Big Question
Which Canadian war did Joseph Link serve in?
QI am trying to locate the service record of my grandfather, Joseph Link, who was born on 27 August 1860 in Everingham, Yorkshire, and died on 4 June 1954 in Northcote (Melbourne), Victoria, Australia. I believe he was a private in the 90th Winnipeg Battalion Rifles and received a medal (possibly the North West Canada Medal) in 1885 for his service. I wondered if he may have been sent to the Canadian war as part of a volunteer group while working for Lord Herries as a gardener at Everingham Priory. Could you help me with suggestions about where I could find out which particular Canadian war he served in, where he would have been based in Canada, and any details about his service?
Mary Tonelli
AThank you for getting in touch. As you’ve found, for information on Canadian service personnel (from the 18th century to the end of the Second World War) the best online source is the ‘Military Heritage’ section of the Library and Archives Canada website at bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/militaryheritage/Pages/military-heritage. aspx. The site is completely free, and includes lots of information about individuals from most periods.
Canada had far fewer run-ins with its indigenous population than the USA, and maintained only a tiny regular army, relying on a militia of fully trained, but part-time, soldiers for defence. During Queen Victoria’s reign, they fought in only five campaigns: two small rebellions in 1837–1838 in Quebec and Ontario, two incursions from the USA by Irish Republicans (1866 and 1870), and indigenous rebellions at Red River (1870) and in north-west Canada (1885).
Given Joseph’s date of birth, it’s most likely that the 1885 North West Canada Medal is the one he’d be awarded. Searching the website in the ‘Military Medals, Honours and Awards, 1812–1969’ subsection, we find his name on the 1885 medal roll (complete with image) showing he served in the campaign as a private with the 90th Winnipeg Rifles, a militia unit. Unfortunately, the website makes it clear that there are no surviving service records for the militia.
The Canadian section of Ancestry ( ancestry.co.uk) has a Joseph Link arriving at Quebec on the SS Parisian, which sailed from Liverpool on 21 August 1884, adding that he intended to travel on to Winnipeg. This must be him, and puts him in Winnipeg at the right time. Given that it normally took six months to train a militiaman, Joseph would just have time to complete his training and serve during the rebellion, which began at the end of March 1885 in Saskatchewan.
There’s a detailed account of the rebellion on Wikipedia at en.wikipedia. org/wiki/North-West_Rebellion covering both its origins and history, including the number of small battles that occurred. The website of the Winnipeg Rifles’ museum at
rwrmuseum.com/archives adds, “It was during the Battle of Fish Creek that the riflemen in their dark green coats earned the moniker ‘Little Black Devils’ (LBD) and the motto ‘Hosti
Acie Nominati’ ( transl. Named by the Enemy). The 1885 campaign was where the LBD earned their first battle honours (Batoche, Fish Creek, Northwest Canada, 1885) and composed their regimental song ‘Pork, Beans, and Hardtack’.”
Searching the Library and Archives Canada website using ‘Link’ and ‘Winnipeg’ produced two items: an undigitised application for a land grant and a digitised certificate showing Private Joseph Link, ‘A’ Company 90th Winnipeg Rifles, being granted 320 acres a in the North-West Territories or Manitoba M as a bounty for taking part in i the rebellion’s suppression. This may m be worth following up in Canadian records. r Land grants to soldiers in Canada C often failed because of the nature n of the land obtained, which may explain e why he did not stay in Canada.
Phil P Tomaselli
QCan you help me with this family photograph? I have no idea about the identity of the man or what his uniform is. Family names include Beer and Hodge.
Sharon Slater
AProbably shot in a studio, this photo shows a Royal Artillery (RA) private (usually gunner or driver). Given that he’s wearing Khaki drill – lightweight cotton clothing with only breast pockets on the tunic, designed for warmer climates – it’s likely that the picture was taken in South Africa. The slouch hat was not standard RA headgear, and he must have enlisted after 1896 because the prize badge on his sleeve was only introduced in 1898.
It should be possible to make a shortlist of candidates. ‘UK, Military Campaign Medal and Award Rolls, 1793–1949’ on Ancestry ( ancestry.co.uk) can be searched using the surname, ‘Royal Artillery’ and ‘Boer War’. ‘Hodge’, for example, produces 26 men. Some will appear twice, since a King’s Medal was awarded for service in 1901–1902. You’ll also get their unit and service number, which didn’t change when they moved within the RA. The same principle applies to searching for men awarded the India Medal 1895–1902 for campaigns on the North-West Frontier, another possibility for the medal worn.
Service records for this period are on Findmypast ( findmypast.co.uk). If a soldier didn’t get a pension, his record might be destroyed after a couple of decades; others may have re-enlisted in the First World War, their records being destroyed in 1940. Local newspapers may also name soldiers. Phil Tomaselli
1 HAT
The soft felt slouch hat was worn by Australians and Colonial Volunteers and policemen during the Second Boer War, and its use soon spread to other units.
2 MEDAL
The most likely medal is the Queen’s South Africa Medal (Second Boer War 1899–1902). Its ribbon has vertical stripes.
3 CHEVRON
This point-upwards chevron is for good conduct. The first is awarded after two years; a second would be awarded after six years.
4 BADGE
With a crown above two crossed artillery barrels, this is an RA prize badge, awarded to every other rank in the best battery in the unit. This style was adopted in 1898.