I thought some of you as fellow collectors might enjoy this story about a recent uniform grouping I picked up.
I have been collecting Canadian militaria for a number of years now. The focus of my collecting has always been on items associated with the various Manitoba regiments that saw action in the Second World War. Although I collect all types of militaria – from badges and field gear to books and ephemera – I have a special interest in uniforms and headwear. Due to the escalating cost of these items, and to the fact that they take considerable space to properly display, I have a fairly small but quality collection of Second World War Canadian uniforms that I am especially proud of.
Just recently, I was able to acquire a beautiful uniform grouping to an officer of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles. The grouping included a beautiful service dress jacket, with all original black bakelite RWR buttons, cloth CANADA shoulder titles, black Lieutenant pips on the shoulders, and a very nice pair of RWR collar badges. The belt had been carefully removed and tucked into the pocket. In the breast pocket were also two extra buttons. On the inside of the inner pocket was the original tailor’s tag from P.W. Birchard and Co. Tailors of Winnipeg. Written on the tag was “Lieut. T.M. Vant “ and a date of April 19 1940. Also on the tag was the number 15686, which I believed might be a service number.
Also included in the grouping was a fantastic visor cap with original black chinstrap and buttons and a very desirable RWR officers badge. There were no markings inside the cap other than the makers label. Lastly, I was also able to acquire Lt. Vant’s original black leather Sam Browne belt to complete the grouping. I was amazed at the condition of the uniform as a whole – very fine and showing very little wear for a uniform of this age.
Any time I acquire an interesting piece of militaria that happens to be named, I immediately set out to try to learn more about the man to whom it belonged. To me, history is more about the story that goes with an item than it is about the item itself. A quick Google search on T.M. Vant was unsuccessful. Next, I enlisted the help of a friend who works with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles archives to see what he could find on a Lt. Vant. Unfortunately, he was unable to find either the name or the number anywhere in the Royal Winnipeg Rifles’ nominal rolls. This only intrigued me more and prompted further digging. I sent an email to a researcher in Ottawa to see if he might be able to use his connections at Library and Archives Canada to help I.D. Lt. Vant. He quickly pointed out to me that the number 15686 was probably not a service number, but was most likely a claim number provided by the tailor. Within a couple of days, he emailed back to inform me that he had been able to positively identify my man as Lieutenant Thomas Mervin Vant. With a positive ID, I was able to order Lt. Vant’s file.
Armed with a full name, I decided to try another quick Google search. Immediately, I found a Newspaper Archive site with a snippet from an article from the Winnipeg Free Press in 1941 which mentioned something about a Thomas Mervin Vant being freed after serving 3 months of a 6 month jail sentence. Needless to say, this caught my attention. Fortunately, the Winnipeg Free Press has an excellent searchable archive that is available online for a small fee. I decided to sign up for a one-week pass to see what I could dig up. I had no idea how fascinating a story I was about to discover!
Lt. Vant’s story was front-page news in Winnipeg in 1941. Not only was his wrongful conviction newsworthy, but details of the questionable investigation which led to his conviction were interesting to say the least. Although shoddy police work contributed to Vant's conviction, credit must be given to the police officers who believed in his innocence and continued to investigate until the real perpetrator was found, confessed to the crimes, and was brought to justice. Also newsworthy at the time was the refusal of the Crown to grant Lt. Vant any form of compensation whatsoever. Although given his freedom, it took a couple of more years of fighting before Vant was able to finally clear his name and have the charges cleared from his record.
Of special interest to me – and bringing this story back to the uniform that is now in my collection – is just how prominent Lt. Vant’s officer’s uniform played in this whole story. Despite having already having retired and been discharged from the army for medical reasons, Lt. Vant was wearing his uniform while in Brandon in the spring of 1941 attending the fair. He explained that it was the only suit that he owned. At the time he was in Brandon, somebody wearing an officer’s uniform had passed a number of bad cheques at various local businesses. A quick investigation by the police found a man wearing an officer’s uniform staying at a local hotel. The police confronted Vant in the lobby of his hotel and asked to see his room. While in his room, the police made some phone calls (charged to Vant!). A number of the local businessmen who had been victimized were brought to the room one at a time. Four of the men positively identified Vant as the man who had passed the cheques (based primarily on the uniform he was wearing), while several other businessmen could not conclusively ID Vant. In any case, this ended up being enough for Vant to be convicted and sentenced to six months in jail. Vant had served three months of his sentence before police officers were able to piece together the puzzle and track down an Ontario man who had been convicted of similar crimes over a span of months. Upon interrogation, this man confessed to committing the crimes in Brandon for which Lt. Vant was convicted.
As well as fighting to clear his name and seeking some form of compensation after his release, Vant also sought medical treatment in hopes of having his commission re-instated and resuming his military service. Although no further mention is made of Vant in the newspaper archives, perhaps his Service Files from L.A.C. will reveal what ever came of this.
It would have been exciting to learn that Lt. T.M. Vant was a Canadian war hero, or that he stormed the beaches at Courselles-Sur-Mer with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles. This may not have been the case, but his story ended up being unique and fascinating in its own right with its own place in Manitoba history. As special as Lt. Vant’s uniform is, it is this great story that goes with the uniform that makes it one of the most interesting and treasured pieces in my collection.
