Canada, Cef. A War Medal, 21St Infantry Battalion, Wounded At St. Eloi & Lens

(60022 PTE. C. WALFORD. 21-CAN.INF.). Naming is officially impressed in large capitals. Edge nicks, bruised, contact marks, replacement ribbon, fine. Accompanied by copies of his Index Cards, Attestation Paper, Service Records and Discharged Certificates.

Footnote: Charles Walford was born on November 18, 1896 (possibly 1895) in Ipswich, England, the son of Charles Walford. The family later immigrated to Canada, his mother later passing away, as she had succumbed to tuberculosis of the lung, at the age of 48. He had one brother and three sisters. The young Walford enlisted for First World War service at Carleton Place on October 19, 1914. He signed his Attestation Paper as a Private (60022) with the 21st Infantry Battalion on November 6, 1914 in Kingston, Ontario, at the age of 18 years, 11 months (however, it appears on his original Attestation Paper that the last digit had been changed from a "6" to a "5", 1896 to 1895, in order to allow the young Walfred admission to the Army, as he would have been twelve days too young to enlist, if he had been listed as being born in 1896), naming his next-of-kin as his father, also named Charles Walford of Almonte, Ontario, stating the he belonged to an Active Militia, that he was not married and that his trade was that of Labourer. No religion was stated. The 21st Infantry Battalion was raised in Eastern Ontario and mobilized in Kingston, Ontario under the authority of G.O. 36, March 15, 1915. The Battalion sailed May 6, 1915 from Montreal, Quebec aboard the HMS Metagama, with a strength of 42 officers and 1,057 other ranks under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel W. St. P. Hughes, arriving in England on the 15th. The Battalion would serve in France and Belgium with the 4th Infantry Brigade, 2nd Canadian Division.

Four and a half months after arriving in France for the second time and almost a year to the day of his first wounding, Private Walford was in action at Lens on August 17, 1917, when he suffered a gun shot wound to his right leg, hit with a piece of shrapnel over the head of the right fibula. He walked to a dressing station one quarter of a mile away, where the wound was dressed and a long posterior splint was placed on his leg. He was placed on a stretcher to No. 4 Casualty Clearing Station and taken to No. 23 Casualty Clearing Station the same day. The following day, August 18th, he was taken by No. 36 Ambulance Transport to No. 7 Canadian General Hospital at Etaples, and its was here that the wound was opened up and a piece of bone was removed. Once his condition had been stabilized, he was invalided to England aboard the R.S. "Stad Antwerpen" and was posted from the 21st Infantry Battalion to the Eastern Ontario Regimental Depot at Seaford.

He was subsequently admitted to No. 10 Canadian General Hospital at the Kitchener Hospital in Brighton on August 30, 1917. It was noted by the medical staff here that he had an injury "to the exterior popliteal nerve where it becomes anterior tibial". The dressings on his wounds were changed and his dropped foot was supported by a special boot place upon it. After two months at Kitchener Hospital, he was transferred and admitted to No. 4 Canadian General Hospital at Basingstoke, Hants on October 27, 1917 for another two month hospitalization, before transferred and admitted to the Canadian Military Hospital at Kirkdale on December 21, 1917. The decision was soon made to have Private Walford return to Canada. He was invalided to Canada on February 4, 1918 and upon arrival, he was admitted to the Convalescent Home at Queen's Military Hospital in Kingston, Ontario on February 21, 1918. Upon admission to the facility, the attending physician here documented the history leading up to the injured man's condition: "Man (was) wounded at Lens in August 1917, shrapnel entering (the) outer side of (his) right leg below and behind (the) head of (the) fibula. F.B. (bone fragments) removed below (the) site of (the) wound. Peroneal muscles slightly atrophied. Sensation in (the) right foot normal except along (the) outer side of (the) dorsum of (the) foot: "epieritic sensation". Extenstion 50% normal. Flexion nil. Toe of boot is supported by a mechanical appliance to prevent drop-foot. Adduction nil. Abduction of foot nil. Movements at (the) knee normal. Man otherwise healthy, & well nourished, but complaints of dizziness since being wounded on top of (the) head. There is a large scar over (the) occipito-parietal region and (the) man complains of dullness over (the) right side of (his) head. Reflexes normal. Vision good in daylight, impaired when reading at night, fine print blurs". In his Medical History of an Invalid, dated May 8, 1918, it was noted that the "Man sustained shrapnel injury in jury to (the) occipital region of (the) Skull in August 1916 (at St. Eloi), recovered and returned to (the) line, March 1917. Wounded a second time, August 1917 at Lens, sustaining injuries to (the) right leg, about (the) head of (the) fibula and behind the tendon of (the) biceps." The Medical Board recommended that he be discharged and placed in Category "E" (Unfit for service in Categories A, B and C = General Service, Service Abroad, Home Service). Private Charles Walford, 21st Infantry Battalion was discharged as being "Medically Unfit" at No. 3 District Depot in Kingston, on May 23, 1918, credited with having served in Canada, England and France, his character noted as "Very Good". For his First World War service, he was awarded the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. He was slated to take up residence in Carleton Place after his discharge from service. He died on December 31, 1955, at the age of 59 (possibly 60).