Brit Medal Help

[mravery]

Hello All,

This should be a quickie for those of you that know Brit and Canadian WW1 Medals....

I'm researching a medal group for a friend of mine and the abbreviations after his name (in one of my references, not the medals) is:

CAN. A.M.C.

I'm assuming that he is Canadian.. however I don't know what the AMC stands for...

Also.... on one of the medals he is named as a Major... the other has him named as a "CPL"...

Any thoughs on the CPL abbreviation?

As always.... any assistance is appreciated!

Cheers
Mark

[MH184]

CPL is Corporal.............PTE Private, L/CPL Lance Corporal, SGT Sergeant and so on.

Could the AMC be Army Medical Corps, although it should be I'd of thought RCAMC, Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps. I should really know I did nearly eleven years with the RAMC.

Kind regards,

Marcus

[McCulloh]

When did the Canadian AMC become designated as "Royal"? If it was post 1922, then odds are the medals are to the Canadian AMC as you said.

[Adrian Stevenson]

When did the Canadian AMC become designated as "Royal"? If it was post 1922, then odds are the medals are to the Canadian AMC as you said.

Hi Guys, the Canadian AMC became the CRAMC on Nov.3rd 1919.
Cheers, Ade.

[Adam H]

Camc

Hi Mark,

One will encounter 1914-15 Stars (and a very few RARE 1914 Stars) named to the CAN. A.M.C. which the others have correctly identified as the Canadian Army Medical Corps. The War (BWM) and Victory medals would have the unit as simply C.A.M.C. Gallantry awards such as the Military Medal will often have a specific unit, such as a field ambulance in the naming.

Ade is quite right that CAMC became the RCAMC shortly after the war (an honour to recognize their valued service during WWI)

I cannot comment specifically on the different ranks on the medals, however, it was not all that uncommon for soldiers to receive field commissions during WWI. I have several groups where this was the case. Thus, it is possible that he began the war as a Corporal and ended up as a Major.

Any chance of getting more info and/or photos of the medals? Also if you can give his service number and name I can probably get you some specific details you may find interesting... Just let me know.

Cheers,

Adam

[mravery]

Hey Adam,

Thanks for the reply....

I don't own the group... it belongs to a friend of mine so I can ask him for pics or a scan.....

What I do know about the group is that there are 5 medals mounted for parade wear (ribbons are very rough)....and it came from the family in Florida......(they knew nothing about it .. or really cared)

There is a MC with rosette, 1914-1915 star, BWM and Vict medal.. the last one is the QE Coronation.....

I will have to get the exact nameing.... however the MC is not named... the 14-15 star is named to G.A. Smith CPL (I can't remember the rest)...

The BWM and Vict. are named to Major G.A.Smith (and again.. I can't remember the rest.....

Not sure if the QE is named or not.......

I'll try to get the exact naming and repost...

Cheers and Thanks
Mark

[Adam H]

MC Citations

Mark:

I have his MC citations and London Gazette Dates + some other info. Let me know if you need this...

Cheers!

Adam

[mravery]

Wow

Hey Adam,

That would be awesome ... thanks....

I'm still curious about the ranking on the medals..... do the citations give rank and date ?


Cheers
Mark

[mravery]

medals engraving

Ok... here are how the medals are engraved:

14-15 star : 10111 C (ghost P) L G A Smith LANCS FUS
(what I mean by 'ghost P'.. the P is very very lightly stamped)

The BWM and Vict only say: MAJOR G A SMITH

Hope this helps !

Cheers
Mark

[Adam H]

Hi Mark,

I think I was confused as I thought the medals in question were actually named to the CAMC! I had found a Capt G. A. Smith who won the MC+Bar so assumed this was your man... To bad it isn't as the citations are quite good.

Sorry about the confusion. However, you might be able to find citations for this officer on the London Gazette website. The reference works I have only cover Canadian MC recipients for WWI.

Cheers,

Adam

[mravery]

exact name

Hey Guys,

The buddy that this bar belongs too has just supplied the full name.....

GEORGE ASHFORD-SMITH

Does anyone have any info on him ?

Cheers
Mark

[Tony Farrell]

Don't even bother going to the LG site. I've just spent the last 3½ hours pulling my bloody hair out trying to find this bugger - and my head hurts. This is the problem when the information one provides is sketchy. A ranker in the Lancashire Fusiliers gets a Field Commission and then transfers to the Canadian Medical Corps and wins an MC? Bloody unusual that one is!

We really need to see the medals and have an accurate transcription of what is on each one, as the LG site (useful as it is) is an utter, utter git to shoehorn information out of.

[mravery]

Hey Tony,

I did a quick scan on the LG site yesterday myself and came up with nothing..... I have asked my buddy to get me a scan or picture but he tends to be a tad computer illiterate (still living in the 70's) so it might be the next time that I see him that I can get the pics.....

I did confirm with him the exact inscriptions though....

1) MC and Bar... no inscription....

2) 14-15 star : 10111 C (ghost P) L G A Smith LANCS FUS
(what I mean by 'ghost P'.. the P is very very lightly stamped)

3) The BWM and Vict only say: MAJOR G A SMITH

Thanks again and sorry for the headache !

Cheers
Mark

[mravery]

Returned research

Hello All,

Some of the research has returned.....

He was indeed a corporal, capt, and major. went into the machine gun corps, then into the tank corps as a major.

Does anyone have more info on George Alfred Smith MC ?

Cheers
Mark