Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

WOUND STRIPE

Date Range From

1955

Date Range To

1969

Materials

COTTON, BRASS, METAL

No. Pieces

3

Length

7.5

Width

4.8

Description

A. COTTON PATCH, 7.5CM LONG X 4.8CM WIDE. GREEN FRONT WITH BLACK BACK, WITH BRASS STRIPE ATTACH IN CENTER. CORNERS OF PATCH ARE CURLING FRONT LOWER RIGHT CORNER HAS STAINING; EDGES OF PATCH HAVE HOLES BETWEEN THREADS FROM BEING SEWN ON A UNIFORM. OVERALL VERY GOOD CONDITION. B. BRASS STRIPE, 4.3CM LONG. BRASS STRIPE SECURED TO FRONT OF CLOTH PATCH; STRIPE HAS CHEVRON PATTERN ENGRAVED ON FRONT; BACK HAS HOOK FOR INSERTING INTO PATCH. STRIPE HAS MINOR TARNISHING ALONG EDGES; OVERALL VERY GOOD CONDITION. C. METAL BACKING, 5.5CM LONG X 1.2CM WIDE. SILVER METAL BACKING FOR BRASS STRIPE, WITH ROUNDED ENDS AND HOLES CUT THROUGH ENDS. HOOK ON BACK OF STRIPE IS FASTENED TO HOLE AT THE END OF THE BACKING. METAL SHOWS SIGNS OF WEAR AND MINOR TARNISHING; OVERALL VERY GOOD CONDITION.

