Canada Capt. Gordon E. Muggeridge, CD - WWII and Korea

[captainofthe7th]

Hello all --

I wanted to make my first post here an interesting one, and I hope this will sufficiently fulfill that goal. I am huge into collecting U.S. Korean War items and have recently decided that I need to expand my collection to cover all nations that participated in the war in Korea. This is my second non-U.S. uniform, but the first that I have been able to research. I discovered this battledress on ebay and had high hopes of identifying this RCAMC captain based on the MID on his Korea medal ribbon. Fortunately, there is a list available online for Canadian awards of the MID in Korea, among other awards and honors. I found that there were only two RCAMC officers that could be potential matches, and only one, Captain Gordon Muggeridge, who received the Canadian Forces Decoration at the time. It was a bit of a gamble, but that's part of the fun, isn't it?

I wrote to the Library and Archives of Canada and was stunned to receive a fat envelope full of records and documents. No photograph...yet...but I can't complain at all. Please, enjoy viewing the uniform and enjoy the story of Capt. Muggeridge. You can view his page (and many others) on my website here: RCM Collection

Rob

[captainofthe7th]

Capt. Muggeridge began his service in May, 1932 as a member of the 11th Division Signals, No. 290 Regiment in the Non-Permanent Active Militia. In the next six years as an enlisted man, he rose from the rank of Private to Command Sergeant Major. In 1937, he served as part of the Canadian Coronation Contingent, for which he received the King George VI Coronation Medal. In December, 1938, he joined the Permanent Forces, and a year later, the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps.

Once again holding the rank of Private, Muggeridge attended the R.C.A.M.C. school and was assigned to the No. 11 Detachment, R.C.A.M.C. In the next few years, he rose through the ranks for a second time and was soon a Quartermaster Sergeant / Sergeant Major. On the first of the year in 1942, he was assigned to the No. 16 General Hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia. In May, he was confirmed in rank of Warrant Officer Class I and in appointment of Regimental Sergeant Major (R.S.M.) The following month, R.S.M. Muggeridge embarked for the United Kingdom with the No. 16 General Hospital, beginning his tenure overseas.

For the next year, Muggeridge served with the No. 16 General Hospital. In February 1943, he attended pre-Officer Cadet Training for one month before an assignment to the No. 1 Canadian Armoured Corps Reinforcement Unit. From there, he transferred to the Canadian General Reinforcement Unit and in November, was commissioned a Lieutenant and promptly assigned to the No. 23 Field Ambulance.

On June 4, 1944, Lieut. Muggeridge embarked from the U.K. with the No. 23 Field Ambulance to participate in the invasion of Normandy. They landed on Juno beach on June 6 as part of the allied invasion force. For the next two months, he continued to serve with the No. 23 Field Ambulance. He returned to the U.K. and from August 6 - October 6, he served with the No. 23 Canadian General Hospital, and then the No. 22 Canadian General Hospital until March 28, 1945. He then sailed from the U.K. to Northwest Europe with the No. 7 Field Dressing Station, where he served until mid-July, 1945. After the allied victory in May, Lieut. Muggeridge volunteered for service in the Pacific, but soon returned home to Canada desptie a brief assignment to the Canadian Army Pacific Force. By September, he was in Vancouver again with the No. 11 District Medical Detachment. By the end of the November, 1945, he was promoted to the rank of Captain.

On February 2, 1948, Capt. Muggeridge married Mrs. Ruth Adelaide Prier, who was a nurse in the R.C.A.M.C. during the War, serving in England, Belgium and Holland. She resigned her commission to marry Gordon. After 12 years of active service, Capt. Muggeridge was awarded the Canadian Forces Decoration on March 19, 1951.

On February 2, 1952, Capt. Muggeridge embarked from Canada to the Far East, for service in Korea with the No. 25 Field Ambulance. He served with this unit until the end of April, 1952, when he assigned to the No. 37 Field Ambulance. He was serving with this unit when he was Mentioned in Dispatches for gallant or meritorious service. He left Korea on January 12, 1953, and was soon home again. He continued to serve with the Medical Corps until he was "Honourably Released" on October 14, 1961.

