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MEMORABILIA
In the package that was handed down to me by my father was a
number of physical items, photographs of which I am posting on this page.
Some of the items are clear as to their origin but I am sure that the
professional (or top notch amateur) historian can tell me more about these
items. I have added my comments and look forward to hearing from those
that know "more" about these individual items.
Many thanks to our local military historian Doug
Richardson (RCMP ret.) who has looked at
these postings and provided me with additional information that I have
posted. Also thanks to John Sheen,
author of the "Tyneside Irish" for his comments and clarifications and
to Stephen (N.S.Regt.) for identification of the "mystery round".
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| Historical
Items |
Comments from
Richard Van Wyck Laughton (grandson) based on research conducted to date: |
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The Military Cross of George
Van Wyck Laughton, as passed down from my father. There is some
disagreement as to the details of the actions leading to the award of this
medal, as the reports in Canada differ from what is recorded in the UK. I
have been attempting to sort this out through contact with the London Gazette
and the author of the Tyneside Irish, John Sheen. Details of the Canadian
records are on the Hero
Page of this web site. Details from the London Gazette are recorded
at:
1. January
17, 1917
2. July
18, 1917
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These three photos show Grandfather
Laughton, as depicted in larger scale, with questions about his uniform on the
photo quiz
page. These were posted to entice other CEF Study Group members to
provide comment. Please click on the link to participate. |
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The Battle of Arras (Vimy
Ridge), as detailed elsewhere on this web site at:
http://www.censol.ca/research/greatwar/arras.htm
is a much more interesting story when you read it while
looking at the actual battle lines, as drawn by George Van Wyck Laughton on his
Roclincourt Trench Map on April 8, 1917. This coincides with the notes of
the battle plans and the codes for the attack written in his field note
book. The open map is quite large and thus I currently do not have the
facilities to scan it, however if anyone does want to see the details please
contact me (see link at bottom of page) and I will get it copied. I have
mad a link to a photo
of the open map, but it is not clear for reading the detail. |
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Doug Richardson's report on this bayonet are
interesting:
Your Brit bayonet appears to
be a "Pattern 1907 Mark 1 Land - SMLE (with Quillon)"
It was manufactured in large
quantities and initial models were equipped with a hooked quillon coped from
the Japanese Type 30 Arisaka bayonets.
Most of these had the
quillon removed (a distant and foggy bell prompts me to say that this occurred
@ 1915/16)
The above "SMLE"
refers to the Small Magazine Lee Enfield (.303) and neither it nor the
bayonet would not have been issued to Commissioned ranks. I believe that
I have 'issue' replacement wooden grips (two piece) should you want them. I
have both examples of this piece.
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I presume the bayonet was from
my grandfathers rifle, however I am uncertain as to whether he would have
carried such as a 2nd Lieutenant, but it appears he left Canada as a
private. The bayonet also survived the 1969 house fire, however as a
young lad I remember carving the new handle grips.
My Uncle Paul Laughton has confirmed that his
father George Van Wyck Laughton did in fact carry a rifle while in the
trenches. Apparently he learnt quickly that the offices with their Colt
45's were favourite sniper targets, thus he suited up to blend with the
enlisted men.
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On the same forum, Scott
from Tucson Arizona wrote the following: "The WW I
helmets have a totally different liner system typically made up of a layer of
horse hair/felt padding in the crown, depending on variant a rubber 'donut'
ring, or not, a single piece thinish leather chinstrap secured to the crown by
a rivet, the liner is supported by an oil cloth or 'rexene' liner. The steel
is a hardened manganese alloy, a bit thin, early types 1916 or so are raw
edged with no rim, but later ones often have them removed and can be
misleading. The British made ones are different from American ones as the
rivets holding the chinstrap guides are held by split rivets, the American
ones are round rivets. American made helmets often have a heavier textured
sand in the paint and the paint is more olive. The British ones are sawdust
mixed and can be variety of shades of khaki/mustard etc. sometimes smooth
finished, a light grey, apple green, the variations are many. WW II
helmets have a duller sounding metal knock, different alloy , usually a smooth
finish, the liner is held in with a screw and post, it is a synthetic padded
crown insert unit with a drawstring and fingers to size it. The chinstrap is
an elastic cotton secured to the underside of the rim"
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The helmet is but a helmet, but
I do not know what the two red and one while bar imply. I have not seen
any reference to this and the 26th Northumberland Fusiliers, but I am certain
that there is someone out there that know exactly what these stripes mean.
