville du Roeulx municipal council, to mark the centennial of the conclusion of the First World War and to honour Pte. Price. It had been a winner in the previous year’s international rose competition.

This low-growing cultivar (to 90cm / 3 ft.) is intended for both gardens and bouquets, as the double-flowered blossoms are long-lived as a cut flower. A memorial to George Price, inaugurated yesterday, will be decorated with beds of Rosa ‘George Lawrence Price’. In this article from the tourism office of Ville du Roeulx, Baptême de la rose ‘George Lawrence Price’, the writer notes (**translated by Google Translate**):

If the last drop of blood shed by George Price confronts us with the immense human chaos that was this terrible conflict, the features of his young face send us back to our hopes of peace and the work of memory which must necessarily guide our choice in building a better future. Thus, where the poppy is traditionally associated with the memory of dead fighters [at the warfront], the pink ‘George Lawrence Price’ will bring hope. It will embody our commitment to a world where international mutual aid works for peace and the defense of universal rights.

Additional reading:

• via CBC, The last man: Canadian WWI soldier died at 2 minutes to peace
• via Canada’s History, Belgian Town Honours Canadian Soldier: A rose christening marks 100 years since the end of the First World War
• video of the George Lawrence Price being honoured at the Roeulx New Rose Competition
• additional photographs from this past year’s rose competition, including more images of Rosa ‘George Lawrence Price’, by today’s photographer, Bernard Lafaut
• the Canadian Virtual War Memorial for George Lawrence Price

Lest we forget.