Subjects

PERSONAL SYMBOL

Historical Association

MILITARY

History

ON SEPTEMBER 16, 2016, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED CHRIS AINSCOUGH REGARDING HIS DONATION OF A COLLECTION OF MILITARY OBJECTS. THE OBJECTS BELONGED TO AISNCOUGH’S GRANDFATHER AND FATHER, WILLIAM GEORGE AINSCOUGH (FIRST WORLD WAR) AND REED WILSON AINSCOUGH (SECOND WORLD WAR AND POST-WAR). ON HIS FATHER’S, REED WILSON AINSCOUGH’S, MILITARY SERVICE, CHRIS AINSCOUGH RECALLED, “I THINK THAT THE WAR WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE BEST THINGS THAT HAPPENED TO MY DAD. HE NEVER SPOKE ABOUT IT MUCH, BUT THE FRIENDSHIPS THAT HE DEVELOPED THROUGH HIS CONTACTS IN THE WAR WENT ON RIGHT UNTIL HIS DEATH…IT’S PROBABLY LIKE BEING ON A TEAM, YOU KNOW, AND I THINK IT’S THAT FELLOWSHIP YOU GET FROM RELYING ON PEOPLE, AND TRAINING WITH PEOPLE, AND GETTING THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING. I THINK THAT’S SORT OF A BIG PART OF IT.” “THE ONLY STORIES THAT I EVER REMEMBER HIM TELLING ME WAS, THEY WERE IN LONDON, AND THEY CLIMBED UP A CHURCH TOWER—IT WAS TWIN TOWERS ON THIS CHURCH…I WAS LOOKING AT A PICTURE OF IT IN A BOOK, AND HE SAYS, YES, THAT HE AND A COUPLE OF GUYS WERE ON LEAVE, AND THEY CLIMBED UP TO THE TOP OF THIS TOWER—THEY HAD TO SQUIRM THEIR WAY TO THE TOP, AND, ALL OF A SUDDEN, THE AIR RAID SIRENS WENT, AND THEY WERE HUSTLING TO GET DOWN, AND THEY GOT DOWN TO THE STREET, AND THE OTHER SPIRE WAS GONE. THERE’S THAT, AND I DID ASK HIM WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM WHEN HE GOT WOUNDED. HE DIDN’T GO INTO VERY MUCH DETAIL ON IT, BUT JUST SAID THAT THEY WERE OUT ON A SORTIE—HE WAS A FORWARD OBSERVATION OFFICER…THAT’S A WICKED JOB BECAUSE YOU’RE IN FRONT OF EVERYBODY, AND HE SAID, HE HEARD A BURST OF MACHINE-GUN. THEY STARTED RUNNING DOWN THIS ROAD, AND THEY USED TO SKIP THE BULLETS DOWN THIS ROAD, APPARENTLY, AND THOSE GERMAN MACHINE-GUNS WERE 10 SHOTS FOR EVERY BROWNING—AND HE SAID, ALL OF A SUDDEN, HE HAD A BURNING IN HIS LEG AND HE HOPPED ALONG, AND THAT WAS IT. IT DAMAGED HIS LEG SO BADLY THAT HE COULDN’T GO BACK, SO THOSE ARE THE TWO STORIES. OTHER THAN THAT, I THINK HE TALKED ABOUT, ONE [OTHER] DAY, BECAUSE I FOUND THESE PHOTOS. I THINK HE EITHER HID THEM OR GOT RID OF THEM LATER, AND IT WAS BLACK-AND-WHITE PHOTOS OF A CONCENTRATION CAMP, AND I THINK HE SAID IT WAS BERGEN-BELSEN, BECAUSE BERGEN-BELSEN WAS IN LOWER GERMANY…HE SAID THEY HAD TO DON GAS-MASKS WHEN THEY WERE ABOUT 5 MILES AWAY, BECAUSE THEY HAD EXHUMED EVERYTHING, AND THAT WAS IT. I WAS PROBABLY ABOUT 10 OR 12 WHEN HE TOLD ME THAT ONE. I HAD NIGHTMARES FOR A LONG TIME – LOOKING AT THAT.” “AFTER HIS FUNERAL SERVICE, EVERYBODY CAME BACK TO THE HOUSE AND MY UNCLE, HUGHIE CRAIG, [FROM] FORT MACLEOD, WE WERE SITTING IN THE LIVING ROOM, AND HE SAID, 'HAS ANYBODY GOT ANY STORIES ABOUT REED?' THIS WAS MY UNCLE, WHO WAS A COLD IRISH-ENGLISH GUY. NOBODY DID, AND HE SAID THAT THEY WERE IN BELGIUM SOMEWHERE, AND