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    censlenov

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    Posts posted by censlenov

      Some CEF Groups in my collection

      in Great Britain: Orders, Gallantry, Campaign Medals

      Posted · Edited by censlenov

      466206 Pte. Arthur Thomas Trotman 63rd/10th Canadian Infantry Battalion CEF

      In the spring of 1915 Medicine Hat was in the process of preparing to recruit its own infantry battalion to add to the pool of men traveling over the Atlantic and trudging into the trenches in France. A battalion of mounted rifles had just left the City in June when a request for recruits came from Edmonton. The 63rd Infantry Battalion Headquartered in Edmonton was having trouble filling its ranks and needed more men. The job fell to the recruiters in Medicine Hat to fill “D” Company of the 63rd and it was a job they did well.

      On July 2nd 1915 Arthur Thomas Trotman entered the recruiting office and attested for service in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Trotman was not born in Canada he was from Bisley Glouchestershire in England birthed on September 11th 1884. He immigrated to Canada and first was recorded living in Medicine Hat in 1911. Arthur lived in a suite at 341 3rd Street SE by himself and worked as a general labourer for a Mr. B Roberts. His medical examination at the time of his enlistment describes him as 5’ 7 ½” tall, of a medium build, with a medium complexion, Blue eyes, and Dark Brown hair.

      When the ranks of “D” Company filled and the Battalion had undergone some initial training in Canada Arthur proceeded east to the disembarkation port of St. John New Brunswick where he hunkered down aboard the SS Metagama for the journey to England. The ship left port on April 22nd 1916 and arrived in England on the 5th of May.

      In England the 63rd proceeded to Shorncliffe where the battalion was disbanded and its troops were placed into the 11th Reserve Battalion on June 4th. By June 6th Trotman was assigned to the 10th Infantry Battalion and on the 8th he had arrived in France and proceeded to join his new unit.

      The Battle of Mount Sorrel had just taken place on June 3rd. It was another unsuccessful assault; the counter-attack by the 10th was launched against a small knoll in the Ypres. There were considerable losses suffered and despite the relatively low height of this feature, it provided an excellent viewpoint over flat terrain in the area and was of considerable strategic importance. The 10th would not see another major action until near the end of the Somme campaign.

      The 10th Battalion was involved in a series of operations from 8 September and 17 October, primarily defensive actions which were successful, north of Albert, France near the town of Boiselle. A successful defensive battle fought by the 10th Battalion, during the Somme Campaign, near the town of Albert, France was “Ancre Heights”. Modest casualties were suffered during the action on 10–11 September 1916. On 26 September 1916 an action took place at the Thiepval Ridge, near the town of Courcelette. The offensive operation was considered a success for the 10th Battalion, at the cost of 241 casualties.

      One of the wounded during the Thiepval Ridge battle was Arthur Trotman he had been shot in the left arm. After receiving preliminary treatment in France he was taken back to England for additional treatment and recuperation. After his arrival in England he was first transferred to Canadian Casualty Assembly Center (CCAC) Fokestone on October 2nd and from there was sent to Bagthorpe Military Hospital in Nottingham. Following a two month stay he was transferred to Canadian Convalescent Hospital (CCH) Hillingdon in the township of Uxbridge on the 14th of December.

      On the 13th of February 1917 after completion of his convalescence Arthur Trotman was assigned to Garrison Duty Depot (GDD) Hastings. His wound had left him unacceptable for front line service but still able enough to perform more menial tasks. A little over two weeks later on the 28th he was assigned to 33 Company 3rd District Canadian Forestry Corps.

      The Canadian Forestry Corps (CFC) was created on the 14th of November 1916. It was discovered that huge quantities of wood were needed for use on theWestern Front. Wood was used to build duckboards, shoring timbers, crates, etc. The British government concluded that there was nobody more experienced or qualified in the British Empire to harvest timber than the Canadians. At first the idea was to harvest the trees from Canada's abundant forests and bring them overseas. However, space aboard merchant ships was at a premium and so rather than stuff ships' holds with timber; it was decided to use the Canadians over in Europe to cut down forests in the UK and France.

