32 Facts About John Babcock

John Henry Foster Babcock was, at age 109, the last known surviving veteran of the Canadian military to have served in the First World War and, after the death of Harry Patch, was the conflict's oldest surviving veteran.

John Babcock was then transferred to the United Kingdom, where he continued his training until the end of the war.

John Babcock was born on July 23,1900, into a family of thirteen children on a farm in Frontenac County, Ontario.

John Babcock's father died in 1906 after a tree-cutting accident, when Babcock was only six years old.

John Babcock said that this was an "awful blow" to the family.

At the age of fifteen and a half, John Babcock was impressed at Perth Road by two recruiting officers, one a lieutenant and one a sergeant, who quoted from the poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade".

John Babcock was enticed by the offered salary, which was $1.10 per day, as opposed to the 50 cents he could have made through physical labour.

John Babcock was recruited in Sydenham, Ontario and joined the 146th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

John Babcock was designated status A-4: physically fit, but underage.

John Babcock was turned down, but managed to make it all the way to Halifax by train before he was stopped by the company commander.

Tired of the work, John Babcock took the opportunity to volunteer for the Royal Canadian Regiment when fifty recruits were called on, claiming that his age was 18.

John Babcock then undertook an ocean voyage to England and, in Liverpool, he was stationed with the 26th Reserve and sent to Bexhill-on-Sea where he trained with about 1,300 others, about a third of whom were veterans from battles in France.

John Babcock was introduced to the pleasures of beer and the horrors of war that some of the older veterans had come across.

John Babcock asserts that he would have fought in the conflict, given the chance, but the war ended before he could be brought to the front lines.

Babcock's brother Manley enlisted after John and served with the Canadian Military Engineers as a sapper.

This, in John Babcock's eyes, was one of many psychological problems that occurred during and after the war.

John Babcock recounted the importance of honesty in the Canadian Army.

In one case, one of his comrades stole a dollar watch and received nine months in prison and John Babcock cited that as an example of the strict discipline in the military structure.

John Babcock received a Canadian Army pension that totaled $750 shortly after the conflict and took advantage of veteran vocational training in his native country to become an electrician.

John Babcock ran a small light plant in his home neighbourhood of Sydenham, and later had a career as an industrial supply salesman in the United States.

John Babcock became a United States citizen in 1946 after serving in the United States Army and achieving the rank of sergeant.

John Babcock therefore spent World War II in the United States Army and among his duty stations was Fort Lewis, located in Tacoma, Washington.

John Babcock was married twice, first to Elsie, then to Dorothy, a woman nearly thirty years his junior whom he met when she was taking care of his first wife while she was dying.

John and Dorothy resided in Spokane, Washington, where Babcock lived from 1932 until his death.

John Babcock was not the only centenarian in his family; his younger sister Lucy died in July 2007 at the age of 102.

John Babcock was proud of his status as the last surviving Canadian World War I veteran, although he did not feel the need to be honoured in a specific state funeral.

Nevertheless, John Babcock received much attention on the occasion of his 107th birthday, with wishes from Queen Elizabeth II as Queen of Canada, Governor General Michaelle Jean, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay.

John Babcock was invited to the opening of a Pentagon exhibit on March 6,2008, featuring photos of nine First World War veterans, but was unable to attend.

That same year, John Babcock participated in the Canadian Remembrance Day ceremonies, appearing via video to symbolically pass the torch of remembrance, urging people to "hold it high".

John Babcock credited his longevity to the intense physical training that he received in both the United States and Canadian armies.

John Babcock died on February 18,2010, at the age of 109, having been housebound since October 2009 following a case of pneumonia.

John Babcock was cremated and his remains were scattered across the Pacific Northwest.