The O'Leary Collection—Medals of The Royal Canadian Regiment

9609 / 477728 Pte Albert Edward Piper

Northamptonshire Regiment (British Army)
The Royal Canadian Regiment

By: Capt (ret'd) Michael M. O'Leary, CD, The RCR

Albert Edward Piper was born in Sudbury, Suffolk, England, on 6 Mar 1878.

Before emigrating to Canada, Piper served twelve years in the British Army with the 2nd Battalion, the Northamptonshire Regiment a unit in the 9th Brigade. He saw service in South Africa from 1899 to 1902 and was awarded the Queen's South Africa medal with three clasps (Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal) and the King's South Africa Medal with two clasps (South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902). Piper's regimental number in The Northamptonshire Regiment was 4972.

Albert Piper enlisted in the Canadian Permanent Force (P.F.) with The Royal Canadian Regiment at Halifax, Nova Scotia, on 15 Apr 1912. A 34-year-old labourer, Piper was examined for fitness on 11 Apr 1912. He was described as 5 feet 6 inches in height, weighing 147 3/4 pounds, with good physical development, and a 39 1/2-inch chest. It was noted that he suffered from varicose veins and that he would be required to submit to an immediate operation for these on enlisting. Piper was given the P.F. regimental number 9609.

Piper was admitted to the military hospital at Halifax, N.S., on 16 Apr 1912 for an operation on his varicose veins and spent over five weeks in hospital recovering. He was discharged to duty on 27 May 1912.

On 11 Sep 1914, The Royal Canadian Regiment sailed for Bermuda where they would serve for a year on garrison duty. The Regiment relieved the 2nd Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment, which sailed immediately for England. On 12 Aug 1915, The RCR was relieved in turn by the arrival of the 38th Overseas Battalion from Canada. The RCR returned to Halifax for a stay of only a week. During this time, the Regiment was re-attested for overseas service. Although The RCR had just spent a year in Bermuda, there were concerns regarding the applicability of the soldiers' Permanent Force enlistments for wartime deployments. This was, perhaps, prompted by the idea that a man on a P.F. three-year engagement could choose not to re-engage and the Government would be obligated to bring him home. Enlistment in the C.E.F., on the other hand, was for the "Duration of War." Accordingly, the soldiers of The RCR were re-attested, signing C.E.F. attestation papers in August 1915 before sailing for Europe. On 26 Aug 1915, The RCR sailed from Halifax aboard the S.S. Caledonian, the same ship that had brought them home from Bermuda. Disembarked at Plymouth, England, on 6 Sep 1915, the Regiment went to Shorncliffe for training.

Piper attested for service in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (C.E.F.) with The RCR at Halifax, N.S., on 23 Aug 1915. A 37-year-old serving in the P.F., Piper was described on his attestation paper as 5 feet 6 inches tall, with a 36-inch chest, a light complexion, blue eyes, and light brown hair. His religious denomination was Church of England. Piper identified his mother, Mary Piper, No. 2 North St., Sudbury, Suffolk, Eng., as his next of kin. On his Attestation Form, Piper confirmed his 12 years prior service with the Northamptonshire Regiment of the British Army.

On 25 Sep 1915, Piper was posted from "D" Company to Base Company. This mean he did not initially cross the Channel to France with the Regiment. As a soldier of Base Company, he remained in England as a potential future reinforcement or for other employment.

Piper received a new C.E.F. service number on 28 Sep 1915 to replace his regimental number. While serving in the C.E.F., his service number was 477728. Since the Regiment received its C.E.F. number block while at full strength and not as they were recruited, it had the interesting effect that the soldiers of the Regiment at the time were renumbered in alphabetical order.

The RCR crossed the English Channel on 1 Nov 1915, entering the theatre of war at Boulogne, France. During November and December of 1915 the Regiment prepared for service in the trenches, with companies rotating in the lines for training and a period of providing working parties before entering the line as a battalion at the end of December. The first months of 1916 saw the Regiment in the steady rotation through front line trenches, support trenches, and reserve positions that was the fundamental experience of the infantry in the Great War. Albert Piper, however, was not with the Regiment.

