American serving in the Canadian Engineers

[nimrod1897]

In our local civic cemetery here in Crowborough Sussex we have a grave for 505549 Sapper D J Downey, Canadian Engineers, who died 25 January 1917. His gravestone states that his real name was F. R. De Morney and he hailed from Detroit, Michigan USA.

My first question is a general one - did many Americans join the Canadian forces ahead of the USA joining the War? And did they have to adopt an alias or pretend to be Canadian to do so?

Any help with specific research on this chap would also be much appreciated - such as how he died (presumably from an accident of illness as he is buried in the UK). He would have been based at nearby Crowborough Camp, where there was a large Canadian contingent from late 1916 onwards.

[centurion]

At the time it was illegal for an American citizen to join any 'foreign' army. In fact Americans had been doing so in small numbers for many years (French Foreign Legion, Transvaal (Boer) Army, various Mexican and other Latin American forces etc) without any adverse effect and some joined the British and Canadian forces in WW1 (and possibly also some German Americans joined the German army) . However a number of US politicians (mainly of an anti British bent I think) began to make noises and demand that the law be rigorously applied and US citizenship be withdrawn from such. Some therefore considered it prudent to use a nom de guerre. When President Wilson got his War Powers Act passed one of the first things he did under it was to suspend this legislation

[Moonraker]

Working your way through the nine threads

on this site

may give you some info. One says that 35,599 American-born soldiers served with the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the war.

Figures compiled in 1988 state that there 756 men from the United States in the First Canadian Contingent. When it arrived on Salisbury Plain in October 1914, the New York Times reporter counted a number of naturalized Americans among the Canadian forces, including a sergeant of a Montreal regiment who claimed to be a veteran of Admiral Dewey's flagship in the 1898 battle of Manilla Bay in the Spanish-American War. A few days later Sam Hughes, the Minister of Militia and Defence, was to say that 'fully 200,000 Americans have gone to Canada in the hope of joining the Canadian forces', an incredible exaggeration even by his standards.

Some of the American recruits to the Contingent with German names were treated with suspicion and some were returned home, such a man of the 3rd Field Artillery Brigade, the American-born James Strausbaugh, regarded as an 'undesirable alien'.

One so-called spy in the Contingent was Victor Cobb of the 48th Highlanders, who described himself as an American from Pittsburgh and was arrested at the end of November wearing civilian clothes in London's Hotel Cecil and with incriminating documents in his pocket. Three weeks later he escaped from detention in Salisbury while awaiting trial for espionage. In February 1915 he was arrested on a charge of fraud while masquerading as 'Lieutenant Jefferson' and jailed for three months for claiming a fictitious commission. When enlisting, Cobb had stated he had served for three years in the United States Army.

Moonraker

[Ken S.]

There were several "American" battalions recruited by the CEF; a brief discussion here:

http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=21741

In our local civic cemetery here in Crowborough Sussex we have a grave for 505549 Sapper D J Downey, Canadian Engineers, who died 25 January 1917. His gravestone states that his real name was F. R. De Morney and he hailed from Detroit, Michigan USA.

[nimrod1897]

Many thanks for the replies - I'm sure I read somewhere once that British residents sometimes joined Canadian units as the pay was better than in the British army? Don't know if that's true or not. Any specific info on F R De Morney would be much appreciated.

[centurion]

Many thanks for the replies - I'm sure I read somewhere once that British residents sometimes joined Canadian units as the pay was better than in the British army? Don't know if that's true or not. Any specific info on F R De Morney would be much appreciated.

certainly the experience of the combined British and Canadian recruitment mission in the USA in 1917.

[Moonraker]

On 29 October, 1914, the Royal Canadian Dragoons, newly arrived on Salisbury Plain, asked permission to recruit 23 'good men' who were offering to enlist in Britain. Approval was given by the First Canadian Contingent's CO, General Alderson, only for the War Office to reverse his decision on 12 November, causing the general to protest, pointing out that his men and officers were being permitted to transfer to the British Army. Following a further protest from Alderson, the Army Council modified its previous decision, conceding that special cases might be considered. On 12 January he submitted a list of 14 bona fide Canadians he wished to recruit but this brought a reply from the Adjutant-General that :

Lord Kitchener has always been opposed to your recruiting Canadians in this country for fear of our being inundated with men from the Colony, and by so-called Canadians in England. The very suggestion that higher rates of pay could be obtained in England than our regulars get would have a very disturbing influence on our recruiting.

In the event 15 special cases were subsequently approved. In early January a shortage of about 30 artificers, shoeing-smiths and farriers was identified and at Alderson's request non-Canadians were enlisted to fill these vacancies.

Moonraker

[Ken S.]

Victor Cobb's photo appeared in the January 14, 1915 edition of the Toronto World.

[kenmorrison]

His service record is indexed as DOLPH JOSEPH DOWNEY and is here

http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/first-world-war-1914-1918-cef/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=362890

His death was registered at Tonbridge, Kent and is indexed as DALPH J DOWNEY.

Ken

[helpjpl]

Any help with specific research on this chap would also be much appreciated - such as how he died (presumably from an accident of illness as he is buried in the UK). He would have been based at nearby Crowborough Camp, where there was a large Canadian contingent from late 1916 onwards.

This may be of interest:

Sapper Francis De Morney, ALIAS Downey

JP