50p well spent

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Guys, I bought this single identity disk many years at an aviation show for 50p. I bought it because it was named to a man with my family name of Stevenson.

The disk is a Canadian WW1 issue. It lists his name, serial number, religion, etc. One thing I did not understand at the time was the designation "46 Can"?

Then a few years ago I discovered that WW1 Canadian attestation papers are available online :thumbup: So I was then able to discover much more about the man, Frederick Stevenson. Like many men who manned the Empire, the place where he lived was not the place where he was born. He was a Scotsman by birth and was aged 28 when he enlisted.

It turned out that he was a "Mountie", a member of the Mounted Police with three years service. I did not realise that the organisation changed names over a period of time and was not always known as th Royal Canadian Mounted Police that is so famous worldwide today.

http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/hist/archiv-eng.htm

I have written to their historian to see if his Police service records are still in existance?

I have checked the CWGC website and he is not listed as a casualty. More on this in the next post!

Cheers, Ade.

[Adrian Stevenson]

So the good old National Archives has just gotten another two quid out of me :biggrin:

Here is his medal card index roll entry. He was a Sgt :thumbup: Now there are no entries for any awards, but note the MM mentioned in the note at the top of the card? Military Medal?

"46 Can" is now explained as "46th Battalion Canadian Expeditionary Force."

Not knowing anything about the unit I did a little research and found where they fought. Here is one extract I found:

As part of the 10th Infantry Brigade of the 4th Canadian Division the 46th Battalion had played a pivotal role in the capture of a feature on Vimy Ridge known as the Pimple. The Pimple is the highest point on the Ridge and was the last part wrested from the Germans on April 12/13, 1917.

So the chances are he fought at Vimy Ridge!

Now have a read of this website:

http://esask.uregina.ca/entry/46th_canadian_infantry_battalion_cef.html

Did you read of the casualty rate of his Battl? We all know WW1 was a bloodbath, but 91.5% is still a real shocker!

[RaymondG]

Excellent bit of research, Ade

1,433 killed and 3,484 wounded

They are sobering statistics. Utterly terrible

Raymond

[Wouter J]

Hi Ade, excellent work once again. The point of Vimy Ridge brings me to the blazer badge and a lapel pin I have to a Captain who was in the 16th Battln. CEF. He was killed on the first day of the battle, on April 9, 1917, while leading his company 'over the top'. Now I am curious whether I could download his medal index card? Is it a problem that I live in the Netherlands? I know he earned the Military Cross, but I don't know why and where. Is it possible for me to find his citation or any other records?

Thanks
Wouter

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Wouter, it should not be a problem for you to get his medal roll index card. You can pay by Credit card, etc.

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/medals.asp

Cheers, Ade.

[Wouter J]

Hi Ade, thanks for the help. Unfortunately they don't seem to have his medal index card. Does it matter that he was Canadian? He is listed on the CWGC site though;
http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=66268

[Steve R]

Ade

Another suberb thread you have posted again. It proves that there are still bargains around if you look closely. Excellent research again. I have visited Vimy ridge twice now and will have a look and see what photo's I have.

Steve R

:thumbup1:

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Wouter, I double checked for you and could not find him either. These things can be hit and miss.

Hi Steve, this has been a nice little exercise and I would love to see any pics you have of Vimy Ridge.

Cheers, Ade.

[sas]

excellant stuff ade

sas

[Adam H]

Hi Ade,

As promised, a bit of more information on Stevenson.

I can confirm that he was indeed awarded the Military Medal. The MM was Gazette on 28 July 1917. Early (1916) and some 1917 MMs to Canadians sometimes have a citation available. However, to access this one has to go to the Canadian archives. I will see if I can get a friend to check this the next time I order some files.

Incidentally, the reason you WERE able to find a MIC for him in the NA, is because he won the MM. Generally Canadians are not listed there, but rather in the CEF database that you refer to in your first post. Not MICs per se but the attestation papers, which are often more useful.

As for the RCMP records. The Canadian Archives now have some online, but these are early ones and I think end in 1904. A hard copy of his file MAY be available by request.

Stevenson's battalion, the 46th had the unenviable nickname the "Suicide Battalion." the statistics above suggest why this was.

