838235 Cpl. John Wesley Baker was born on July 16th, 1896, in Meaford, a village in Grey County, Ontario, on the shores of Georgian Bay.
When hostilities broke out John joined the 31st Regiment which had a Company located in the town. He served in 'D' Company while carrying on with the chores on his farm until the 147th Battalion was authorized. John attested to the new unit in Owen Sound on November 27th, 1915.
Billeted locally over the winter the 147th Battalion mobilized in Owen Sound in the spring of 1916 and left for training at Camp Niagara. As the conditions in the Camp were wanting the unit moved to the new training facility of Camp Borden in late June.
In September of 1916, the unit received their orders to proceed overseas, but due to an outbreak of diphtheria they were detained in Amherst, Nova Scotia for over a month. The unit finally sailed for Great Britain on November 14th 1916 on the S.S. Olympic.
On January 1st, 1917, the 147th Battalion ceased to exist when it became the nucleus for the 8th Reserve Battalion. On March 7th, 1917, John Wesley was taken on strength of the 4th C.M.R. and served with the unit through the Battle of Arras that saw the Canadian Corps storm Vimy Ridge. He continued to serve through Hill 70, Passchendaele and the final 100 days.
Surviving the war without any visible wounds, Corporal John Wesley Baker of Meaford was struck off strength on March 19th, 1919.
Biography details credit: George Auer