Still in England, Piper was taken on the strength of the 11th Reserve Battalion at Shorncliffe on 25 Nov 1915. A few months later, on 25 Feb 1916, he was attached to the Casualty Clearing Depot and then attached to Lord Strathcona's Horse for rations and discipline.

On 27 Apr 1916, Piper was transferred to the R.C.R. & P.P.C.L.I. Depot from the 11th Res. Bn. The R.C.R. & P.P.C.L.I. Depot at East Sandling was a short-lived depot unit that supported those two named regiments with drafts of reinforcements. It was created on 13 Feb 1916 by separating it from the 11th Reserve Battalion, and it was disbanded on 20 Jan 1917 when it was absorbed into the 7th and 26th Reserve Battalions.

Within a few months it became apparent that Piper was feeling left out by not having joined the Regiment in France. One entry in his service record notes, in the dry tone of administrative changes of unit, "Struck off strength of the R.C.R. & P.P.C.L.I. Depot on proceeding overseas to The RCR" on 20 Jun 1916.

The method of Piper's transfer and deployment to France can be found in two other entries in his service record. An entry dated 20 Jun 1916 read "Away Without Leave, 2 days, charged and found guilty, awarded 7 days F.P. No. 2 and forfeited 9 days pay." Field Punishment No. 2 consisted of extra work on all of the less savoury general duty tasks wherever the unit was located.

The second entry in Piper's service record provided the detail needed to explain his change of unit and his charge. Dated 21 Jun 1916, it noted that he had "Arrived from England as a STOWAWAY and is taken on strength of The RCR."

The activities of The RCR in the month after Piper's arrival at the unit are summarized in the unit's "Battle Bar Document" (prepared after the war by the Militia Department in anticipation of the possibility of clasps for the British War Medal).

Piper only remained in France of a month before being returned to England. On 20 Jul 1916, he was taken back on strength of the R.C.R. & P.P.C.L.I. Depot from The RCR overseas. Two weeks later, on 7 Aug 1916, although no specific reason has been recorded on his service record, Piper had his available pay restricted to 20 cents per day. This was possibly to limit his resources to try another trip to France.

On 14 Sep 1916, Piper was sent On Command, i.e., a temporary duty assignment without changing parent units, to the Headquarters Canadian Training Division (C.T.D.) and was attached to the Headquarters Subordinate Staff (H.Q.S.S.) for duty and pay. This move possibly indicates that he was attached to the headquarters as batman to a regimental officer, an employment that would not be noted in his records until 1919. Piper's parent unit, The R.C.R. & P.P.C.L.I. Depot was renamed on 1 Jan 1917 to the 7th Reserve Battalion.

While still employed On Command, Piper changed units on 7 Feb 1917 when he was struck off the strength of the 7th Res. Bn. and transferred to the 26th Res. Bn. His parent unit changed again on 24 Mar 1917 when he was posted to the Nova Scotia Regimental Depot (N.S.R.D.) at Bramshott, remaining on command with the H.Q. C.T.D., Shorncliffe.

The N.S.R.D. was part of the new regionally based reinforcement system, with named Depots taking in troops from battalions raised in those areas in Canada and providing reinforcement drafts to similarly designated fighting units. The RCR, having been headquartered in Halifax in the decade before the War, was associated with the N.S.R.D. These Depots also became the parent unit for any soldiers returned to England from their affiliated battalions in France and Flanders.

Piper's parent unit continued to change. On 12 Jul 1917, he was posted from the N.S.R.D. on transfer to the Manitoba Regimental Depot. His employment didn't change, but he ceased being on command from the N.S.R.D., and was now on command from the Man. R.D. to the H.Q. C.T.D. Finally, on 13 Jul 1917, he was formally taken on the strength of the H.Q. Canadian Troops, to complete establishment (and ceased being on command from Man. R.D.).

Piper was examined by a Medical Board at Shornecliffe on 14 Jul 1917. The board recorded his disability as varicose veins and described his present condition as: "Old condition of legs. Cannot walk any distance with pack. General condition fair." Piper was given a permanent medical category of Bii, which was usually assigned to men who were fit for base units of the medical service, garrison, or regimental outdoor duty.

Having been in England for most of his time overseas and employed at the same place for over a year, Piper had the opportunity to become familiar with the local area and people. On 23 Dec 1917, he was granted permission to marry. Piper's service record was annotated on 29 Mar 1918 to change his next of kin, replacing his mother was Mrs. A.E. Piper, 35 Charlotte St., Folkestone, Eng.

