ARKWRIGHT Posted 19 August , 2004 Share Posted 19 August , 2004 Could anybody help me with a Victory medal, it was found by my daughter some twenty five years ago while she was playing in the overgrown garden of a house we had just moved into. The house was situated in the grounds of an old psychiatric hospital on the outskirts of Norwich that had been taken over by the military from 1914 to sometime in 1921, when it changed its name from Norfolk County Asylum to Norfolk War Hospital. The medal is in quite good condition only the ring for the ribbon being somewhat deformed. The inscription reads 159021 PTE . A. M. BAILEY the rest is somewhat unreadable, there could be three letters with the last two possibly being M.R. When and how were these medals presented ?, could this medal have been lost by one of the men treated at this hospital or were they presented after 1921 ?. Ray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandsonMichael Posted 20 August , 2004 Share Posted 20 August , 2004 Hi Ray, It looks like your man was a soldier who served in the 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles ( Central Ontario Regiment) : Anthony Mansfield Bailey, 159021. Your three letters would be CMR. He died 0n 01/10/1916 and was buried at the Vimy Memorial Cemetary. I wonder if the house you had just moved into was: 11, Shadwell St. ? His attestation papers can be found here: http://data2.collectionscanada.ca/cef/well1/218423a.gif The Victory Medal must have been presented to his mother? Bit of a mystery here. How did the medal end up where your daughter found it, unless Mrs Bailey lived on the premises at the time ..... Cheers, Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARKWRIGHT Posted 20 August , 2004 Author Share Posted 20 August , 2004 Michael. Brilliant. It definitely seems to be my man, I have been searching for him in the wrong army. The garden and house was one of many in the grounds of St Andrews Hospital in Thorpe approx. two miles from Norwich, and Shadwell Street The houses were occupied by people employed by the hospital such as nursing staff ( like myself )and like you all I can think is a member of the Bailey family could have occupied that same house many years before me. We shall never know. Its nice to know something of the man who was brought into our life by my daughter all those years ago. Thanks. Ray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandsonMichael Posted 20 August , 2004 Share Posted 20 August , 2004 Much obliged Ray, I forgot to mention I looked him up at this site first: http://www.cwgc.org/cwgcinternet/casualty_...casualty=724295 That's where I found the address. Not brilliant, sheer luck. Cheers, Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandsonMichael Posted 20 August , 2004 Share Posted 20 August , 2004 Oops, I do these things, sorry, this is the right guy: http://www.cwgc.org/cwgcinternet/casualty_...asualty=1564857 Dumbo Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris.wight Posted 21 August , 2004 Share Posted 21 August , 2004 Well done Michael! If his mother did live there, I wonder if she had intentionally buried his medals (and perhaps his death plaque) in the garden? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandsonMichael Posted 21 August , 2004 Share Posted 21 August , 2004 Thanks Chris, Now there's a thought. Grief or a sort of shrine, after all her son was buried in France? Cheers, Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris.wight Posted 21 August , 2004 Share Posted 21 August , 2004 I was just looking through the 4th CMR on-line war diary. Pte. Bailey would have been killed in the attack on Regina Trench. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARKWRIGHT Posted 25 August , 2004 Author Share Posted 25 August , 2004 It would appear from his attestation that this man was also in the Governor Generals Body Guard militia unit before the 81st Battalion and ultimately the 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles. I have been trying to find the address given for his next of kin, Lefroy, Ontario is on the map but I cannot find anything resembling the name before park. Sadly the hospital houses and gardens like Shadwell St are all gone, the hospital is now luxury flats. Thanks to all for your help with this medal. Ray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris.wight Posted 25 August , 2004 Share Posted 25 August , 2004 Ray, he is remembered on the Innisfil Honour Roll on the Barrie, Ontario Cenotaph, here. You can just make out his name at the top. If of interest, you could contact them and have them send you a better copy of the photo. I can't make out the name of the park either. It brings a smile to me to know that Pte Bailey has not been forgotten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris.wight Posted 25 August , 2004 Share Posted 25 August , 2004 Just another thought - Garth (Mordac), one of our West Coast Canadian Pals has the Regimental history of the 4th CMR. You never know, but there could be some mention of Pte Bailey and the attack on Regina Trench. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARKWRIGHT Posted 13 December , 2004 Author Share Posted 13 December , 2004 Chris. I followed your suggestion and contacted the Innisfil Historical Society by post and must say the response was incredible, Not only could they pinpoint the address as Monte Reno park but supplied me with a photograph of Anthony in 1912 before he joined the army. A very kind lady named Diana Gendron has scoured the local and government archives for any information and was able to tell me that Anthony and his younger brother Frederick moved to Canada in 1906. Anthony joined the army in 1916 and was unfortunately killed in 1916 while his brother Fred joined in 1916 serving with the 157th and 76th battalion before going to France with the 20th Battalion, he survived the war and died in 1955. Diana also kindly supplied me with the complete military records of both men, whereas Anthony's file is quite small as he only lived 3 months after leaving Canada, Fred's file is quite large and makes interesting reading. Frederick spent about 3 months with the Canadian Army Medical Corp at Canadian Special Hospital Witley, Any information about this hospital would be appreciated. Ray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandsonMichael Posted 14 December , 2004 Share Posted 14 December , 2004 Hi Ray, Great to see you are actively researching the past of Pte Bailey and that, with help from Chris and other wonderful people who do flock this earth, and that you've found out so much already. Info about the Canadian Special Hospital Witley can be found here: http://data4.collectionscanada.ca/netacgi/...e.html&r=43&f=G These are the JPEG images of the official War Diaries of this Hospital published on the internet by the Library and Archives Canada. The first entry is show here: http://data2.collectionscanada.ca/e/e062/e001526739.jpg This shows the start of the hospital at Witley. Hope you find the War Diary interesting and find the info you’re looking for. Cheers, Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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