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John Anlsey Foster is one of the 23 young men from Richmond who lost their lives in either World War I, World War II, or in the Korean War whose names are inscribed on the Richmond Cenotaph.
Photo courtesy Julia Boak via City of Richmond
In honour of our soldiers: John Ansley Foster
Published 11:59 PDT, Wed July 16, 2025
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In our previous series, we learned about 56 men who gave their lives during World War I and World War II, whose names had been inscribed on the Richmond Cenotaph and were given a poppy street sign. Following our poppy street sign series, we moved onto the young soldiers whose names were inscribed on the Richmond Cenotaph but did not have a road named after them. Those names were compiled of the 23 young men who lost their lives in World War I, World War II, or in the Korean War.
John Ansley Foster was born on June 4, 1912 in Vancouver, British Columbia to Jonathan W. and Frances Louise Foster. He was the grandson of Richmond’s Reeve John Wesley Sexsmith and his mother taught at Steveston school.
Foster was one of three children, his brother, K.W. Foster served in the Army Medical Corps in Canada and his sister, Alice was a nurse in the Hazelton Hospital.
John grew up in Vancouver, BC studying at the Prince of Wales High School, and would go onto attend the University of British Columbia. At the age of 28, Foster joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in June, 1940 and was quickly named Flight Sergeant.
After serving for a year and a half, John Ansley Foster would tragically pass away in Holland on Dec. 9, 1941. His bodily remains were never recovered but he would be commemorated at the Runnymede Memorial. His parents would receive a ministerial record or death notice.
The City of Richmond honoured John Ansley Foster by putting his name on the Richmond Cenotaph.
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