Piper was medically examined for re-engagement in the Permanent Force on 29 Jul 1918. This examination determined that his medical category was Bii, which was probably inadequate for consideration for post-war employment in the Permanent Force.

Piper served out the rest of the war in England and, on 10 Nov 1918, was struck off the strength of H.Q. Canadian Troops to the Canadian General Depot at Witley. It would appear that discharge proceedings were not progressing as swiftly as he would have liked, and on 8 Jan 1919 he was charged and tried for being absent. Found guilty, Piper forfeited eight days pay by the Pay and Allowance Regulations (Canada) for being Away Without Leave from 0001 hours, 1 Jan 1919, until 1330 hours, 8 Jan 1919.

On 14 Jan 1919, Piper was examined by a Medical Board at Witley Camp, Surrey. The Board's report summarized Piper's recent medical history as follows:

"Enlisted 11-4-12 at Halifax, Can. Operated on for varicose veins, both legs, 16-4-12 to 27-5-12. To Bermuda 9-9-14. To England 5-9-14. To France 20-6-16. States he received G.S.W. abdomen 30-6-16 (no record). To England 20-7-16. Has been in England since. States he did not go to hospital with wound, had daily dressings. Has been batman at H.Q. Shorncliffe since return to England. Medical Boards Shornecliffe 14-7-17; V. Veins, Bii."

His present condition was described as:

"Complaint:- After walking 2 miles or more legs begin to ache and feel heavy. They ache in damp weather. Defective hearing, Left ear. "Examination:- Well developed, well nourished [??} 37-40. Lungs normal. Pulse 66 regular, artery wall easily palpable, heart normal, moderate varicosity of veins of both legs below knee, evidently of long standing. Also large varicosity inner side left thigh at site of old operation. Faint scars both legs from previous operation. Skin on legs dry and tissue paper like. Other systems normal. Ear report; O.M.C.C. left. M.T. retracted thickened but intact. Hearing R 21 L 15. Cat A. Condition present before enlist and aggravated by service."

The medical board gave Piper a category of Bii and noted: "General condition good, is worse from South African war he states."

Commencing February, 1919, Piper established a monthly Pay Assignment of $20 to be sent to his wife. As a Private in the C.E.F., Piper was paid $1.00 per day plus an additional ten cents daily field allowance. His pay assignment represented about two-thirds of his monthly pay. Mrs. Piper also received $30 monthly Separation Allowance.

Piper was examined again at Witley on 11 Mar 1919 to determine his medical condition prior to discharge. A Medical History of an Invalid form was completed which recorded his disabilities as (1) varicose veins and (2) otitis media (inflammation of the inner ear). Both conditions were considered to have their origins in Canada before the war, the first due to strain and the second to infection, and each condition as aggravated by his service before or during the war. Piper's present state of incapacity was (1) partial loss of function of the legs, and (2) defective hearing. His conditions were considered permanent and his medical category of Bii was confirmed.

Sent "On Command" to the 8th Reserve Battalion, Witley, on 23 Mar 1919, Piper was now one step closer to his discharge. On 25 Mar 1919, he ceased being on command to the 8th Res. Bn. and was discharged in the British Isles. As part of his discharge process in the U.K., Piper was required to sign a waiver releasing the Canadian Government from any obligation to transport him or his dependents to Canada.

For his service in the C.E.F., Piper was entitled to receive the British War Medal (BWM) and the Victory Medal (VM). These were despatched to him at 62 Linden Cres., Folkestone, Eng., on 8 Nov 1921. Curiously, a single BWM was prepared with his name followed by a pair (BWM & VM) of C.E.F. medals. The duplicate BWM was withheld and then renamed to another Permanent Force soldier of The RCR: 479092 C.Q.M.S. Austin Anderson.

Piper's death is not recorded in Canadian records. A search of the website findagrave.com turns up one likely match. There is one "Albert Edward Piper" recorded has having died at Royal Victoria Hospital, Folkestone, and was buried on 13 Feb 1954 in the Hawkinge Cemetery, Shepway District, Kent, England (Plot V660).

Pro Patria

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