Interesing item, with John McCrae ( In Flanders Fields) Connection

[CampX]

Here an interesting I picked up a while ago, this is a Canadian Officers Saddle Valise or bag, unit marked to D Battery RCA from the Boer War, the bag is well marked and in very good condition.

D Battery was with the 2nd Canadian Contingent to go to South Africa, and was made up of Members of the 2 Guelph Ontario Militia Batteries. John McCrea was an Officer with one of them...he went to SA with D Battery and Commanded the "Right" Section of the guns.. D Battery only exsited during the Boer War.

John McCrea had been a member of the 2nd Battn Queens Own Rifles of Toronto as well as another Militia Unit... plus being an Officer in the RCA, Most just know of him as a Medical Officer in WW1.

John had some very high Connections and was well liked in both Medical and Gov circles, he was a friend of Robert Service and Stephen Leacock...not the unknown person we may have thought he was...he was an artist, a poet as well as a writer.

The Famous Poem that we all came to know, was sent in from a Very High Ranking Gov Official in the UK..and not by a Sgt of John himself, also it is thought that this was not the original version as it is thought he had written this sometime before.

There are a few original hand written copies of In Flanders Fields, as John was asked by many for a copy, I have seen 2 originals and held one...the interesting thing is that many of the originals he wrote had changes, and were not all the same.

Johns Medals were found some years ago in a dead lawyers safe, the family was not that interested in them, so they were auctioned.
They sold for over $400,000 and were bought by a Chinese Immigrant who had made his way in Canada and wanted to give something back, he donated them to the McCrae house in Guelph that is now a Museum.. as always, after seeing what they were worth, decendants now what them back..so for a few years they have been tied up in legal actions.
I think if the family cared..they would let them go to the Place that Remembers Him.

NOW, I am not ever suggesting this bag was his, however the unit had only 64 Men, and a few Officers..so he has a connection, even if slight to this piece,

I forgot to mention, there was a single old hand knitted glove in the upper part of the bag..interesting
Just My Thoughts

Dean O
Ajax Canada


DRCA 002.jpgDRCA 001.jpgDRCA 003.jpgDRCA 004.jpg

[SatansCabanaBoy]

That's a very interesting find dude

[harryamb2]

you could well be correct Dean.

[Mark K]

Nice find Dean a shame that direct providence to this valice can not be tied directly to John but it is a nice find all the same and as the unit was very small with only 64 members there is that slight possibility that it could have been his .
Thanks for sharing it with us.



Regards Mark

[CampX]

Thanks Mark, as I have mentioned I never suggested it was his... just that he was a Section Commander in this very small unit

Dean O

[Mark K]

No I realize that Dean just thinking out loud is all not so far of a stretch with a unit of this size nice piece BTW not much Canadian Boer war memorbilia shown here on the forum if only this valice could talk.

Regards Mark

[CampX]

Well I have 2 Boar War Medical Kits, I think I have shown, I also have what I am told is a Boar War Flare Cartridge pouch, would have been small flares, however the pouch is made the correct way, I also have posted a Boar War Named Canadian stetson Hat..and I think I have a few other items.

The problem with the Canadian stuff for the 2nd contingent, a lot of the lit is not standard, I have seen 3 different types of Stetsons In the Canadian War Museum, and mine is a bit different than them.

Dean O