Doug Richardson tells me that:
The markings on the helmet
indicate the unit (usually Divisional)
Update March 25, 2004:
Information I have
received recently from Andrew Iarocci at the Laurier Centre for Military
Strategic and Disarmament Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo
Ontario shows that this helmet is in fact of WWII vintage, based on it's paint
colour, lining, suspension, chin strap, brim and hardware fittings. The
fact that the steel was non-magnetic was the final proof.
Update February 5, 2005:
Joe Sweeney posted a
message to the CEF Study Group Forum (http://www.cefresearch.com)that
stated the following: "Only 25,000 helmets were manufactured out of
Magnetic Steel in WWI. That was the first order placed on 24 September 1915.
Of the millions of other helmets produced in WWI all were made of non magnetic
Hardened manganese steel." Other visitors asked for more photos,
thus I have added a picture of the inside as well.
Another new question for my research - where
did this come from and why was it with the WWI kit?
See also this page that deals specifically
with the issue of CEF Helmets in WWI:
CEF Steel
Helmets
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Historian Doug Richardson advised
me of the following in September 2003 after looking at the information on this
web site:
The ammunition is in fact
Great War issue and the device that holds them is a 'Stripper Clip' and is WW1
pattern as well. The .303 rounds are impossible to differentiate between the
Lee Enfield or the Ross as both weapons are .303 calibre as you know.
The stripper clips allowed
the infanteer to quickly re-charge his magazine while it was still attached to
the weapon for the clip itself fit snugly into an aperture above the open bolt
assembly on the rifle. A quick downward thrust of the thumb guided the
rounds into the magazine rendering the then empty stripper
clip expendable garbage. The stripper clips were issued to be
carried in bandoliers worn across the torso and over one shoulder. (there are
variations of course) The bandoliers were constructed of canvas webbing of a
colour and pattern consistent with the soldiers web gear.
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Five bullets remain after all
these years from the Battlefields of France. I am not certain as to
whether these came from the infamous Ross Rifle that was given to all the
members of the Canadian Expeditionary Force or from the Lee Enfield that they
finally were given as the replacement, although I suspect it is the Lee
Enfield. The bullets are marked on the shell casing as follows:
#1 - S S 5 12
#2 - 19 DAC 16 VII
#3 - 19 DAC 16 VII
#4 - 19 DAC 16 VII
#5 - 19 DAC 15 VII
The mismatched bullet (S S 5 12) has a slightly larger
casing, projectile and has a ring slot at the base of the bullet, as it would
appear to be a similar yet different bullet from the other four.
From: Stephen
(aka: N.S.Regt.):
http://1914-1918.org/forum/
Hear is the story on
your "mystery" round. The cartridge was developed for the Model 1898
mauser rifle. The bullet is 7.92mm in diameter and could be fired from the
machine gun as well as rifles. The round is usually carried in stripper clips
in groups of 5 for the rifle but it is much different than the British ones.
The German and British cartridge will not
work in each others guns your grandfather most likely picked it up as a
keepsake of some sort. The round was made by the Koingliches Aresnal Spandau
indicated by one of the Ss the second S is for spitzgeschoss
(pointed bullet). The 5 is for the month of May and the 12 is for
1912. Although you found them together a German round would not belong in the
British stripper. I assume your Grandfather put it there so it
would not get lost seems to have done the trick.
DAC, Dominion Arsenal
Canada,
16=1916.
15=1915
V11=mark 7 type of casing.
Arrow in C Canadian Goverment acceptance mark.
