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#1
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Canadians in UK 1939, a bit of a puzzle.
From the Life Magazine files, a photograph showing two Canadians gunners (the two on the right), a New-Zealander gunner and, a British female corporal. wearing,what I think, is a badge very similar to the Saskatoon Light Infantry. All this at the Wellington Lounge (London?) 1939.
Jo http://images.google.com/hosted/life...0a2a68e2aab900
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"There truly exists but one perfect order: that of cemeteries. The dead never complain and they enjoy their equality in silence." - “There are things we know that we know,” “There are known unknowns. That is to say there are things that we now know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we do not know we don't know.” Donald Rumsfeld, before the Iraqi Invasion,2003. Age is something that doesn't matter, unless you are a cheese. |
#2
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Hi Jo, There image has not been labelled correctly. The soldier second from the right is wearing the RCMP cap badge, and the abbreviated shoulder title, RCMP. The female corporal poses an interesting question. What unit? The CWAC was not organized until late 1941, and officially approved March 1, 1942. So, if the badge is (and it appears to be) a maple leaf design, what was the unit? There were several women's organizations that were organized pre-1941, including the CWSF, the Canadian Women's Volunteer Reserve Corps, and the Canadian Beavers. But these don't appear to be the badge that she is wearing.
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#3
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Possibly a Canadian general service badge. It seems to me there was a pattern that approximated the shape of the SLI cap badge.
Wyn |
#4
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Hello Bill and Wyn. Thanks Bill for correcting me on the RCMP badge (I always thought those guys were a bit like monks....no fun, no drink, all regulations). As for the female corporal, I think and believe,and please you can correct me if I'm wrong that no CWAC or similar organizations ever sent their members overseas at that early date.
Jo
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"There truly exists but one perfect order: that of cemeteries. The dead never complain and they enjoy their equality in silence." - “There are things we know that we know,” “There are known unknowns. That is to say there are things that we now know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we do not know we don't know.” Donald Rumsfeld, before the Iraqi Invasion,2003. Age is something that doesn't matter, unless you are a cheese. |
#5
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Hi Jo, The deployment of Canadian women overseas in 1939 is a bit of a mystery. The CWAC were not formed until later and CWAC personnel were not approved for overseas duties until May 6, 1942.
Is it possible that the female is a member of one of the precursors to the CWAC? But how she got permission to go overseas is a huge question. |
#6
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Bill, the way I see it, she's a member of one of the many "auxiliary corps" such as Women's transport Service (FANY) or, ATS (founded 1938). The CWAC had wholly different cap.
Jo
__________________
"There truly exists but one perfect order: that of cemeteries. The dead never complain and they enjoy their equality in silence." - “There are things we know that we know,” “There are known unknowns. That is to say there are things that we now know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we do not know we don't know.” Donald Rumsfeld, before the Iraqi Invasion,2003. Age is something that doesn't matter, unless you are a cheese. |
#7
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Sorry, didn't explain the CWAC information very well. My line of thought was that the CWAC didn't exist, and as far as I knew, they were the only group of women officially sent overseas. I agree that the woman in question is likely a member of some other organization. Again, how she got overseas is the question.
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#8
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Silver Maple leaf
Could that badge be the CMHQ London badge?
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#9
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Here is a photo being listed on ebay as a female in the RAF. Note the similarity with the headdress in the LIFE photo. Perhaps the LIFE lady is one of the Auxilliary air force women's organizations?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Photo-WWII-Women...QQcmdZViewItem |
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