Medal
Fredericton Region Museum
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| Object Name: | Medal |
|---|---|
| Object Type: | Victory Medal |
| Category: | Personal Symbols |
| Material: | Metal, copper |
| Accession Number: | 1969.2812.1a |
| Description: | A circular, copper medal, in lacquered bronze, with a size of 1.42 inches in diameter. For mounting purposes, there is a ring passing through a loop fixed to the top of the medal. The ring moves forwards and backwards but not sideways. The obverse shows the winged, full-length, full-front, figure of Victory, with her left arm extended and holding a palm branch in her right hand. The reverse shows the legend THE GREAT/WAR FOR CIVILISATION/1914-1919 in four lines, surrounded by a wreath, with dots below the words. The watered ribbon is 1.5 inches wide, and consists of nine coloured stripes: violet, blue, green, yellow, red, yellow, green, blue and violet. If awarded, the Mentioned-in-Despatches multiple-leaved emblem is worn on this medal (Veterans Affairs Canada). Impressed on the rim - 69227 L-Cpl C.W. Darcus. |
| Narrative: | Charles William Darcus was born in Dublin, Ireland on 22 February 1893. He emigrated to Canada in 1910 and appears to have lived in the Fredericton, NB area. Soon after the First World War began, he answered the call and enlisted in the 26th Battalion at Saint John, NB on 28 November 1914. While the unit was doing its initial training, he married Anna Naomi I Staveley on 17 March 1915 in Fredericton. He went overseas with his battalion on 15 June 1915 and, after further training in England, embarked for France on 13 September. Following specialized training, he was employed in the machine gun section. After recovering from a shrapnel wound, he rejoined his battalion on 14 August 1918. The famous Canadas 100 Days had started. His first action was in the Battle of the Scarpe that had begun on 26 August. On 28 August, Lance Corporal Darcus "was hit in the stomach by shrapnel and instantly killed". He was initially reported as missing and later as dead. His body was not recovered and he is commemorated on the Vimy Memorial. Following the war, his medals and other Remembrance memorabilia were sent to his wife between 1920 and 1922. She had relocated to Victoria, BC. In 1966, Mrs. Anna Darcus-Hodder donated these items to the York-Sunbury Museum, now known as the Fredericton Region Museum. This is one of three service medals that were sent to his widow. |
| History of Use: | Awarded to all First World War service personnel who served in a qualifying area. There were 352,289 medals awarded to the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) and a total of 5,725,000 issued (Veterans Affairs Canada). |
| Institution: |
Fredericton Region Museum
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| Institution City: | Fredericton |
| Institution Province: | New Brunswick |