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This much smaller bayonet I
would suspect came from a German weapon but I am not sure. Perhaps it is
my grandfather's souvenir from the attack on the German machine gun
emplacement, or perhaps just a plain trophy from the war. It is odd now
to think of all of these memorabilia that would have so excited a young lad
like me in the 1960's, yet I never once heard my grandfather talk of the
war. Similarly, I never heard of my father (Lt. Charles Van Wyck
Laughton, RCNVR WWII) speak of his escapades or those of my grandfather, just
the passing of the heirlooms one day back in 1986. Did they not want to
talk of these wars, or could they not talk of these wars.
Doug Richardson's comments on this item were:
You are correct in
deducing that the smaller bayonet is of German manufacture ! It is: "ERSATZ
MODEL 1915/18.
This unusual piece is a
combination bayonet and trench knife. These were commercially sold by DEMAG
(Deutsche Machinen Fabrik Ag) in Duisburg. It is commonly called the
"Crank-handle". It fits the GEW 98. The scabbard combined the frog
with it.
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In
a small wooden box, there were a number of badges, medals, dog tags and what
appears to be buttons for Grandfather Laughton's uniform. There has been
a specific interest from others on the "Cap Badge" (as shown here)
for the 26th Northumberland Fusiliers.
As it now appears that the history of the "Fighting
Fifth" is as much a part of the history of my grandfather as the CEF,
I have started a new page that provides some history of the Tyneside Irish and
the Northumberland Fusiliers. To go to that page, follow this "Tyneside
Irish" link.
April 14, 2004:
John Sheen, author of the
"Tyneside Irish" has sent me an e-mail noting that this cap badge is
an "Officers Bronze Service dress". |
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The
"Dog Tag" (wrist band) of George Van Wyck Laughton of the 26th
Northumberland Fusiliers, as attached to another medal noted "For
Services Rendered", which I presume is of Canadian origin. (see
below, I stand corrected)
Update August 22, 2004:
Upon reading a posting on the Great War
Forum I recognized that the top medal with the "For King and Empire"
was the Silver War Badge. Checking back on the infamous Chris Baker web
site (http://www.1914-1918.net/silver_badge.htm)
shows me that it was awarded after a medical downgrade. That makes it
understandable why it was attached to my grandfathers "Dog
Tags". Based on Chris's note I went back to the bag and retrieved
the medal and on the back the number is:
B45828
As Chris is now doing some research for
me, that I can not do from here in Canada, I have forwarded that
information. We shall see where that leads us in the future! One
more valuable piece of information that would have been overlooked if not
for the "Great War Forum" pals.
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In
July 2004 there was a posting asking about the "Shoulder Titles"
worn by the Northumberland Fusiliers. As I read the posting on the "Great
War Forum" I realized that I have those titles. I have
responded and so perhaps I will learn more about what they actually represent. |
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Added March 2007:
I presume these are for the collar. I will add more details when I
find out more information. |
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click image for full scale
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As
part of the work to further trace Grandfather Laughton's service record in the
142nd Battalion CEF in Canada and the 32nd Battalion CEF in England (see Military
Service) I found that there were two sections (front and back components)
of a certificate for a "War Service Badge" copied on the same pages
as his discharge certificates from the CEF (to enter then leave the BEF).
As it had been very difficult to interpret the poor
copies of the pages, I never really paid much attention to the other pages at
the top. It was only when trying to link them to the other pages I
noticed that it was the front and back of the "War Service Badge
Certificate".
Still I do not know where the badge originated. I
will ask others, as the badge itself I assume was lost in the 1967 family
house fire, as were many others. George's wife had kept the prized
awards and papers at her house after his death but many of the documents and
less meaningful badges were at our house and thus were destroyed in the fire.
The Veteran's Affairs web site says this about the
badge:
Final CEF Award Criteria
(i) Members of the CEF who served at the
front and had retired or relinquished their commissions, been honourably
discharged, or returned to or retained in Canada on duty.
(ii) Members of the Imperial Forces, subject to the same conditions as
members of the CEF, provided they were Canadian residents on the 4th day of
August, 1914, and had returned to reside in Canada.
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If you have any information or comments on these items,
please send me the information so that I can update this page and expand on the
history of these items.
I have since received the following:
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John Sheen, author of the
"Tyneside Irish" was kind enough to e-mail me a scan of the 26th
Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers, Purple Shamrock.
I will look into the history of this item and report
back later with details. |
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