Bill Wilson, D-Day veteran and Calgary war museum-procurement mastermind, turns 100

'People don’t say no to him … he’ll call whoever he has to call. He has the admiral on speed dial'

Capt. Bill Wilson loves a phone call.

It’s the first thing he goes to when he gets an idea — often to procure a piece of artillery or an artifact for the Naval Museum of Alberta, that he helped create.

As he marches past his centennial next week, he’s still full of ideas.

“He calls me up all the time and gives me orders,” said Laraine Orthlieb, a retired commodore. In 1983, Orthleib became the first woman in the Royal Canadian Navy Reserve promoted to the rank of Commodore.