I'll keep digging...

Cheers,

Adam

[Steve R]

Adam

Thank you for the info, that is great research, well done. I have been following this thread as the Canadians and Vimy Ridge are of interest to me, having been there twice now.

Steve R

:thumbup1:

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Adam, welcome to the forum first of all :thumbup1:

I am really pleased about you finding that info for me that he was awarded the MM. Also it is helpful to know why some Canadians are in the Medal card index roll.

I have written an email to the RCMP, but I have not a reply as of yet.

Cheers, Ade.

[Adam H]

Hello Gents

My pleasure to convey the info, and thanks for the welcome to the forum. I am sure some of you know me from elsewhere on the internet. I will see what else I can dig up on the fellow.

I am not overly familiar with RNWMP/RCMP records, except those that are now online. I will check with some colleagues to see 1) where they are kept 2) if they are accessible. It has reminded me that I have medals to some men that also saw some RCMP service...so perhaps I can jump on the bandwagon and get some more info as well.

Ade, the War Diaries for the various Canadian WWI units are now online as well...and may provide some background info for you. It's a bit tedious digging through them but the results can be well worth it.

Cheers,

Adam

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Adam, just found the war diary for the 46th Battl. I am reading it now.

Cheers, Ade.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Found him!

He was a Lance Corporal when he was awarded his MM, on July 1st 1917. As is usual, there is a difference in the date of actual award and when it was annouced in the London Gazzette:

http://data2.collectionscanada.ca/e/e045/e001112454.jpg

Cheers, Ade.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Found out he was also wounded in April 1917 at Vimy Ridge which is mentioned here:

http://data2.collectionscanada.ca/e/e045/e001112155.jpg

Cheers, Ade.

[Adrian Stevenson]

I have been back to the National Archives website and checked on the online MM records which I had not looked at before.

I entered all his details and no exact match came up? :confused1: I soon discovered that the Archives have missed the number "5" from his service number on their records: as when I did another search all the other details matched fine. So I took the chance and paid the £2.

This paid off, as my hunch was correct and the online number is wrong! So it just goes to show how human error can throw a spanner in the works.

Here is the MM index card for him. :thumbup: Looks like he as a Lance Corporal but an acting Sgt.

[RaymondG]

Hi Ade

Now that is great to have added so much more to the initial research.

The war diaries being online is something else and I just wish this was more widespread.

Excellent job!

A warm welcome to you, Adam.

Raymond

[Adrian Stevenson]

Here is his entry in the London Gazette. He is listed in the left hand column along with all the other Canadian MM winners.

[Steve R]

Ade

All is well that ends well as they say.

A great result though, I have come across several entries on 'official' records that have been incorrect and it goes to show that that persistance is required if at first you don't succeed......

Steve R

:thumbup1:

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Guys, as I mentioned in my original post I had written to the historical section of the RCMP. Today I got this nice reply and some great additional info:



Hello,

I was able to find two men named Frederick Stevenson that served with the Royal North West Mounted Police around the same time and who also served in WWI. One of the men had the middle name Eady. I assume that this is not the man you are looking into. That being said Frederick Stevenson joined the Force on May 19, 1913. He was a Constable while with the Force. His regimental number was 5591. He served the Force for ten years retiring on September 22, 1923. He was involved in a case where he located and recovered a kidnapped girl named Mildred Shaw in 1913 and he was acknowledged for his good service in this instance. I hope this information is helpful. I was not able to verify which Frederick Stevenson you were looking for by the links you emailed because our internet server blocked them. We have high internet security. If it was Frederick Eady Stevenson please let me know and I will provide you with the information we have on file for him.

Thank you,

The Historical Section


Cheers, Ade.

[RaymondG]

Hi Ade

Great stuff!

"He was involved in a case where he located and recovered a kidnapped girl named Mildred Shaw in 1913 and he was acknowledged for his good service in this instance."

It would certainly be interesting to find out more about this as a sidenote to your other research. I would not be surprised if some of the old national newspapers are online.

Raymond

[Steve R]

Ade

Great stuff again, this has been a really popular thread packed with information, thank you for the updates. It has also shown us what is available out there if you put the work in.

Steve R

:thumbup1: