John Henry Foster Babcock was the last know survivor of the Canadian Corps. He was born 23 July 1900 to James T. Babcock and Mary Ellan Redmond in Lober Township, Frontenac County, Ontario (birth registration, Ancestry.com). He died on 18 February, 2010 in Spokane, Washington. He came from a large family with 10 siblings. In the 1901 Canada Census the family is listed as at least two generation Canadian of German extraction. His father died 11 March 1907 in a logging accident (Death Registry, Ancestry.com), and after that the family scattered.
John (Jack) Babcock 835371 joined the Canadian Corps 1 February 1916 in Sydenham, Ontario. It was noticed that he was underage (at that time 19 was the age considered minimum to serve on the front), and he was placed in the “Boys Battalion”. The Great War was over before he turned 19 and could go to the front.
photo: "The Toronto Star, February 18, 2010.
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