109191 Pte. Jack "John" Aicken (left) in a postcard photo taken in March 1917.

Standing alongside him is 4th CMR comrade, Pte. Douglas Murray.

Both men survived the war.

John was born in Portglenone, Antrim, Ireland, on March 8th, 1891.

A streetcar conductor at the time of attestation, and having had previous military experience with the Governor General's Body Guard, John signed on with the 4th CMR in Toronto, as part of the original intake, on September 29th, 1914.

Although he was single when he attested, John subsequently married Minnie, also from County Antrim, Ireland, on September 27th, 1915.

John's first leave, of ten days, came in June 1917, then two stints of 14 days in December 1918 and January 1919.

Throughout, John served without noticeable incident or injury for the duration of the war and being one of the very few "originals" to have survived with the regiment, as was Douglas Murray, John was struck off strength on April 20th, 1919.

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Credit to Olivier Hancart, for discovering this image at a military fair and thanks to him for supplying it for us to see here.

Biography excerpt courtesy of 4cmr.com and expanded by David Kavanagh.