HUGHIE WAS AN ELECTRICIAN SO HE WAS WITH…THE CALGARY SIGNAL CORP…HE WAS AT AN INTERSECTION…THERE’S A CONVOY COMING THROUGH, CANADIAN CONVOY. HE’S SITTING IN THE JEEP WITH HIS DRIVER, AND, ALL OF A SUDDEN, HE HEARS THIS 'HUGHIE, HUGHIE.' HE LOOKS UP, AND HERE’S MY DAD. HE BROKE OUT; CAME OVER TO HUGHIE AND SAID, 'WE’RE IN A HOTEL FIVE MILES UP THE ROAD HERE.' HE SAYS, 'WHY DON’T I COME BACK AND GET YOU FOR DINNER?' SO, HE DROVE BACK; PICKED UP HUGHIE; THEY WENT AND HAD DINNER. HUGHIE…WAS A CAPTAIN AT THAT TIME—SO HE HAD FIVE OR SIX GUYS WITH HIS GROUP. CAME BACK. THEY WERE ALL DEAD. SHOT UP BY THE GERMANS…[I] NEVER HEARD THAT ONE FROM MY DAD.” “WE MOVED [FROM FORT MACLEOD TO MEDICINE HAT] IN 1959…AND I THINK DAD WAS THE [COMMANDER OF THE SALLY HORSE IN MEDICINE HAT] FROM ’64 TO ’68. I’M PRETTY SURE THOSE WERE THE YEARS, SO IT WAS FIVE YEARS, WHERE YOU WAIT YOUR CHANCE/YOU WAIT YOUR OPPORTUNITY; PROVE YOURSELF; AND THEN UP YOU GO.” “[HIS SERVICE] DEFINITELY GOES INTO THE LATE ‘60S. HE WAS STILL SORT OF ACTIVE IN LETHBRIDGE. I’M NOT SURE EXACTLY IN WHAT FUNCTION MILITARILY, BUT HE DID GO TO EVENTS THAT OCCURRED.” “HE SAVED EVERYTHING THOUGH…[THE UNIFORM AND APPEARANCE ASPECT WAS] PROBABLY A BIG PART OF [HIS MILITARY EXPERIENCE].” “[DAD] HAD A PRETTY GOOD LIBRARY. HE WAS FAIRLY WELL-READ. HE KNEW A LOT ABOUT CANADIAN MILITARY HISTORY. I KNOW THAT FOR SURE. ONE THING I KNOW HE WAS PROUD OF WAS THAT TWICE SOUTH ALBERTA LIGHT HORSE WON THE WORTHINGTON TROPHY, WHICH WAS, I THINK, FOR THE BEST MILITIA IN CANADA….HE WAS THE…AIDE-DE-CAMP FOR [GRANT MACEWAN] FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS. I KNOW PRINCESS ALEXANDRA, WHO WAS THE QUEEN’S COUSIN, PRESENTED THE GUIDON TO THEM UP HERE, ACTUALLY, IT WAS…OVER AT THE CURRIE BARRACKS…IT MUST HAVE BEEN 1967 OR SOMETHING.” “I KNOW WE VERY SELDOM WENT ON FAMILY HOLIDAYS BECAUSE HE USUALLY TOOK THE HOLIDAYS THAT HE GOT, AND HE’D EITHER GO TO SHILO, OR HE’D GO UP HERE, AND THEY SPENT A LOT OF TIME OUT AT SUFFIELD, ON THE RANGE OUT THERE, SO HOLIDAYS WERE TIED INTO THAT. WHEN HE WAS LIEUTENANT-COLONEL, THAT WAS ALMOST LIKE A FULL-TIME JOB…WE NEVER SAW HIM. HE WOULD BE TRAVELING ON THE ROAD, AND THEN HE’D COME HOME, I THINK IT WAS THURSDAY NIGHT. THURSDAY NIGHT WAS…YOUNG SOLDIERS…AND THEN TUESDAY NIGHT WAS WHEN THE OFFICERS AND THE NCO’S WOULD DO SOMETHING, SO THOSE TWO NIGHTS WERE TAKEN UP. SATURDAY, HE’D BE OUT THERE. SUNDAY, HE’D BE OUT THERE…HE PUT IN 40 HOURS A WEEK OR MORE DOING THAT, AS A JOB, AS WELL AS HIS JOB AS AN INSURANCE SALESMAN.” AINSCOUGH ELABORATED ON HIS MOTIVES FOR DONATING THE COLLECTION, STATING, “I THINK [THE OBJECTS ARE] A BIG PART OF SOUTH ALBERTA’S HISTORY. DAD WAS VERY ACTIVE IN THE MILITARY AND THE MILITIA FOR MANY YEARS. I THINK THAT’S THE BIGGEST PART [OF WANTING TO DONATE THE OBJECTS]…IT’S DIVESTING, BECAUSE AFTER MY DAD DIED [IN 1992], MY MOTHER STAYED IN THE HOUSE FOR ABOUT 5 YEARS, AND THEN SHE MOVED OUT TO THE COAST. IT WAS AT THAT TIME, WHEN