A Great War Pair to a Hill 70 Casualty, Corporal Gerald G. Erskine, 61st Infantry Battalion, 44th Infantry Battalion

 A Great War Pair to a Hill 70 Casualty, Corporal Gerald G. Erskine, 61st Infantry Battalion, 44th Infantry Battalion - British War Medal (461425 CPL. G.G. ERSKINE. 44-CAN.INF.); and Victory Medal (461425 CPL. G.G. ERSKINE. 44-CAN.INF.). Naming is officially impressed. Mounted to a suspension with swing bar pinback, as worn by the veteran, original ribbons, dark patina on the BWM, light contact, better than very fine. Accompanied by copies of his Index Cards, Attestation Paper, Service Records, Medical Records, Discharge Certificate and Department of Veterans Affairs Death Notification.       Footnote: Gerald Garrett Erskine was born on February 5, 1894 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He signed his Attestation Paper with the 61st Battalion "Winnipeg Battalion" on February 21, 1916 in Winnipeg, at the age of 22, naming his next-of-kin as his father, George H. Erskine, stating that he had no previous military service, that he was not married and that his trade was that of Clerk. The Battalion was raised and mobilized in Winnpeg, Manitoba under the authority of G.O. 103A, August 15, 1915. The Battalion sailed from Halifax, Nova Scotia on April 5, 1916 aboard the S.S. Olympic, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel F.J. Murray with a strength of 37 officers and 1,091 other ranks, arriving in Southampton, England on the 12th and posted to nearby Bordon. In England, the Battalion was absorbed into the 11th Reserve Battalion. One month later, Erskine was transferred to the 44th Infantry Battalion at Bramshott on May 12, 1916, then proceeded overseas to the French theatre three months later, on August 10th, disembarking in Le Havre on the 12th. Five months after arriving in France, he was evacuated sick, on January 6, 1917 and admitted to No. 11 Canadian Field Ambulance with "P.U.O." (Pyrexia of Unknown Origin = fever), then transferred to No. 13 Canadian Field Ambulance on the 8th, rejoining his unit in the field the following day, the fever having receded. Erskine was promoted to Corporal on April 1, 1917 but five weeks after his promotion, he was wounded in action in France on May 7, 1917, suffering gun shot wounds to his left arm, back and face. He was admitted to No. 23 Casualty Clearing Station on May 8th, where his condition was declared "Dangerously Wounded". He was re-assessed on the 11th and although his condition was still declared to be "Dangerously Wounded", it was also noted that he was "Making Slight Progress". Erskine was transferred to No. 13 General Hospital at Boulogne, the gun shot wounds evident to his back, left hip and face, along with his fractured left arm, which had to be amputated three inches below the shoulder. He was invalided (wounded) to England on May 19th and admitted to Brook War Hospital, Shooters Hill at Woolwich and posted to the Manitoba Regimental Depot at Shorncliffe. Two months later, he was transferred to Granville Canadian Special Hospital at Ramsgate on July 14th, followed by a transfer to the Canadian Red Cross Special Hospital on August 18th, where he was to seek additional treatment for another two weeks, before being transferred again, this time to the Canadian Convalescent Hospital, Woodcote Park at Epsom on August 30th. Three weeks after his admission to Woodcote Park, Erskine was discharged on September 19th and invalided to Canada for further treatment, disembarking from Liverpool, England aboard His Majesty's Hospital Ship Llandovery Castle. He was initially sent to Military District No. 10 in Winnipeg, arriving there on September 30th for "Further Treatment" but it was determined that his condition dictated that he be to sent to the Military Orthopaedic Hospital in Toronto, arriving there on October 22, 1917. In his Medical History of an Invalid, dated November 27, 1917 at the Military Orthopaedic Hospital, it was noted that his "shoulder stump (was) well-healed but tender" and that he had been "supplied with a light artificial arm with a special shoulder cap which is mainly for appearance". He also displayed a deformity of the nose and scars around the shoulder. Erskine was discharged in consequence of "being wounded and rendered physically unfit for further service" on January 21, 1918 from "D" Unit, Military Hospitals Commission Command in Toronto, Ontario, his conduct noted as "Good", credited with having served in Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Belgium, earning him the First World War Pair. He died in July 1971, the actual day not stated on his Department of Veterans Affairs Death Notification.