John Babcock facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Babcock
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Babcock in 1920
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| Nickname(s) | Jack |
| Born | July 23, 1900 Holleford, South Frontenac, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | February 18, 2010 (aged 109) Spokane, Washington, U.S. |
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| Years of service | 1916–1918 |
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| Battles/wars | World War I |
| Other work | Following the First World War, he became trained as an electrician, and later emigrated to the United States, where he eventually enlisted in the United States Army. |
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John Henry Foster Babcock (born July 23, 1900 – died February 18, 2010) was an amazing person who lived to be 109 years old! He was the very last known Canadian soldier to have served in World War I. After another veteran named Harry Patch passed away, John Babcock became the oldest surviving veteran of that huge war.
When he was just fifteen, John tried to join the army. But he was too young and was sent to work in Halifax. Later, in August 1917, he was allowed to join the Young Soldiers Battalion. John then traveled to the United Kingdom, where he continued his training until the war ended.
John Babcock never actually fought in battles. Because of this, he didn't really see himself as a "veteran." In the 1920s, he moved to the United States. There, he joined the United States Army and later became an electrician. In May 2007, after Dwight Wilson died, John became the last living World War I veteran who had served with Canadian forces. From then on, he received a lot of attention from all over the world. When he turned 109, he even got birthday wishes from Queen Elizabeth II, the Governor General of Canada, and the Canadian Prime Minister! He passed away on February 18, 2010.
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John's Early Life
John Babcock was born on July 23, 1900, on a farm in Frontenac County, Ontario. He was one of thirteen children in his family! John said the barn where he was born was near Highway 38 in South Frontenac Township.
When John was only six years old, his father died in an accident. A dead tree fell on his father while he was cutting another tree. John said this was a very sad time for his family.
School wasn't very important to John when he was young. He didn't even get his high school diploma until he was 95 years old! John said he "didn't do very much" growing up, but he also said it was a "fun place." He loved to go fishing, hunting, and swimming with his friends, especially around Sydenham Lake. After the war, he returned to the area in 1919 but soon moved to the United States. Today, John's relatives still work at the Crater Dairy farm, which is named after the Holleford crater, a place where a meteor once hit the Earth.
Joining World War I
When John was fifteen and a half, two army officers met him in Perth Road. They told him about the army and even quoted a poem called "The Charge of the Light Brigade." John was also interested in the pay, which was $1.10 a day. This was much more than the 50 cents he could earn doing other jobs.
John joined the 146th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force in Sydenham, Ontario. He was then sent to Valcartier, Quebec. There, doctors checked him and found out he was too young. He was physically fit, but underage. At that time, you had to be at least eighteen to fight in battles. John was turned away, but he managed to get all the way to Halifax by train before he was stopped.
In Halifax, he worked at Wellington Barracks. He loaded heavy freight onto army trucks and dug ditches. John didn't like this work. So, when they asked for fifty volunteers for the Royal Canadian Regiment, he quickly said yes, claiming he was 18. But officials soon found out he was only 16. So, in August 1917, they put him in a special group called the Boys (or Young Soldiers) Battalion.
John then took a ship to England. In Liverpool, he was sent to Bexhill-on-Sea. There, he trained with about 1,300 other soldiers. About a third of them were veterans who had already fought in France.
Training and Experiences
The Young Soldiers Battalion trained the new recruits for eight hours every day. In his free time, John went on leave to Scotland. There, he met his first girlfriend, who was part of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. He also learned to enjoy beer and heard scary stories about the war from older veterans.
John said he would have fought in the war if he had the chance. But the war ended before he could be sent to the front lines. Because of this, John felt he was never a "real soldier." He rarely talked about his war experiences until he was 100 years old. He also never joined any groups for veterans.
John's brother, Manley, joined the army after him. Manley served with the Canadian Military Engineers. After the war, Manley suffered from a serious mental health issue. John remembered that strict rules were very important in the Canadian Army. He once saw a soldier get nine months in prison for stealing a dollar watch. This showed how strict military discipline was. By March 1918, John was promoted to acting corporal. But he was later made a private again because he didn't do his duty well. By October of that year, he was promoted back to acting lance corporal. Soldiers with "acting" ranks get the pay of that rank. But they can be moved back to a lower rank if they don't have enough training or experience.
