Ben Seaborne (1886-1916)

Benjamin Minter Seaborne was born on 18 October 1886 in Oxford, Ontario, to Rev. William Rolfe Seaborne (a clergyman) and Lydia Lester Shaw (known as Lella).

Ben moved to Toronto then out to Vancouver. He worked in the head office of the Bank of British North America, then moved to Port Coquitlam where he operated Seaborne Toggeries, “a gent’s furnishing store”.

In 1913, Ben joined the British Columbia Horse regiment, where he served for four months.

He enlisted on 4 November 1915 and served as a Private with the 47th Battalion.

In September 1916, newspapers reported that Ben had been killed in action. Alderman Angus W Keith (who would become Port Coquitlam’s third mayor in 1918) had received unofficial word, but Ben’s family couldn’t be contacted for confirmation.

On 24 November 1916, newspapers reported that Rod Martin, a friend of Ben’s, had received a letter directly from Ben, saying that he was still “in the land of the living and going strongly, despite the fact that he has been in the front line trenches for some little time”.

Photo: Toronto Star Weekly (2 December 1916)

Sadly, the letter was received before the official notice and Ben was in fact already dead – killed in action on 11 November 1916, at the capture of Regina Trench during the Battle of the Somme. He was 30.