30 Days of Remembrance- Day 2 - Joseph Marc Babineau

In memory of
Private
Joseph Marc Babineau
who died on October 30, 1918 

Military Service:

Service Number: 258335

Age: 24

Force: Army

Unit:1st Canadian Mounted Rifles (Saskatchewan Regt.)

Additional Information:

Date and Place of Birth: February 14, 1894

Cemetery: VALENCIENNES (ST. ROCH) COMMUNAL CEMETERY; Nord, France

Grave Reference: II. E. 15.

Commemorated on Page 362 of the First World War Book of Remembrance.

Joseph Marc Babineau wasn't as easily located on Ancestry. The only record I could find initially was from Canada, War Graves Registers (Circumstances of Casualty), 1914-1948.  

This gave a detailed account of his death on Oct 30, 1918: 

"Killed in Action"

While on outpost duty, this soldier was instantly killed by enemy shellfire.

I had to go to the Library and Archives Canada site and search the Soldiers of the First World War data base to locate Joseph's attestation papers.

From this document I learned that Joseph born in Quebec but was working as a labourer at a lumber camp in Prince Albert when he signed up on Mar 9 1918. He joined the Saskatchewan  Regiment of  the Canadian Mounted Rifles- perhaps he rode a horse in battle. He was 5' 5" tall with a dark complexion, hair and eyes. He wasn't married so he listed his father, a D. Babineau of Biddeford Maine, US as his next of kin. With those details I took another look at Ancestry and found a baptism for a Joseph Marc Babineau on Feb 14 1894, father Dominique Babineau and mother Flavie Patrey. Oddly the baptism lists Joseph's birth as the previous day but since baptismal records were the only record of birth in Quebec for many years perhaps the date was mistakenly recorded on his attestation papers. Or perhaps Joseph just preferred to celebrate his birthday on Valentine's day!

Like John Franklin Anderson, Joseph Babineau was killed a mere seven months after signing up and is also buried in France.