Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A Great War ‘Western Front’ M.S.M. awarded to Sergeant C. Humphreys, one of the original cohort of the 4th Battalion, “The Mad Fourth”, Canadian Expeditionary Force, who survived the first German gas attack at Ypres in April 1915 - when the Battalion strength was less than halved - and was later transferred behind the lines and decorated for valuable service as Sergeant Cook

Army Meritorious Service Medal, G.V.R., 1st issue (11583 Sjt. C. Humphreys. 4/Bn. 1/C. Ont. R.) minor contact marks, very fine £200-£240

M.S.M. London Gazette 20 May 1919:
‘In recognition of valuable services rendered in France and Flanders.’

Charles Humphreys was born in Colchester, Essex, on 30 July 1888. A carpenter by trade, he attested for the 4th Canadian Infantry Battalion (Central Ontario) at Valcartier on 22 September 1914, one of four Battalions which would eventually make up the 1st Brigade, 1st Canadian Infantry Division. Interestingly, many of the first officers and men to attest for the 4th Battalion came from up to a dozen of the pre-war Canadian Militia Regiments; the recipient’s Canadian Army Service Record confirms 1 years’ previous service with the [38th] Dufferin Rifles of Brantford.

Initially appointed Private, Humphreys was sent to staff as Pioneer at Bustard on 2 November 1914. He subsequently boarded the S.S. Atlantian and docked at St. Nazaire with the 4th Battalion on 11 February 1915. After a train ride to Strazeele, the men marched to Outtersteene and spent the next few days in billets; here they learned of their first loss, Private Frederick Norris, who fell from the train enroute and was killed. Sent to Hazebrouck the troops soon suffered from scarlet fever and other health complaints; Humphreys spent 4 days suffering from stomach problems.

On 22 April 1915, the German Army changed the nature of warfare by employing lethal chlorine gas on the battlefield for the first time. Lacking protective clothing and masks, French Colonial troops suffered appalling casualties and left a dangerous gap in the lines for the enemy to exploit. Leaving Vlamertigne at 2130hrs on 22 April 1915, the 4th Battalion moved to occupy the Mauser Ridge. At 0525hrs the following morning the Canadians emerged from the front line trenches and moved to leapfrog towards their objectives. Details of the attack were later printed in The Times:

‘It is safe to say that the youngest Private in the rank, as he set his teeth for the advance, knew the task in front of him, and the youngest subaltern knew that all rested upon its success. It did not seem that any human could live in the shower of shot and shell which began to play against the advancing troops.’

In his 1920 History of Brant County, author F. Douglas Reville noted that the 4th Battalion won its nickname just as its commanding officer went down in Battle: ‘As [Birchall] turned he fell dead at the head of his battalion. With a hoarse cry the battalion rushed forward to avenge him, and thus earned the title of “The Mad Fourth”. The Battalion War Diary for 23 April 1915 lists 505 killed, wounded or missing, the survivors - including Humphreys - being forced to dig in to consolidate their meagre gains.

Having weathered this onslaught, Humphreys likely witnessed further action at Observatory Ridge from 12-14 June 1916 and the larger Canadian effort to capture Mont Sorrel. Promoted in the field to the unusual rank of Sergeant Cook 31 August 1916, he was thus removed from front line duties, likely being seen as having ‘done his bit’ and being one of the last of the original cohort still in the field. His Service Record subsequently notes the award of the M.S.M. after ‘49 months of service in France’. Returned home to Quebec per S.S. Metagama, he was struck off strength at Quebec Depot Clearing Service Command on 9 July 1919.