Name: John Flint Cahan Rank: Captain Service Number: Officer Service: 1st Canadian Pioneer Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Forces Date of Birth: February 1, 1889 Place of Birth: Halifax, Nova Scotia Date of Enlistment: November 10, 1915 Place of Enlistment: Winnipeg, Manitoba Address at Enlistment: Halifax County, Nova Scotia Age at Enlistment: 26 Height: 6 feet, ½ inch Complexion: Fair Eye Colour: Grey Hair Colour: Fair Occupation: Civil Engineer Marital Status: Married Religion: Presbyterian Next of Kin: Mrs. Beatrice E. Cahan (Wife), Dartmouth, NS (at enlistment) Yarmouth, NS (at his time of death) Date of Discharge: September 9, 1919 Age: 30 Date of Death: November 8, 1928 Age: 39 Cemetery: Riverside Cemetery, Hebron, Yarmouth Co., Nova Scotia John Flint Cahan was the son of the Honorable Charles Hazlitt Cahan (1856-1944) and Mary J. Chisholm (1854-1915), the brother of Charles Hazlitt Cahan Jr. (1887-1970), and Lois Theresa Cahan (1892-1964), the husband of Beatrice Eleanor (Davies) Cahan (1885-1958), and the father of John F. Cahan (1913- 1961), Freda Cahan (b. 1915), and Jaqueline Cahan (b. 1920). John’s father was Director of Public Safety for Canada during World War I. Prior to his active enlistment in WWI in November 1915, he enlisted June 20, 1915, and served with the 6th Field Company of the Canadian Engineers but was demobilized August 7, 1915. John served in Canada, England, and France with the 1st Canadian Pioneer Battalion. He completed a Grenade Course at the Canadian Military School at Shorncliffe in England from January 5th – January 29, 1916. He was wounded in action by a shell fragment injury to the spine on September 17, 1916. He was considered dangerously ill for over a month when his status was upgraded to seriously ill October 2, 1916. The injury to his spine robbed him of the ability to move his legs below the knees. Beyond his lost mobility, other vital functions suffered as well. Cahan was discharged with severe wounds to his spine from the war, with his demobilization being administered by the ISC (Invalided Soldier’s Commission) beginning August 30, 1918, and he was medically discharged September 9, 1919. After the war, in 1921, John was living with his wife Beatrice in Hebron with his three children and two servants, Evelyn White and Emily Jeddry. John served as the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Yarmouth, Nova Scotia from 1925-1928. Captain John Flint Cahan spoke at the unveiling of the Yarmouth War Memorial (Yarmouth Cenotaph) on June 9, 1923, delivered the unveiling address. Still suffering from injuries which he had received on the front, he was compelled while speaking to remain seated. His brief oration was delivered with gripping forcefulness and was most impressive. It was a message to the living urging them to strive always be patriotic and to be in readiness to serve their country in a time of need. Captain Cahan died in Halifax, NS on November 8, 1928. His cause of death is documented in the Canada, War Graves Registers Cause of Casualty records as “gunshot wound of spine – Pyelonephritis” (kidney infection) and related to military service.

Sources: findagrave Library and Archive Canada