First World War veteran dies in Toronto

TORONTO, May 10 (UPI) -- One of the two remaining veterans of World War I, Percy Dwight Wilson, has died at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. He was 106.

That leaves John (Jack) Babcock, 106, who lives in Spokane, Wash., as the sole remaining World War I veteran, The Toronto Globe and Mail reported Thursday.

Wilson, who lied about his age to enter the armed services and trained as a gunner, returned to Canada and worked for the Bell Telephone Co. for about 50 years.

In 2006, he moved into the veterans' wing of Sunnybrook and made use of his baritone voice as a singer until the end of his life.

More than 600,000 Canadians, out of a total population then of 8 million, fought in World War I.