An unusual Nova Scotia "pair"

[Terry]

I mentioned this on the CEF forum yesterday, but thought some of the Pals here might be interested as well.

I recently picked up a war medal correctly named to 4050089 PTE. J.WILLIAMS N.S.R., a boilermaker from Halifax who was conscripted into the CEF on 8 May,1918, and reached the UK before the fighting ended.

It was acompanied by a privately engraved victory medal, obviously done many years ago, named to 405089 SEGT. WILLIAMS N.S.REG C.E.F. It would appear that our man wanted to spice up both his rank and his service. As his war medal is named to the Nova Scotia Regiment, a provincial or "territorial" unit, he never reached France. Perhaps in the twenties and thirties, Williams added the victory for his own reasons.

This sort of thing must be fairly common after any war. In my own area, near the US border, an American who claimed to be a Korean War Medal of Honor winner was a guest at several Legion Nov.11 events before being exposed as a fraud (by me). Sadly at one of these events he shared the limelight with a true hero, VC winner Milton F. Gregg.