Canada. A Memorial Cross, 4th Infantry Battalion, Vimy Ridge WIA, Passchendaele DOW

A Memorial Cross, to Private William Selkirk Duff, 114th Infantry Battalion, 4th Infantry Battalion, Wounded at the Battle of Vimy Ridge, Died from his Wounds received at the Battle of Passchendaele, George V (739096 Pte. W.S. DUFF). Sterling silver, marked "STERLING" and hallmarked "R" on the reverse, on a replacement ribbon, contact marks and surface wear, very fine.,

Footnote: William Selkirk Duff was born on December 30, 1895 in Selkirk, Ontario, the son of David Duff and Angelina Viola Duff. He was a resident of Cayuga, Ontario when he signed his Attestation Paper as a Private (739096) with the 114th Infantry Battalion "Brock's Rangers", on February 19, 1916 in Cayuga, at the age of 20, naming his next of kin as his father, David Duff of Cayuga, stating that he no previous military service, that he was not married, that his religion was Presbyterian and that his trade was that of Banker (Union Bank of Canada). The Battalion was raised in Haldimand County and the Six Nations Reserve, with mobilization headquarters at Cayuga under the authority of G.O. 151, December 22, 1915. The Battalion sailed November 1, 1916 from Halifax, Nova Scotia aboard the S.S. Caronia, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel A.T. Thompson with a strength of 31 officers and 679 other ranks, arriving in Liverpool, England on November 11th. Upon arrival in England, he was taken on strength at West Sandling and appointed Acting Corporal. A week after arriving in England, he was admitted to Moore Barracks Hospital with a case of Tonsillitis, on November 19, 1916 and after a two week stay in hospital, he was discharged on December 4th. Duff reverted to the rank of Private on January 3, 1917 for two reasons: his "drunkenness" and "being improperly dressed". The following day, January 4th, he was transferred to the 3rd Reserve Battalion. Six weeks later, Private Duff was transferred to the 4th Infantry Battalion on February 14, 1917 for overseas service in the French theatre. He arrived at the Canadian Base Depot in France on the 15th, left for his new unit in the field on the 17th and joining them on the 19th. Private Duffwas wounded at the Battle of Vimy Ridge on April 9, 1917, suffering gun shot (shrapnel) wounds to his face. He was admitted to No. 13 Stationary Hospital at Boulogne on April 11th and after a four day stay in hospital, was transferred to No. 1 Convalescent Depot at Boulogne on April 15th, then discharged to Base Details on the 16th. He returned to the Canadian Base Depot for a second time, on April 25, 1917, rejoining the 4th Infantry Battalion on the 28th. Private Duff was transferred to England for the purpose of giving evidence at the Court of Enquiry and posted to the Central Ontario Regimental Depot at Shorncliffe, on August 3, 1917. After seven weeks in England, he returned to France on September 22nd, where he re-joined the 4th Infantry Battalion. Forty-seven days later, 739096 Private William Selkirk Duff, 4th Infantry Battalion suffered multiple gun shot (shrapnel) wounds, received in action at the Battle of Passchedaele. He died of his wounds at No. 44 Casualty Clearing Station, on November 8, 1917, at the age of 22. He is buried in Nine Elms British Cemetery (Belgium), Belgium, Grave Reference: VIII. E. 4., located 11.5 Km west of the Ieper town centre, and is commemorated on page 231 of the First World War Book of Remembrance. For his First World War service, Private Duff was posthumously awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal, which were forwarded to his mother, Angelina Viola Duff, along with Memorial Cross. His father, David Duff received his Memorial Plaque and Scroll. In his Military Will, dated March 25, 1917, he stated "In the advent of my death, I give the whole of my property and effects to my mother, Mrs. D. Duff, Cayuga, Ont. Canada". A funeral announcement prepared and published by his family was instituted, inscribed "DIED William Selkirk DUFF, 4th Battalion Canadian Expeditionary Force, November 8th., 1917, of wounds received at the Battle of Passchendaele Belgium, November 6th., 1917, son of MR. and MRS. DAVID DUFF Cayuga, Ontario, aged 22 years 10 months and 9 days. / A service in memory of the deceased soldier will be held at Knox Church Cayuga, on Sunday, December 16th., 1917 at 11 a.m.", the announcement followed by a poem: "On Fame's eternal camping-ground / His silent tent is spread; / And Glory guard with solemn round / The bivouac of the dead." A memorial placard dedicated to him was placed on the east wall of the sanctuary of Knox Presbyterian Church (now the Cayuga United Church).