John Malcolm Crooks was born in Wine Harbour, Guysborough County, on July 23, 1885, the youngest of four sons born to James Reuben and Mary Mills (Robinson) Crooks. Reuben was the son of Matthew and Mary Crooks, Wine Harbour, while Mary was the daughter of Malcolm and Experience Robinson, Indian Harbour. The couple were married at St. Mary’s, Guysborough County, on December 18, 1879.
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At the time of the 1881 Canadian census, 29-year-old Reuben and 28-year-old Mary were living in Indian Harbour, where Reuben was employed as a fisherman. Their household consisted of their first child, Simon H. (DOB October 18, 1880), Reuben’s mother Mary, age 68, and Reuben’s older brother Stephen, age 40.
Sometime during the 1880s, the Crooks family relocated to Westville, Pictou County, where Reuben worked as a “truck man.” By 1891, three more sons had joined the household—William Thomas (DOB January 26, 1881), Benjamin Stanley (DOB May 29, 1884) and John Malcolm. Reuben’s brother Stephen, also employed as a “truck man,” still resided with his younger brother.
By 1901, the family had returned to Indian Harbour, where Reuben resumed work in the local fishery. Tragically, Mary Crooks passed away on December 19, 1904, at 59 years of age. Four years later, Reuben married Maud Milbury, a 47-year-old widow and daughter of Sophia and John Keizer, Peggy’s Cove, Halifax County. At the time of the 1911 census, Reuben and Maud were living in Wine Harbour. Their household included Maud’s eight children—four sons and four daughters—from her first marriage to William Milbury.
All four of Reuben’s sons had left home prior to the decennial census. Simon, the oldest, had relocated to Cobalt, Ontario, where he worked as a carpenter while residing with his maternal uncle Obin Robinson and his wife Rebecca. The two “middle sons” departed for the United States at unknown dates. William eventually established residence in Providence, Rhode Island, while Stanley settled in Cromwell, Connecticut.
The whereabouts of Malcolm, the youngest of the Crooks boys, at the time of the 1911 census is uncertain. He left school around 1902 at age 17, having completed Grade VIII, and may have departed the local area shortly afterward. Information in his Second World War service file suggests that he had moved to Halifax, but there is no record of Malcolm in the city’s census records.
Reuben Crooks passed away suddenly in Wine Harbour on October 29, 1916. Coincidentally, his second wife Maud had died a month earlier. Based on information in later documents, around August 1917 Malcolm joined his oldest brother Simon in North Cobalt. Within six months of his arrival, he was instructed to report for a compulsory medical examination under the terms of the Military Service Act (1917).
On February 11, 1918, Malcolm travelled to North Bay, 145 kilometers south of Cobalt, where he completed the required examination. A little more than one month later—March 18—he was conscripted into military service at Hamilton, ON, and reported to Camp Niagara for training. At the time of his enlistment, Malcolm was employed as a “clerk and cook.” Another document in his service file described his line of work as “salesman and demonstrator.” He identified his eldest brother Simon, North Cobalt, as his next of kin.
During his brief time in uniform, Malcolm was plagued with several health issues. On March 30, he was admitted to Hamilton Military Hospital with a headache, severe cough, chest pains and fever. He had been ill for several days before reporting to hospital. Attending medical staff identified the issue as a case of bronchitis.
Discharged to duty on April 8, Malcolm returned to hospital the same day for treatment of an “old contract wound, testicle.” After three days, he was once again sent back to military camp, where he remained for approximately six weeks. On May 27, he returned to Hamilton Military Hospital for a “cystoscopic examination” of his bladder and left kidney. After ordering an X-ray and urine test, medical staff could find no sign of kidney infection.
Malcolm was once again discharged to duty on June 11, but by that time military authorities were concerned about his fitness for service. A “Medical History of An Invalid” form, completed at Niagara Camp, ON, on June 20, identified a “tuberculous testicle” as the source of the problem. According to information in the document, seven years earlier Malcolm had undergone surgery in Halifax to remove his left testicle. Following the operation, he began to experience neuritis—nerve pain—and swelling in his left groin after walking. He was also unable to take long steps.
As might be anticipated, military drill significantly exacerbated the problem. Malcolm was “unable to march for more than a half mile without extreme pain. [This] incapacity [was] due to [the] partial loss of function of [his] left leg.” The reported concluded that Malcolm’s disability was permanent and recommended that he be discharged as “unfit.”
