(204039 PTE. C.M. BENNETT. 15-CAN.INF.). Naming is officially impressed. Spotting, contact marks, very fine.
Footnote: Private Charles McDonald Bennett was born on May 30, 1890 in Colsterworth, Grantham, Lincolnshire, England, the son of Page Bennett and Jessie Bennett. He was a resident of Tullisville, Saskatchewan, when he signed his Attestation Paper as a Private (204039) with the 96th Infantry Battalion "Canadian Highlanders", on December 8, 1915 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, at the age of 25, naming his next-of-kin as his father, Page Bennett of Colsterworth, stating that he had no previous military service, that he was not married and that his trade was that of Farmer. He later married Evelyn Annie Bennett in 1918. The Battalion was raised in Saskatoon and district with mobilization headquarters at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan under the authority of G.O. 151, December 22, 1915. The Battalion sailed September 27, 1916 from Halifax, Nova Scotia, aboard the S.S. Laconia, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel J. Glenn with a strength of 29 officers and 768 other ranks, arriving in Liverpool, England on October 6th. Upon arriving in England, he was transferred to the 92nd Infantry Battalion on October 9th, as was the remainder of the 96th Infantry Battalion. Bennett was transferred to the 15th Infantry Battalion in the French theatre, on October 27, 1916. He was posted to the Canadian Base Depot on November 3rd, leaving for his new unit in the field on November 19thand joining them on the 22nd. Bennett was to be wounded in action twice during 1917. He suffered a slight gun shot (shrapnel) wound to the head, on April 11, 1917, during the Battle of Vimy Ridge. He was admitted to No. 1 Canadian General Hospital at Etaples and after two weeks, was transferred to No. 6 Convalescent Depot at Etaples on April 23rd, where he would remain for two days, before being discharged to Details Camp on April 25th. He rejoined his unit onMay 9th. A little over three months later, Bennett suffered a gun shot wound to his left forearm causing a fracture to his radius, on August 15, 1917, during the Battle of Hill 70. He was initially declared as "missing" but was found wounded. He was admitted to No. 18 General Hospital at Camiers on the 16th, then invalided to England, where he was posted to the 1st Central Ontario Regimental Depot at Shorncliffe on the 21st, followed by his admission to Alexandra Hospital at Cosham, Portsmouth. Two weeks afterwards, he was transferred to the Canadian Convalescent Hospital at Epsom on September 2nd, where he would be a patient for two months, before being discharged onNovember 2nd. He returned to hospital on November 28th, until April 1918 and during his stay, was awarded one Good Conduct Badge on December 7, 1917. He was examined at 1st Canadian Convalescent Depot, St. Martin's Plain, where the doctor described Bennett's condition in his Proceedings of a Medical Board Report, dated April 1, 1918: "As a result of fracture he is unable to supinate arm sufficiently to carry a rifle. X-ray report states 'No abnormality in bones of wrist. There is a suggestion of slight disuse atrophy of the bone as if from disuse. Callous in region of old fracture'. He is unable to do bayonet fighting. His general condition is good. Fit for heavy labour." That summer, on June 10, 1918, Bennett was granted permission to marry, the future Evelyn Annie Bennett. He was posted to the Canadian Convalescent Depot on December 23, 1918, until his departure to Canada. Bennett embarked for Canada from Liverpool aboard the S.S. Metagama, on January 4, 1919, arriving in St. John, New Brunswick on the 16th. The following month, he had a radiogram of his wrist done at Earl Grey Military Sanatorium in Regina, Saskatchewan. In a report dated February 7, 1919, the doctor described Bennett's injury: "Internal condyle radius (distal end) projects in front of ulna due to fracture and faulty alignment of radius." Four days later, he was discharged as being Medically Unfit "Wounds" on February 11, 1919 at Military District No. 12 in Regina, credited with having served in Canada, England and France, entitled to wear two Gold Casualty Stripes (April 11, 1917 and August 15, 1917), along with three blue Service Chevrons. For his First World War service, he was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. In his Will, dated July 16, 1918 at the 1st Central Ontario Regimental Depot, he stated that "I Devise and Bequeath all my real estate unto my wife Mrs. Evelyn Annie Bennett, Barnsley, Sheffield, Yorkshire", but of course, it was never executed.