“When they asked me how old I was, I said 18. Well, when we got to England you had to be 19 to go to France,” recalled Mr. Babcock.View his WWI attestation papers here.
“I was waiting to be 19 and my service record came through, and they found out I was 16, so they put me in the young soldiers’ battalion.”
He will be remembered.
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UPDATE: Babcock family declines honours
The family of John Henry Foster Babcock, the last known Canadian veteran of the First World War, has refused Ottawa's offer of a state funeral.