This week’s theme for the 52 Ancestors Challenge, is “Conflict”. I knew right away what I wanted to write about: the fight by my maternal grandfather, Leo Burgess, for his military disability pension. Unfortunately, it has been exceptionally busy at home this week, so I only got to this today.
I have always found the records to be fascinating, because they read quite like a workers’ compensation claim, except in a military context. The records are rather detailed, and include both the legal and medical records that were part of the process. They also included far too much personal information about my grandfather’s personal life, going beyond what was necessary for the adjudicators to decide the issue. Nothing scandalous or unsavoury, just things you really don’t want to think about. As our 11-year-old says when there’s anything remotely romantic in a TV show or movie: ew.
My grandfather’s military service and his injury were often-told tales, which is largely reflected what I found in his military records. My grandfather actually enlisted twice during World War II. The family story is that my grandfather was injured during basic training, due to a prank pulled by a bunkmate. A couple of months after he was discharged, my grandfather enlisted again. The family story is that he decided to re-enlist after a “robust” night on the town with his buddy. It wasn’t until after he was well into basic training the second time that the military seemed to discover that they had already discharged my grandfather once before, and decided to discharge him again.
Now, to the record. Both times, my grandfather was enlisted as a private. He first enlisted in July 1941. Upon enlistment, he was assigned to the 6th Division Petrol Company Royal Canadian Army Service Corps and posted to #13 District Depot in Calgary. However, he was admitted hospital in August 1941 due to appendicitis.
Leo was in hospital until mid-September 1941, but was on sick leave for most of the rest of the year. On December 6, 1941, he arrived at the No. 32 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre in Peterborough, Ontario. Later that month, he was indeed injured due to a prank by one of his bunkmates.
According to my grandfather and the witness statement of another soldier, my grandfather had the top bunk of the bed. The man below him thought it was funny to use his legs to push the bunk above as a way to wake my grandfather up in the morning. The man pushed too hard, causing my grandfather to be ejected from his bed, injuring his back. My grandfather’s evidence and the medical records say that subsequent to this incident, his back condition worsened in the course of basic training
By mid-January 1942, my grandfather was in the hospital due to his back condition. He spent time at military hospitals in Peterborough and Kingston until March 1942, when he entered physical rehabilitation. The military discharged my grandfather due to his disability at that time, and he returned to Calgary.
My grandfather enlisted a second time in July 1942. While the family story is that the military didn’t know at the time that my grandfather had already enrolled and been discharged, the records are not so clear. At least one document refers to “re-enlistment”, so it may be that my grandfather’s prior service was not such a surprise to the army.
During his second enlistment, my grandfather was sent to the Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre No. 133 in Alberta. He did not complete his training as he was discharged as he was “unable to meet the required Military Physical Standards”.
The pension records I have do not tell the whole story. At every level of adjudication, the military had denied my grandfather a disability pension. My grandfather was about 6’4” or 6’5”. Veterans Affairs took the position that my grandfather’s back problems had been due to his height and were not aggravated by his duties during basic training. The documents I have are the statement of claim and a 20 page summary of evidence for what was likely the last level of appeal. I do not know if he was successful, although I do know he was in receipt of some form of military pension after he retired from his career with the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Despite his short and interrupted service, my grandfather was awarded the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal (CVSM), which was established on October 22, 1943 and issued in recognition of eighteen months of voluntary service in the Canadian Forces. The medal was granted upon honourable discharge to any service member of any rank who served on Active Service from September 1939 to March 1947. Leo was also granted the War Service Badge – General Service, awarded to members of the Canadian military who served in the military forces on active service during WWII and who honourably ceased to serve on active service by reason of physical disability.
A Deck of Ancestors 