A Medical Board convened at Camp Niagara on June 24, 1918, accepted the assessment and ordered that Malcolm “be placed in Category ‘E’ and… discharged because of a disability pre-enlistment, and not due to, nor aggravated by service.” On July 25, 1918, Malcolm was officially discharged from military service due to a “disability pre-enlistment” and immediately returned to North Cobalt.
On November 12, 1918, 33-year-old Malcolm married 30-year-old Muriel Rebecca Robinson, daughter of Alexander Robinson and Ida Chapman, Shelburne, NS. While the marriage took place in Cobalt, Muriel resided in Halifax prior to the ceremony, suggesting that she had met Malcolm while he was living there. Malcolm’s brother Simon was his “best man” and a witness for the occasion.
The newlyweds established residence in North Cobalt, where Malcolm held a variety of jobs over the next 24 years. He was employed as a “section man” on the Cobalt Street Railway for two years, after which he worked for one year on the “concentrate tables” and four years as a “hoist man” in the Cobalt mine. By the late 1920s, Malcolm had returned to the retail sector, where he worked as a “clerk and window dresser” in a dry goods store for eight years.
From 1936 to 1940, Malcolm was employed as a cook, after which he established his own upholstery and mattress-making business. His Second World War service file also states that he was a music teacher from approximately 1927 to 1942, but provides no details as to the nature of his musical talents. Overall, Malcolm had an impressively diverse experience in the work force.
Malcolm and Muriel experienced more than their share of tragedy during their years in the Cobalt area. Their first son, Percy Murdock, died at birth on September 9, 1919. A second son, Russell Malcolm, joined the family on January 14, 1921, and the couple later adopted a daughter, Iris Muriel, who was born July 14, 1934. That year same, the family relocated to Haileybury, just north of North Cobalt, on the shores of Lake Temiskaming.
On September 7, 1935, 14-year-old Russell Crooks was driving his bicycle along a local Haileybury road when he was struck by a passing motor vehicle. Rushed to Haileybury Hospital with a “fracture of skull and allied injuries,” he succumbed to his injuries before day’s end. Russell was laid to rest in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Haileybury. The following year, Malcolm’s brother Simon passed away on November 12, 1936, at 56 years of age, the result of cerebral thrombosis.
While Malcolm was far too old to enlist for active service after the outbreak of the Second World War in Europe, subsequent events created an opportunity to serve his country in another capacity. The rapid German invasion of Western Europe in May 1940 put pressure on Canadian military authorities to accelerate preparations for war. In particular, it became a priority to ensure that all qualified men were available for overseas service. The Royal Canadian Legion also urged the Canadian government to give the country’s many First World War veterans an opportunity to contribute to the war effort at home.
In response to these pressures, the Canadian government announced the formation of the “Veterans Home Guard” on May 23, 1940. Based upon the British Home Guard already operating in the United Kingdom, the plan was to use the country’s First World War veterans to guard military properties across the country, freeing younger men to serve overseas. In particular, the veterans could relieve the Canadian Provost Corps—the Canadian Army’s military police—from guard duty at internment and prisoner of war camps established across the country.
The Veterans Home Guard would consist of volunteers who had served during the First World War. The age limit was initially set at 50 but later expanded to 55 years of age. The men were expected to meet the army’s basic physical standards and would serve under the same obligations as active combat soldiers. The Department of National Defence initially approved the formation of 12 companies, each consisting of 250 men. The men would wear battle dress and carry weapons while on duty.
While approximately 25,000 First World War veterans volunteered before the end of the year, many were rejected based on age or medical condition. In September 1940, the unit’s name was changed to Veterans Guard of Canada (VGC). By the following spring, the VGC consisted of approximately 6,500 men divided into 29 companies, while another 4,000 men were part-time volunteers in reserve companies across the country.
The VGC protected critical infrastructure and wartime industries. The aluminum smelting operation at Arvida, QC, was one such example. After Japan entered the war in December 1941, VGC companies assisted with coastal defence and guarded RCAF bases in British Columbia. Its personnel also protected airfields in Newfoundland and several select companies guarded Canadian Military Headquarters in London, England, conducted garrison duty in the Bahamas, and protected bauxite-laden ships in British Guiana.
Perhaps the Guard’s most important role was the supervision of 26 internment and prisoner of war camps, a responsibility it assumed in May 1941. As the war progressed, approximately 34,000 German POWs were interred in Canada. VGC personnel operated the guard towers, carried out inspections and supervised daily activities at the camps, many of which were located in remote areas.
