by CoolPoolNorm Sat Nov 28, 2015 3:49 pm
I know his Attestation papers from his WW1 service show him as only having 3 yrs in the 98th - and I have a copy of the unit payroll (he was in company B, and I can easily recognize his signature, dated 20 Sep 1909 for days served between 22 June and 13 August, 1909. Since he was born in 1890, that would put him around 19.
I have documents showing him living in Western Manitoba in Sept 1914, so that rules out the idea that he was still in the 98th at that point.... and when he enrolled in Jan 1918, he was living in Taber, AB, and he joined the 10th Btn.
That puts his service with the 98th between Jan 1908 (when he turned 18) at the earliest to mid-1914 at the latest.
I also have records showing he lived in High River AB in 1920, within months of his release (October 1919 - he was hospitalized in NB to treat his wounds) from the War. That kind of rules out the uniform being post-war, as he'd also have his service medals, wound stripe and decorations on it, rather than just the rifleman's badge. After the war, he worked in the Turner Valley oilfields and also worked on DH4's for the CAF/RCAF at High River till he was hospitalized permanently in 1929. He passed away at the Col Belcher Hospital in Calgary in 1936.
Unfortunately, the collar dogs aren't so clear as to make out what they show very well, so I expect that they aren't the same as the cap badge pic I found. I just happened to find that on a google search for the 98th.
Would the pre-WW1 cap badge be the same as mk1rceme posted? Maybe they had different collar dogs than the cap badge.... it is relatively common, and possibly part of the inspiration for the post-War cap badge, and of course, Maple Leafs were a VERY popular symbol at the time.
And Bill - if it is Pre-War, I would be interested in it - just to add another piece to the puzzle of a grandfather I greatly admire, but unfortunately, never met.