John Sackville Labatt
John Sackville Labatt | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date |
| Died | July 8, 1952 (aged 72) |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, president of Labatt Brewing Company |
| Known for | President of Labatt Brewing Company; kidnapping victim |
John Sackville Labatt (born March 10, 1880 – died July 8, 1952) was a notable Canadian entrepreneur who served as the president of the Labatt Brewing Company. He gained additional notoriety as a well-known kidnapping victim.
Early life
John Sackville, one of nine siblings born to John Labatt, received his education at Trinity College School followed by studies at McGill University. After the passing of their father in 1915, he and his brother, Hugh Francis Labatt, assumed control of the family’s brewing enterprise. John Sackville held the position of president for many years. In 1926, he wed Elizabeth Anne Lynch, and together they had three children: John Pridham, Arthur, and Mary.
Kidnapping
On August 14, 1934, while traveling from his cottage on Lake Huron near Sarnia, Ontario back to his workplace in London, Ontario, Labatt was forcibly stopped and abducted at gunpoint. The kidnappers compelled him to send a ransom demand to his brother Hugh, instructing him to wait for further instructions at Toronto’s Royal York Hotel. Labatt was then confined for three days in a Lake Muskoka cottage where he was kept blindfolded and restrained.
The group responsible—Michael Francis McCardell (nicknamed "Three-Fingered Abe"), Jack Bannon, Albert Pegram, and Russell Knowles—placed the ransom message inside Labatt’s vehicle and notified Hugh of its whereabouts. At the Royal York Hotel, Hugh collected the ransom money amid growing media coverage. Due to the intense publicity, the kidnappers ultimately released Labatt in Toronto’s Forest Hill area, providing him with taxi fare before escaping. His arrival back at the Royal York triggered a significant media response.
Following the incident, three of the abductors were convicted and received fifteen-year prison sentences; the fourth was killed in the United States. Although Labatt emerged physically unharmed from the ordeal, it profoundly impacted him emotionally, causing him to adopt an increasingly reclusive lifestyle.
See also
Bibliography
- Adam Mayers. "A heady week in 1934" The Toronto Star, Jun 22, 2007
- "John S. Labatt" The Globe and Mail, July 9, 1952
Further reading
- Susan Goldenberg, Snatched! : The Peculiar Kidnapping of Beer Tycoon John Labatt, Dundurn Press, September 2004