Thanks for looking. I may try and post some more of the documents later.

Rob

[Mervyn Mitton]

Rob - welcome to GMIC. A most interesting article on the sevice of a brave man who served his Country for so many

years. We shall look forward to your future articles. Mervyn

[Rogi]

Great Uniform and info I think I know you from another forum hehe Welcome to GMIC you will find the community here excellent and passionate about Militaria and history.

[TacHel]

Great stuff! Thanks for sharing! You now have an entire community looking for pics also!

Welcome to GMIC!

ADDENDA: I just noticed, the M.I.D. document mentions he should've received the 1st bar to his C.D. on 17-04-1961 and he released from the service on 14-10-1961, so there should be a silver rosette on his CD ribbon.

It is not uncommon (even today!), to receive these 1 or 2 years (or more) late... I figure he must've received it upon release and never bothered to upgrade a uniform he would no longer wear and propably only sewed on the bar to the award itself. Should you decide to add the rosette, the jacket would still be 100% accurate. Should you desire such a rosette, send me a PM, I have a few period ones with nice patina, I'll gladdly give you one.

Cheers!

Edited October 6, 2014 by TacHel

[Paul R]

Welcome to the forum and thank you for sharing this wonderful uniform and history. I love the military medical branch. I notice that the piping around his pips is carmine pink. Is this specific to the medical corps? I look forward to seeing your future postings.

[captainofthe7th]

Thanks for the comments, everyone. Rogi and Paul -- I recognize both of you. Nice to see some familiar faces on here.

TacHel -- thanks for the offer on the rosette. I assume that this uniform dates to the mid-50s, since he does not wear the shoulder patches for Canadian units in Korea and the rosette is not apparent on the CD ribbon. I am honestly a stickler for originality, and while Capt. Muggeridge certainly earned the second CD entitling him to the rosette, I must leave the uniform as is. Should I need a rosette in the future, however...

Thanks,

Rob

[peter monahan]

Paul

The coloured backing on the rank pips is/was a British custom, adopted by the Canadians and the pink/purple is particular to the RCAMC I believe.

Peter

[TacHel]

Paul

The coloured backing on the rank pips is/was a British custom, adopted by the Canadians and the pink/purple is particular to the RCAMC I believe.

Peter

Correct, and it was just reintroduced.

[servicepub]

The colour is/was officially termed 'Cherry'

C

[Dan M]

Capt. Muggeridge began his service in May, 1932 as a member of the 11th Division Signals, No. 290 Regiment in the Non-Permanent Active Militia. In the next six years as an enlisted man, he rose from the rank of Private to Command Sergeant Major.

Rob,

I'm new here as well and I can only echo the accolades you've already received for your article and your research. While I can't add anything of significance to what you've said, I do have the following.

According to the 1934 edition of the Defence Forces List the 11th Divisional Signals NPAM was stationed in Vancouver, BC. Unfortunately the List doesn't provide which Armoury in Vancouver it paraded out of. I'm curious by the entry you've provided which indicates No 290 Regiment. Could you provide the context in which it was presented?

The 11th Divisional Signals was disbanded in the 1936 reorganization of the NPAM. No new signals unit replaced it in Vancouver so I'm curious with what happened to all of the soldiers assigned to it. In the 1936 DFL the officers who were a part of the 11th Div Sigs are shown as 'not yet assigned,' with the exception of the adjutant who became the Signals Officer of the Seaforth Highlanders (also located in Vancouver). I'm going to make a guess here that perhaps Muggeridge was transferred to the Field Ambulance which is what got him interested in going PF with the RCAMC. But this is just a guess.

Again, congratulations. And if I find out anything further I will be sure to let you know.

Cheers,

Dan.