A First War Canadian MM Group to the 1st Tunneling Company 7th Battalion Canadian Engineers

Canada. First War MM Group of Four, Sergeant Hilton Lawrence Roache, 39th Infantry Battalion, 21st Infantry Battalion, 1st Tunneling Company 7th Battalion Canadian Engineers; Military Medal, George V (412663 Sjt H. ROACH, CAN:E.); 1914-15 Star (42633 PTE. H. ROACHE, 21-CAN.INF.); British War Medal (412633 SJT. H. ROACHE. 21-CAN.INF.); and Victory Medal (412633 SJT. H. ROACHE. 21-CAN.INF.). Naming is officially impressed. Court-mounted, with swing bar pinback, replacement ribbons, dark patina on the MM and BWM, missing the number "1" in his service number on the Star, edge nicks on the VM, light contact, very fine. Accompanied by his CEF For Service At The Front Badge (bronze with red, white and blue enamels, numbered "92886" on the reverse, 22.2 mm, screwback); his original Discharge Certificate (off-white water-resistant linen stock, dated March 29, 1919, 202 mm x 226 mm, fold marks); his original Dispersal Certificate (off-white paper stock, dated March 4, 1919, 202 mm x 252 mm, fold marks, lightly soiled); a Newspaper Clipping with his Obituary (newsprint, 55 mm x 130 mm); and three Photographs of Sergeant Roache in Uniform (the first photo is black and white, faded to a sepia-toned look, with him and another soldier in the field, 80 mm x 104 mm; the second photo is black and white, with him and six other soldiers in the field, 82 mm x 135 mm; the third photo is black and white, with him standing and another man seated in a studio setting, 88 mm x 137 mm; each with postcard style backers).

Footnote: Hilton Lawrence Roache was born on June 13, 1892 in Cobourg, Ontario. He moved to Port Hope, Ontario in his early childhood. He signed his Attestation Paper with the 39th Infantry Battalion, on February 23, 1915, at Port Hope, Ontario, at the age of 22, naming his next-of-kin as his mother, Mary Roache of Port Hope, stating that he had no previous military service, that he was not married and that his trade as that of Machinist. The Battalion was raised in Southeastern Ontario with mobilization headquarters at Belleville, Ontario under the authority of G.O. 86, July 1, 1915. The Battalion sailed June 24, 1915 under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel J.A.V. Preston with 40 officers and 1,003 other ranks. Upon arriving in England, the unit was absorbed in the 6th Reserve Battalion, with Roache later transferred to the 21st Infantry Battalion, taken on strength as a reinforcement on December 1, 1915. He was later transferred to the the 1st Tunneling Company, 7th Battalion, Canadian Engineers in the field. It was with this latter unit that Sergeant Roache was awarded the Military Medal for bravery in the field, without citation, the announcement appearing in the Third Supplement to the London Gazette 31430 of Thursday, July 1, 1919, on Thursday, July 3, 1919, page 8351, his surname spelled as "Roach" and his service number typed incorrectly as "412533" instead of "412633". A correction with the correct service number was published in the Third Supplement to the London Gazette 31608 of Friday, October 17, 1919, on Monday, October 20, 1919, page 12877. Sergeant Hilton Lawrence Roache was discharged upon demobilization on March 29, 1919, at Dispersal Station "F", Military District No. 4 in Montreal, Quebec, entitled to wear the War Service Badge, Class "A", number 92886. Post-war, he married Gladys Irene Roache (nee Johns) and worked for seventeen and a half years for the Mathews Conveyer Company Limited, retiring with them. He died on January 26, 1961 at Port Hope Hospital, with the funeral service being held at the Church of Our Lady of Mercy on January 28th, followed by burial in St. Mary's Cemetery in Port Hope. His surname is spelled variously as Roach and Roache in official records.