Alfred Corrick was born in Sarnia, on July 12, 1884, the son Robert Charles Corrick (born in England, a stonemason) and Mary (nee McNally, born in Middlesex, England) Corrick, of 404 George Street, Sarnia. His siblings included: Charles Robert (born 1864); Louisa Emily (born 1867); Emma Louise (born 1869); Annie Josephine (born 1871); Frederick (born 1873); John Augustus (born 1876); Andrew (born 1878); Ellen Alice (born 1881); and Beatrice Mary (born 1886). Alfred was popular among a large circle of friends in Sarnia. He took an active part in sports, and was a baseball player of considerable ability and was generally known as “Home Run Haggerty.” He would become a member of Sarnia Lodge, No. 126, I.O.O.F. and by trade was a mason, following in the footsteps of his father and brothers. At the age of twenty-seven, Alfred would lose his father, Robert Charles, who would die in December 1911.

Alfred was conscripted to service October 4, 1917 in London, Ontario. At the time he was single, and he recorded his occupation as a bricklayer. On January 8, 1918, prior to his leaving, members of the Bricklayers Union No. 23 held a send-off for Alfred in the Board of Trade room. The following is a portion of the address given by the Union chairmen and signed by the Union president, as they presented him with a gift of a wrist watch:

We, your brother members of local No. 23 Ontario, meet here tonight with mingled feelings of pride and regret. Tomorrow we all know you leave the old home town and all your old associations, for a grand purpose, that of serving your king and country and doing your little bit, with lots of boys who have gone before. Bro. Corrick, we have all known you for a number of years now and we have always found you to be a good upright and honest union man; and when you leave tomorrow for London to don the khaki you will take with you the good wishes of the union for a safe journey to France and then a happy reunion when the boys come marching home…. May this little token of our regard, ever remind you of your friends across the sea.

 Alfred followed by expressing how much he appreciated what they were doing. There were a few short speeches from members expressing their regret at losing Brother Corrick. At the end of the social, all the boys joined together in wishing him the best of luck for a pleasant journey and a safe return.

Alfred Corrick would become a member of the Army, Canadian Infantry, Western Ontario Regiment, 47th Battalion, as a Private. In October 1918, Alfred sent a letter home to his mother in Sarnia from France. In it, he expressed that he was doing his bit and he was well. He also stated that he had several narrow escapes; and that two of his comrades on a gun had been put out of action, one being killed and the other wounded. On November 1, 1918, Alfred was wounded while fighting during the final stages of Canada’s final Hundred Days Campaign. Ten days later, World War I would end on November 11, 1918. After being wounded, Alfred had sent letters home to his friends in Sarnia, and he was reported to be progressing. So it was unexpected news when on January 13, 1919, one year after his send-off in Sarnia, Alfred would lose his life in a Brighton, England military hospital, as a result of the wounds that he had received in November. He had symptoms of blood poisoning from the shrapnel wounds that demanded two operations, but to no avail. Alfred Corrick was the last man with his name on the Sarnia cenotaph to lose his life in the Great War. Alfred Corrick would later be officially listed as, Died of wounds, (previously reported wounded,) dangerously ill. Gun shot wound: Butt. Sepicemia. Kitchener Military Hospital, Brighton. Thirty-four year old Alfred Corrick is buried in Seaford Cemetery, Sussex, United Kingdom, Grave A.549. On Alfred Corrick’s headstone are inscribed the words, France: Now Here – At Rest.

NOTE: The War Graves Register records his death date as January 13, 1919, which is accurate; however his grave marker lists his death as January 13, 1918.

SOURCES: A, B, C, D, E, F, L, N, 2C, 2D, 2G