      Arthur continued to serve in the CFC and on July 2nd he was awarded a good conduct badge. He was transferred to the 4th district in September and the 5th district in November. Following the end of hostilities Trotman was transferred to the CFC depot on November 23rd 1918. From there he proceeded to Canadian Discharge Depot (CDD) Buxton on December 4th. By the 15th of December he was on his way back to Canada. Arthur Thomas Trotman was officially discharged at Calgary on February 14th 1919.

      Not much else can be found out about Arthur Trotman after the war only that he lived to be 98 years old. He died at Shaughnessy Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia on February 23, 1983.

      For his service in the war he was awarded the British War Medal 14-18 and Inter-allied Victory Medal.

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      DSM to a French seaman, WW1

      in Great Britain: Orders, Gallantry, Campaign Medals

      Posted

      Here's the naggin thought in my mind. "Le Gaulois" was sunk Dec of 1916. Why was an award for Le Gaulois in a 1918 roll. hmmmmmmm............ A possible scenario though poorly noted in the roll is that the second medal is a replacement for the 1st which went down on the Gaulois. This is a pretty common scenario and i've seen it in other instances. Are these the only two dsm rolls to french recipients or are there others?

      Cheers

      Chris

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      Value of MG 08/15 Deact

      in Germany: Imperial Uniforms, Headwear, Insignia & Personal Equipment

      Posted

      Had an interesting lunch break encounter today with an old collector and we got to talking. One thing led to another and badda bing badda boom next thing i know i'm a buying a 1918 dated MG08/15. Once i pick it up i'll post photos but can anyone give me a conservative estimate as to value as i am way out of my element. It's in decent shape not a relic. I'm sure photos will help with the valuation but i'd like to get a sense as to how i did.

      It may look out of place surrounded by my "Medicine Hat" militaria collection. But i suspect it may fit in with more research.

      Cheers

      Chris

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      Planning to Buy a British Medal Bar - will be my 1st British collection

      in Great Britain: Orders, Gallantry, Campaign Medals

      Posted

      This bar is on my hand and have been fixed! :D

      I wonder which division does this medal bar belong to? Can it be Ghurka's?

      Defence medal's criteria is for 'non-operational service', so this bar belongs to an instructor/admin/airfield crew?

      I think it's almost impossible researching an individual who got this bar because no name on the stars and this is a common bar, isn't it? :(

      So this is my summary:

      This man (army,navy, or airforce) was served on a division in Burma/Malaya/Sumatra/Bengal; he was on non-operational service (an instructor/airfield crew/admin/other)

      Any opinions?

      Windu

      Yes unfortunately impossible to research. very common combination I suspect most likely army or airforce. But i don't agree he was on non operational service he was for a time to qualify for the defence medal but that doesn't mean that he did take part in any operations against the enemy after qualifying for that medal. Quite afew canadian groups have a defence medal and the men post June 44 went on to serve in france and germany.

      Cheers

      Chris

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      Four Medals of Honor Returned

      in United States of America

      Posted

      theres one to the 27th Maine on emedals right now and afew others......

      honestly as long as someone honours the memory of the recipient then i don't see any problem with these medals changing hands over the years. As for specimens i just don't see a problem at all. The problem is the yahoos who act as though they are entitled to them when they aren't these walts should be dealt with harshly.

      Cheers

      Chris

      0

      All russia medals?

      in Russia: Imperial

      Posted

      Is it me or does that badge give you the impression it was of asian manufacture. The horse and rider look stylisticly like something one would see in asian art work. Sounds weird and i hope i don't come across sounding wrong but it looks like a chinese manufacturer made a copy of a russian badge. Certainly not of the quality i would expect.

      cheers

      Chris

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      12 pcs Miniature Bar

      in Great Britain: Orders, Gallantry, Campaign Medals

      Posted

      This has been shown before on the forum when it was posted on eBay for sale. I can't find the thread right now but the owner couldn't be pinned down at the time (although i probably can now). It would be a unique set of awards. I can't remember what the owner was asking on eBay but it was too much. Check the DNW auction archive to get comparable results it would be the best way to gauge market trend.

      Cheers

      Chris

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