Canadian Honourably Exempt Pin

[Dan Wallace]

Hello

I recently acquired a Canadian Honourably Exempt pin with the number 3618 on the back. We believe a family member may have received the pin during WW1 or WW2 but we are unsure. Does anyone know the nature of this pin and how to research the number on the back? Thank you

Dan

[GregN]

Hi Dan, first of all, welcome to the Forum. The badge you have is called a Class D War Service Badge. It is relatively rare as it was only issued for approximately 15 months. This badge was issued to those who were medically unfit to serve in WW1. It was eventually declared obsolete due to conscription in 1917 where those who initially qualified as medically unfit due to say, height restrictions were reexamined and declared fit as the height restriction had been removed. This is only one reason where a soldiers might initionally declared unfit then reassessed and declared fit. I do not believe there is a nominal roll for these badges.

The book on these badges is "Canadian War Service Badges 1914-1954" by Robbie Johnson ISBN 0-9698070-0-7. It is out of print and the author has passed away but it can be found on the net or your library.

I hope this help your research,

Greg

[Dan Wallace]

Thank you - this information is very helpful. Merry Christmas

Dan