Life After World War I
In 1921, John moved to the United States to live with relatives. He paid a $7 fee to enter the country. After the war, he received a Canadian Army pension of $750. He used veteran training in Canada to become an electrician. He ran a small power plant in his hometown of Sydenham. Later, in the United States, he worked as a salesman for industrial supplies.
In 1946, he became a United States citizen. He did this after serving in the United States Army and becoming a sergeant. When he became a U.S. citizen, he lost his Canadian citizenship. This was because Canadian law before 1977 didn't allow people to be citizens of two countries at once.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, John tried to join the army's flying service. But he was told he was too old. So, he spent World War II in the United States Army. He was stationed at places like Fort Lewis in Tacoma, Washington.
When he was 65 years old, John learned to fly airplanes! Even in 2006, he was in great shape both mentally and physically. He could quickly say the alphabet backwards and spell his name in Morse Code. He also took daily walks with his wife to stay healthy. When he turned 100, he wrote a book about his life called Ten Decades of John Foster Babcock. He only shared it with his family and friends.
John was married twice. First to Elsie, and then to Dorothy. Dorothy was almost thirty years younger than him. He met her when she was caring for his first wife, Elsie, who was very ill. John had one son, Jack Jr., and one daughter, Sandra. One of his grandchildren, Matt, was an army dentist in Iraq during the Iraq War. John and Dorothy lived in Spokane, Washington, where John lived from 1932 until he passed away. John wasn't the only person in his family to live a very long time; his younger sister Lucy died in July 2007 at the age of 102.
Canada's Last World War I Veteran
After Dwight Wilson died on May 9, 2007, John Babcock became the last known Canadian veteran of World War I. He was proud of this special status. However, he didn't think he needed a special state funeral just for himself. He believed that "they should commemorate all of them, instead of just one." He also said, "I'm sure that all the attention I'm getting isn't because of anything spectacular I've done. It's because I'm the last one."
Even so, John received a lot of attention for his 107th birthday. He got wishes from Queen Elizabeth II (who he joked was a "nice looking gal"), Governor General Michaëlle Jean, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay. James Moore, a Member of Parliament from British Columbia, even visited John in person to give him gifts and greetings. For his birthday, John and his wife went to Rosauers for his favorite meal: hamburgers and French fries. One of the gifts he received was a necktie with a poppy pattern, which is a symbol of World War I. In his hometown of South Frontenac, the mayor, Gary Davison, sent him a letter of congratulations. The local coffee shop even named their special coffee blend "The Jack" after him!
John Babcock was invited to the opening of an exhibit at The Pentagon on March 6, 2008. This exhibit showed photos of nine World War I veterans. But John couldn't go. At that time, he was one of only two veterans in the pictures who were still alive. The other was American Frank Buckles, who did attend the event.
In 2008, Canadian officials visited John. He wrote a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper saying he wanted to become a Canadian citizen again. This letter was given to the Prime Minister during a cabinet meeting. The Prime Minister approved his request. The paperwork was signed by Governor General Michaëlle Jean. Then, officials from Citizenship and Immigration Canada flew to Spokane to complete the swearing-in ceremony. That same year, John took part in the Canadian Remembrance Day ceremonies. He appeared by video to symbolically "pass the torch of remembrance," asking people to "hold it high." John believed his long life was thanks to the intense physical training he received in both the United States and Canadian armies.
John Babcock passed away on February 18, 2010, at the age of 109. He had been staying at home since October 2009 after getting pneumonia. He was cremated, and his ashes were spread across the Pacific Northwest. Governor General Jean and Prime Minister Harper made statements of sadness after his death. On the anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge (April 9), Canada's monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, made a statement. She spoke about both events, saying: "As proud and grateful Canadians, we pause today to mark not only the ninety-third anniversary of this Nation's victory at Vimy Ridge but also to pay tribute to the passing of a truly remarkable generation who helped to end the most terrible conflict the world had ever known." The local Royal Canadian Legion in Sydenham, Ontario, has a collection of World War I items on display. This includes a roll call with John Babcock's name on it, honoring him.
See also
- List of last surviving Canadian war veterans
- List of last surviving World War I veterans by country
- List of veterans of World War I who died in 2009–12