I have been collecting Canadian militaria for a number of years now. The focus of my collecting has always been on items associated with the various Manitoba regiments that saw action in the Second World War. Although I collect all types of militaria – from badges and field gear to books and ephemera – I have a special interest in uniforms and headwear. Due to the escalating cost of these items, and to the fact that they take considerable space to properly display, I have a fairly small but quality collection of Second World War Canadian uniforms that I am especially proud of.
Just recently, I was able to acquire a beautiful uniform grouping to an officer of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles. The grouping included a beautiful service dress jacket, with all original black bakelite RWR buttons, cloth CANADA shoulder titles, black Lieutenant pips on the shoulders, and a very nice pair of RWR collar badges. The belt had been carefully removed and tucked into the pocket. In the breast pocket were also two extra buttons. On the inside of the inner pocket was the original tailor’s tag from P.W. Birchard and Co. Tailors of Winnipeg. Written on the tag was “Lieut. T.M. Vant “ and a date of April 19 1940. Also on the tag was the number 15686, which I believed might be a service number.
Also included in the grouping was a fantastic visor cap with original black chinstrap and buttons and a very desirable RWR officers badge. There were no markings inside the cap other than the makers label. Lastly, I was also able to acquire Lt. Vant’s original black leather Sam Browne belt to complete the grouping. I was amazed at the condition of the uniform as a whole – very fine and showing very little wear for a uniform of this age.
Any time I acquire an interesting piece of militaria that happens to be named, I immediately set out to try to learn more about the man to whom it belonged. To me, history is more about the story that goes with an item than it is about the item itself. A quick Google search on T.M. Vant was unsuccessful. Next, I enlisted the help of a friend who works with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles archives to see what he could find on a Lt. Vant. Unfortunately, he was unable to find either the name or the number anywhere in the Royal Winnipeg Rifles’ nominal rolls. This only intrigued me more and prompted further digging. I sent an email to a researcher in Ottawa to see if he might be able to use his connections at Library and Archives Canada to help I.D. Lt. Vant. He quickly pointed out to me that the number 15686 was probably not a service number, but was most likely a claim number provided by the tailor. Within a couple of days, he emailed back to inform me that he had been able to positively identify my man as Lieutenant Thomas Mervin Vant. With a positive ID, I was able to order Lt. Vant’s file.
Armed with a full name, I decided to try another quick Google search. Immediately, I found a Newspaper Archive site with a snippet from an article from the Winnipeg Free Press in 1941 which mentioned something about a Thomas Mervin Vant being freed after serving 3 months of a 6 month jail sentence. Needless to say, this caught my attention. Fortunately, the Winnipeg Free Press has an excellent searchable archive that is available online for a small fee. I decided to sign up for a one-week pass to see what I could dig up. I had no idea how fascinating a story I was about to discover!
Lt. Vant’s story was front-page news in Winnipeg in 1941. Not only was his wrongful conviction newsworthy, but details of the questionable investigation which led to his conviction were interesting to say the least. Although shoddy police work contributed to Vant's conviction, credit must be given to the police officers who believed in his innocence and continued to investigate until the real perpetrator was found, confessed to the crimes, and was brought to justice. Also newsworthy at the time was the refusal of the Crown to grant Lt. Vant any form of compensation whatsoever. Although given his freedom, it took a couple of more years of fighting before Vant was able to finally clear his name and have the charges cleared from his record.
Of special interest to me – and bringing this story back to the uniform that is now in my collection – is just how prominent Lt. Vant’s officer’s uniform played in this whole story. Despite having already having retired and been discharged from the army for medical reasons, Lt. Vant was wearing his uniform while in Brandon in the spring of 1941 attending the fair. He explained that it was the only suit that he owned. At the time he was in Brandon, somebody wearing an officer’s uniform had passed a number of bad cheques at various local businesses. A quick investigation by the police found a man wearing an officer’s uniform staying at a local hotel. The police confronted Vant in the lobby of his hotel and asked to see his room. While in his room, the police made some phone calls (charged to Vant!). A number of the local businessmen who had been victimized were brought to the room one at a time. Four of the men positively identified Vant as the man who had passed the cheques (based primarily on the uniform he was wearing), while several other businessmen could not conclusively ID Vant. In any case, this ended up being enough for Vant to be convicted and sentenced to six months in jail. Vant had served three months of his sentence before police officers were able to piece together the puzzle and track down an Ontario man who had been convicted of similar crimes over a span of months. Upon interrogation, this man confessed to committing the crimes in Brandon for which Lt. Vant was convicted.
As well as fighting to clear his name and seeking some form of compensation after his release, Vant also sought medical treatment in hopes of having his commission re-instated and resuming his military service. Although no further mention is made of Vant in the newspaper archives, perhaps his Service Files from L.A.C. will reveal what ever came of this.
It would have been exciting to learn that Lt. T.M. Vant was a Canadian war hero, or that he stormed the beaches at Courselles-Sur-Mer with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles. This may not have been the case, but his story ended up being unique and fascinating in its own right with its own place in Manitoba history. As special as Lt. Vant’s uniform is, it is this great story that goes with the uniform that makes it one of the most interesting and treasured pieces in my collection.
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