A First War Pair to Colour Sergeant Major; Canadian Machine Gun Brigade

First War Pair, to Private/Colour Sergeant Major (Warrant Officer 2nd Class) Thomas Beasley, Canadian Machine Gun Brigade, 80th and 74th Infantry Battalions, Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment; Canada; British War Medal (219471 PTE. T. BEASLEY. C.M.G. BDE.); and Colonial Auxiliary Forces Long Service Medal (C.S.M. (W.O. Cl. 2) T.R. BEASLEY HAST. & P.E. REGT.). Naming is officially impressed. Un-mounted, replacement ribbons, dark patinas, edge nicks, contact marks, very fine. Footnote: Thomas Beasley was born on March 29, 1897 in Hoxton, London, England. He enlisted with the 80th Infantry Battalion on August 17, 1915, signing his Attestation Paper as a Private (219471) on October 9, 1915 at Barriefield, Ontario, at the age of 18, naming his next-of-kin as his mother, Sarah Beasley of Picton, Ontario, stating that he was with an active militia, the 16th Prince Edward Regiment, that he had had two camps on instruction, that he was not married and that his trade was that of Labourer. His religion was Church of England. During his medical examination, the doctor noted that Beasley had a small scar above the nose on his forehead. The Battalion was raised in Eastern Ontario under the authority of G.O. 103A, August 15, 1915. The mobilization headquarters was at Barriefield, Ontario. The Battalion embarked from Halifax, Nova Scotia on May 16, 1916 aboard the S.S. Baltic, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel W.G. Ketcheson with a strength of 35 officers and 1,041 other ranks, arriving in England on May 29th. Eleven days after arriving in England, he was transferred to the 74th Infantry Battalion on June 9, 1916, followed by a transfer six weeks later to the 12th Machine Gun Company on July 22, 1916. Private Beasley proceeded overseas for service in the French theatre with the 12th Machine Gun Company, arriving in France on August 12, 1916. Nineteen months later, his unit was absorbed into the 4th Brigade, Canadian Machine Gun Corps on March 19, 1918. Beasley was admitted to No. 12 Canadian Field Ambulance on December 11, 1918 with a case of "Cellulitis" (a bacterial infection of the deeper layers of the skin and the underlying tissue, which can be serious if not treated promptly). He was transferred to No. 47 Casualty Clearing Station the same day, then transferred to No. 55 Casualty Clearing Station on the 12th. Two days afterwards, he was admitted to No. 7 Stationary Hospital at Boulogne on the 14th, where its was noticed that he had also developed a Carbuncle on his left hand (an abscess larger than a boil, usually caused by a bacterial infection, which can be lethal and is contagious). He was subsequently transferred to No. 25 General Hospital at Hardelot on December 18th, where he would be treated for the next two and a half weeks, before being invalided to England and posted to the Canadian Machine Gun Corps Depot at Seaford on January 8, 1919, his service in France having entailed nineteen months. Beasley was admitted to the Bath War Hospital on January 9, 1919, where he would be treated for the next eight days, before being transferred to the Canadian Convalescent Hospital at Woodcote Park, Epsom on the 17th. He would convalesce at Epsom for the next nineteen days, before being discharged on February 5th. He was posted to the 3rd Canadian Convalescent Depot at Seaford, where he would continue his recovery, before being discharged from the facility on April 28, 1919, then posted to the Canadian Machine Gun Corps Depot at Seaford. Four weeks later, he was posted to "N" Wing at the Canadian Concentration Camp at Witley on May 23, 1916, then posted to "S" Wing on May 26th. In a medical examination performed on June 1, 1919 at Witley, the doctor noted that Beasley had "a sensitive nervous system" and that "excitement caused tachycardia" (also called tachyarrhythmia, which is a heart rate that exceeds the normal resting rate). He was struck off strength of the Overseas Military Forces of Canada on proceeding to Canada, embarking for Canada from Southampton, England aboard the S.S. Olympic, on July 2, 1919, arriving in Canada on July 8th. 219471 Private Thomas Beasley, Canadian Machine Gun Brigade was discharged upon demobilization at No. 2 District Depot in Toronto, Ontario, on July 11, 1919, credited with having served in Canada, England and France, entitled to wear the War Service Badge, Class "A", number 228845. For his First World War service, he was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal, the later medal having been lost to time. He was later promoted to Colour Sergeant Major (Warrant Officer 2nd Class) with the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment and was awarded the Colonial Auxiliary Forces Long Service Medal by Government Order 12 in 1933.