Rick Law Posted 18 September , 2021 Share Posted 18 September , 2021 When I was a young lad, my Grandmother showed me a newspaper clipping (probably Toronto Star) depicting some wounded men at Passchendaele. She suggested that the Sergeant was my Uncle who was a member of the 9th Canadian Machine Gun Corp. I have since seen this photo in various locations and I would like to know if anyone has any information about the photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knotty Posted 18 September , 2021 Share Posted 18 September , 2021 Hi Rick Should that be he was a member of 9th Canadian Machine Gun Company (3rd Division), I believe it was a single MG Corp made up of several companies, and it wasn’t until 1918 that they (the MG companies) were amalgamated into 4 battalions that were assigned one per Division. The IWM attribute the photo being shot near the Heine Pillbox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dai Bach y Sowldiwr Posted 18 September , 2021 Share Posted 18 September , 2021 Object description Assault on Passchendaele 12 October - 6 November: A group of lightly wounded Canadians resting for a smoke near Heine pillbox. Object details Category Photographs Related period First World War (production), First World War (content) Creator Rider-Rider, W (Lt), Canadian Official photographer Production date 1917-11 Materials whole: glass Catalogue number CO 2212 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Law Posted 19 September , 2021 Author Share Posted 19 September , 2021 My gratitude for your input and efforts. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedCoat Posted 20 September , 2021 Share Posted 20 September , 2021 It looks as though the Sergeant has a wounded right leg, what was your uncles wound as recorded on his Service Records? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Rayner Posted 20 September , 2021 Share Posted 20 September , 2021 A rather surly looking chap in a German uniform at the back George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knotty Posted 20 September , 2021 Share Posted 20 September , 2021 Hi again What was your Uncles name,seems like a good place to start😁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Law Posted 20 September , 2021 Author Share Posted 20 September , 2021 My uncle's name was Reginald Burgess, and yes he was wounded in the right leg on October 26 at Passchendaele alongside the 58th battalion CEF. I knew my uncle as a man in his 60s, and he passed away from heart disease in 1963 when I was 13. The man in the photo bears a strong resemblance to my uncle and could easily have been him. During his time in Passchendaele he was a private, so the stripes are a mystery. He was though, an acting sergeant in Blighty before he went to Belgium. Perhaps he didn't remove the stripes from his jacket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dai Bach y Sowldiwr Posted 20 September , 2021 Share Posted 20 September , 2021 20 minutes ago, Rick Law said: My uncle's name was Reginald Burgess, Is he any of these? https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/personnel-records/Pages/list.aspx?SurnameSearch=Burgess&GivenNameSearch=Reginald& Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Law Posted 20 September , 2021 Author Share Posted 20 September , 2021 Yes,Reginald Herbert Burgess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dai Bach y Sowldiwr Posted 21 September , 2021 Share Posted 21 September , 2021 His service record supplies a lot of positive evidence in his support, but that does leave the stripes issue unresolved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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