Lieut. Martin H Bluethner 5th CMR Cloth Badge & Dog Tags

[TOBRUK]

Hello John, a couple more items that will be of interest to you.

[J A Hart]

Tobruk, what another coincidence of your postcard. I have just transcribed this description of it in a letter of 7 Nov 15 (soon on blog):

Dear Mater;

I have just come back from Bramshott Church with Bluethner and Honey. It is a small church about a mile from here. I don’t know the date of it, but it must be very old. Some gravestones in the old churchyard bear the date 1786. That was merely a chance one too, there may be others older. When we went in, the first thing we noticed was the bell ringers. At the crossing of the Nave and the Transept there was a space. Afterwards occupied by the choir, in which six old men in white coats, each had a bell rope, and rang each his bell, lustily.

It was a nice peal and was rather a quaint custom. The whole church was ivy covered, and moss grown, except the inside, which evidently had been scraped, as it was quite new looking. The service was absolutely familiar, no change from out won. And the first chant was old Mornington, 155 in the chant book. All the others were more or less familiar. We had a very good sermon, and a nice choir of men and boys. Though one thing I noticed particularly was the way, in the responses, that the boys dropped tone after tone as they did at home.

I will post this letter soon enough. Seems young Bluethner was a bit of a sailor too...

Cheers,
John

[J A Hart]

Tobruk, would you have any objection to me using some of your scans on my site? I think it would add a lot.
I am getting an idea to build a side page detailing bios of people mentioned in the correspondence and, in due course, I will start with our own Lt Bluethner.
Cheers, JH

[TOBRUK]

Hello John, no worries, i think it would be a good idea. We must keep this important history together, as we are only caretakers for future generations. I am very impressed with what you are doing with your site, and will help you any way i can.
All the best, Paul

[J A Hart]

Paul, many thanks, I greatly appreciate that. I finally spoke to my uncle's relatives yesterday, including his daughter (last surviving child). They did not know anything of his service.
Cheers,
John

[TOBRUK]

I found martins kit bag, here it is

[J A Hart]

Interesting, that kit bag does not look like it is nearly a hundred years old! Where abouts in Canada did you find Bluethner's items?

I've just clocked that in your photo of the Sgts Mess smoking room, there is one person identified, that of 'Plume'. I have only found one Plume in the Bn's Nominal Roll (and no Plumer, in case misidentified spelling). My gr-gr- uncle makes mention of a Sgt Plume, nicknamed 'Fadger', in one of his letters. Here is his internet-gleaned bio (i.e. best guess), fyi:

Sergeant William Joseph Plume was born on 28 Nov 1878 in Enfield, Middlesex, England. The 1901 Census of England and Wales lists him as being a whitesmith and still resident in Enfield. On 30 Jul 1905, he married Nellie Gotch, aged 23, at St Anne’s Church, Tottenham. The marriage register gives his address as 46 Victoria Crescent, Enfield and details his trade as being a mechanic. It is believed that he emigrated to Canada in 1911.

William Plume was attested into the 34th Bn on 14 Jan 1915 at Stratford, Ontario. He gave his trade as machinist and his address at 10 Norfolk St in Stratford. He was a member of the Canadian Militia with the 28th Perth Regiment, based in Stratford, and he also detailed 5 years previous service with the ‘1st Middlesex’. Given his address as remaining in Enfield over a period of years, and his occupation as a whitesmith in the 1901 Census, it is unlikely that he was a regular and that this refers to previous service with the 1st Volunteer Battalion, The Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment).

In the Nominal Roll of Oct 1915, his rank is given as Sergeant. No information is currently available on his service during the War, but he will have been sent as a reinforcement to a front line battalion shortly after arrival in England. Of note, a genealogical website intimates that he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (#) and that he was the father to 2 boys, George and Laurence.

The 1924 Vernon's City of Stratford directory gives the address of W J Plume as 65 Blake St and lists him as a CNR machinist. William Plume died on 2 Feb 1952 in Stratford, Ontario, Canada, and his wife Nellie subsequently passed away in 1960.

[J A Hart]

I should have checked the London Gazette! FYI:


Supplement to the London Gazette, 11 March, 1920.

602172 Sjt. W. J. Plume, 58th Bn., Can. Infy. For gallantry and devotion to duty. He has, during several large operations, greatly distinguished himself for his leadership and daring fighting. During thirty-four months of continuous service he has at all times set a fine example to his unit.

[TOBRUK]

Hello John, i was living in St Catherines, and it was there i located these items. The old lady i met, had a lot of display cabinets, going back to the civil war. She had a fantastic display of her grandad, who was a Dr in the civil war. It contained his uniform and medical bag. She also had other items on display from Mr Lipton, a very famous bloke.
She gave me the kit bag with the mentioned items, only because i was interested in WW1 items at the time.
The kit bag is in fantastic original condition, and i am very lucky to have got it back to Aus at that time, as i lost most my other items during the flight connections.

[J A Hart]

Interesting story Paul; St Catherines Ontario? I lived next door in Niagara Falls for a year until 1987. Thats a shame about losing your other stuff on the flight over, they sound irreplaceable. I presume that his kitbag came across the border either some time after he passed away (1982) or possibly even before, if he moved into a retirement home before hand. My mother tells the story of a trunk that used to be in her grannie's house in Toronto that was chock a block full of kit that her relatives had deposited after the war. Of course, where it went to is anybody's guess.

I hope in the next few months - depending on my job - to do a bit of digging on Martin Bluethner, maybe even getting his service record off Canadian Archives. He seems to have have had a long and interesting life. Two and a half years at the front to boot, must have been born under a lucky star!

Cheers,

John