A Military Medal Group to Company Sergeant Major Sandford 13th CAN INF.

A Military Medal Group to Company Sergeant Major Sandford 13th CAN INF. - Military Medal, George V (192153 C.S. Mjr R. SANDFORD. 13/QUEBEC. FR.). Naming is officially impressed. Original ribbon with bronze ring suspension sewn in place, edge nicks, bruised, light contact, better than very fine. Accompanied by his Memorial Plaque (RICHARD SANDFORD, the naming in raised lettering, the plaque with two bronze loops welded in place and a chain placed between them for suspension, scattered green oxidation evident on the obverse); his Memorial Scroll (inscribed in red ink "Coy. Serjt. Maj. Richard Sandford M.M. / Canadian Infantry Bn.", printed in four-colours on a thick paper stock, 181 mm x 280 mm); Buckingham Palace Letter of Condolence (printed in red and black inks on a thick paper stock, 118 mm x 194 mm, soiled); Posthumous Note Accompanying the Military Medal (printed in black ink on a brown paper stock, embossed coat-of-arms, 86 mm x 120 mm); a 92nd Infantry Battalion "48th Highlanders" Cap Badge (white metal, maker marked "ELLIS BROS. TORONTO" on the reverse, 54.3 mm x 58.7 mm, intact lugs); a Canada Collar Tab (red bronze, unmarked, 26.3 mm x 29.7 mm, intact lugs); a Canada Shoulder Title (bronze, maker marked "CARON BROS. MONTREAL 1914" on the reverse, 13.5 mm x 51.5 mm, intact lugs); and a Photograph of Sandford in his 48th Highlanders Uniform (black and white, matte finish, with un-addressed postcard backer, 86 mm x 134 mm, lightly soiled).   Footnote: Richard Sandford was born on June 25, 1889 in London England, the son of Arthur Sandford and Alice Sandford. At the age of 24, he immigrated to Canada in 1913. His older brother, Arthur Charles Sandford (born 1877) was a veteran of the Boer War, as well as being a recipient of the Distinguished Service Order and was also recommended for the Victoria Cross by Lord Roberts. The elder Sandford was awarded a Queen's South Africa Medal with four clasps and returned to England after the war, but died shortly thereafter, in 1903. Richard Sandford signed his Attestation Paper with the 92nd Infantry Battalion "48th Highlanders" (192153), on August 25, 1915 in Toronto, Ontario, at the age of 26, naming his next-of-kin as his mother, Alice Sandford of Toronto, stating that he had one years' previous military service as a Colour Sergeant with the Queen's Own Rifles and two years with E.L.R.E. Corp, that he was Single and that his trade was that of Overhead Inspector. The Battalion was raised and mobilized in Toronto, Ontario under the authority of G.O. 103A, August 15, 1915. The Battalion sailed May 22, 1915 under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel G.G. Chisholm with a strength of 36 officers and 1,096 other ranks. In England, the Battalion was absorbed into the 5th Reserve Battalion. He was later transferred to the 13th Infantry Battalion "Royal Highlanders of Canada" (Quebec Regiment) and was in France nearly three years, when he Died of his Wounds at No. 20 Casualty Clearing Station, on September 28, 1918, at the age of 29. He is buried in Bucquoy Road Cemetery, Ficheux, Pas de Calais, France, Grave Reference: Plot III, Row A, Grave 2 and is commemorated on page 496 of the First World War Book of Remembrance. Sandford was posthumously awarded the Military Medal, as mentioned in the Fifth Supplement to the London Gazette 31173 of Friday, February 7, on Tuesday, February 11, 1919, page 2139. The award was delivered to his parents, with the note of condolence from the Major-General, Adjutant-General, Canadian Militia stating "I am directed, by the Honourable the Minister of Defence, to convey to you the enclosed medal for the deceased officer or soldier whose name is engraved thereon, and to express to you the regrets of the Militia Council that he did not live to wear this award."