Remembering Peter Gilchirst, 92

Peter A. Gilchrist was born Nov. 15, 1925, in Shanghai, China. He lived in and around Shanghai and Hong Kong until 1941 when Japan invaded Hong Kong.

At that time, Peter was 16 years old and separated from his parents when he was captured by the Japanese and placed into a concentration camp outside of Shanghai. The Steven Spielberg movie Empire of the Sun was based on the same camp that Peter was in. When we saw the movie, Peter contacted Spielberg to tell him what facts he had wrong (classic Peter). He was also invited to appear on CBC’s Front Page Challenge with Pierre Burton.

After four years, in 1945, he was released and reunited with his parents. Peter then made his way by ship to Victoria, B.C. via San Francisco and Seattle.

He started his working career in 1946 and was with a number of companies which all eventually ended up being bought by Acklands. He went from B.C. to Alberta in 1977 as general manager for southern Alberta with Western Warehouse Distributors. In 1983, a consolidation with Acklands took place where he became automotive sales co-ordinator until he retired in 1989. At that time, Peter then moved to Kelowna, B.C. where he resided until he died on Sept. 6, 2018, at the age of 92.

— Submitted by Sean Corcelli