At its peak in June 1943, the VGC consisted of 451 officers and 9,806 other ranks. A total of more than 15,000 First World War veterans served with its 37 regular and three special-duty companies during the war. A May 1945 assessment estimated that the Guard had “directly or indirectly” ensured the provision of the equivalent of a full infantry division for overseas service.
On March 23, 1942, John Malcolm Crooks enlisted with the Veterans Guard of Canada at Haileybury. At the time, he identified his occupation as “upholsterer, mattress maker and cook” and named his wife, Muriel Rebecca Crooks, as his next of kin. Malcolm initially served with No. 27 Company, VGC, but was transferred to No. 15 Company, New Toronto, on April 30.
Two weeks later, Malcolm was assigned to the University Armouries Guard, Toronto, where he served for two weeks. Given his age at the time—he was 57 years old—active physical duty likely presented a challenge. On August 24, Malcolm was selected as a candidate for a cooking course at No. 2 Vocational Training School, Toronto, Wing. He started the two-month training program on September 14 and impressed his instructors. A comment in Malcolm’s service file described him in these words: “High standards; co-operative; always open to new ideas. He is a very fine type of man and a good Official Mess Cook.”
On November 20, Malcolm returned to No. 15 Company, which was now stationed in Walkerville, a suburb of Windsor, ON, and served there—likely as a mess cook—through the winter of 1942-43. On April 30, 1943, Malcolm was reposted to Internment Camp 40, Farnham, QC, 65 kilometers east of Montreal, “for employment as a cook.”
Initially known as “Camp A,” the Farnham internment camp was located on the site of a former agricultural experimental station. It commenced operation in October 1940 and initially housed civilian internees and refugees from the United Kingdom. Temporarily closed in January 1942, the camp re-opened three months later to accommodate “Enemy Merchant Seamen” (EMS). Before year’s end, the men were transferred to a camp in Sherbrooke, their place taken by German combat officers and a small number of “other ranks” who served as their orderlies (“batmen”).
The camp was closed briefly in June 1943 for two months before once again re-opening as an officers’ camp. At its maximum, the camp housed more than 200 German POWs. Its residents were provided with the opportunity to take a variety of courses of instruction offered by a staff of 30 teachers. The men also built a variety of recreational facilities and organized a band and theatre group. The camp remained active until June 1946, by which time its internees had returned to Europe. Its buildings, fences and guard towers were then dismantled and the property returned to civilian use.
Malcolm served as a mess cook at Camp 40 until late October 1943, when he was transferred to the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps (RCASC). He continued to serve as a “mess cook” until mid-May 1944, when he was transferred to No. 12 Company, VGC. By that time, authorities were concerned with Malcolm’s age and physical condition.
On June 15, 1944, Malcolm was posted to the Rehabilitation Wing, No. 2 Military District Depot, Toronto, for discharge. A note in his service file provides an explanation:
“Pte. Crooks had been employed in the Army as a cook. Due to his age which he admits is 59 and his physical condition he is being returned to civilian life. Crooks has worked at quite a number of jobs in his time but apparently has always managed to keep busy. It is his desire and ambition to take a special course in cooking which will qualify him for cooking in a D.P. & N.H. or civilian hospital. Before he can do this he has to have a hernia operation. As this will take considerable time[,] it will be towards the end of the year before this man will be able to start work. If the plans that Crooks has made for himself are followed out[,] he should have no difficulty in re-establishing himself [in civilian life].”
A second comment in Malcolm’s file described several other employment options after discharge: “Will either return to his own business of upholsterer or take up poultry or rabbit farming. Has the necessary land for the latter venture. All depends on his general health.”
Indeed, within weeks of the above words being written, Malcolm experienced a medical crisis. In the aftermath of surgery to repair a hernia, he suffered a massive pulmonary embolism (sudden blockage in a lung artery) and a thrombosis (blood clot) in his left femoral (thigh) vein. He died in Christie St. Hospital, Toronto, on July 30, 1944. A later ruling by a military pension board concluded that, while the condition that caused his death “was incurred during service in Canada… [it] did not arise out of, nor was it directly connected with military service.”
Private John Malcolm Crooks was laid to rest beside his young son Russell in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Haileybury, ON. His wife Muriel spent her remaining years in Haileybury, where she died in 1965 and was buried beside her husband and son.
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