WE WERE GOING THROUGH THE STUFF IN THE HOUSE, THAT WE THOUGHT THIS IS A GOOD TIME TO GET IT DOWN TO SOMEPLACE LIKE THE GALT THAT WOULD LOOK AFTER IT.” THE DONOR’S GREAT GRANDFATHER, WILLIAM THOMAS AINSCOUGH, MARRIED MARGARET A. AINSCOUGH IN 1878 AND EMIGRATED FROM SMITHFIELD, UTAH TO CANADA IN 1898, BRINGING SIX CHILDREN, AGED 1 TO 18, WITH THEM. WILLIAM GEORGE AINSCOUGH, THE DONOR’S GRANDFATHER, WAS AMONG THE CHILDREN (BORN 1885). THE AINSCOUGHS INITIALLY SETTLED IN WHISKEY GAP, ALBERTA, BEFORE RELOCATING TO WOOLFORD, ALBERTA. ACCORDING A RESUME FOR REED W. AINSCOUGH INCLUDED IN THE PERMANENT FILE, REED WILSON AINSCOUGH WAS BORN ON JUNE 21, 1918 IN CARDSTON, ALBERTA. IN 1940, REED AINSCOUGH JOINED THE 93RD BATTERY OF THE ROYAL CANADIAN ARTILLERY [RCA] STATIONED AT FORT MACLEOD, ALBERTA, AND WAS PROMOTED TO A SECOND LIEUTENANT. REED AINSCOUGH WAS POSTED OVERSEAS IN 1942 AND SERVED UNTIL HIS DISCHARGE ON JANUARY 8, 1946. LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLES REPORTED REED AINSCOUGH AS BEING IN THE THICK OF THE FIGHTING IN FRANCE, NOTABLY AT CAEN. IT WAS REPORTED IN THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD IN 1944 THAT REED AINSCOUGH WAS PROMOTED TO CAPTAIN, AND WAS WOUNDED IN HIS LEG IN OCTOBER 1944. REED AINSCOUGH WAS SENT TO BELGIUM FOR SURGERY AND TO BE HOSPITALIZED, AND WAS RETURNED TO CANADA ON THE HOSPITAL SHIP H.M.C.S. LADY NELSON IN 1945. IN 1947, REED AINSCOUGH BECAME THE BATTERY COMMANDER OF THE 93RD BATTERY RCA, AND SERVED AS THE COMMANDER UNTIL 1959, BEING PROMOTED TO MAJOR IN 1951. IN 1959, UPON A TRANSFER WITH HIS EMPLOYMENT AT CANADA LIFE, HE MOVED TO MEDICINE HAT, ALBERTA, AND JOINED THE SOUTH ALBERTA LIGHT HORSE AS A SQUADRON COMMANDER IN 1961. IN 1964, HE WAS PROMOTED TO LIEUTENANT COLONEL AND COMMANDER OF THE SOUTH ALBERTA LIGHT HORSE, AND WAS APPOINTED AIDE-DE-CAMP TO LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR GRANT MACEWAN UNTIL HIS RETIREMENT. REED AINSCOUGH WAS PROMOTED TO BRANCH MANAGER OF CANADA LIFE IN LETHBRIDGE, ALBERTA, IN 1969 AND MOVED TO LETHBRIDGE. HE WAS A MEMBER OF THE MASONIC LODGE, LODGE OF PERFECTION, ROSE CROIX, CONSISTORY, SHRINE, ORDER OF THE EASTERN STAR, AND SERVED AS THE MASTER OF THE LODGE OF PERFECTION UNTIL 1977. ACCORDING TO HIS LETHBRIDGE HERALD OBITUARY, REED AINSCOUGH WAS ALSO ACTIVE WITH THE FORT MACLEOD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, LIONS’ CLUB, HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION, AND FORT MACLEOD MUSEUM DURING HIS TIME LIVING IN FORT MACLEOD. IN MEDICINE HAT, AISNCOUGH SERVED AS PRESIDENT OF THE HEART AND STROKE ASSOCIATION, AND ACTED AS A SENATOR FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE UPON MOVING TO THE CITY. ON OCTOBER 20, 1993, REED WILSON AINSCOUGH PASSED AWAY IN LETHBRIDGE. FOR MORE INFORMATION INCLUDING FAMILY MILITARY SERVICE FILES, NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS ON WILLIAM GEORGE AND REED AINSCOUGH, A RESUME FOR REED AINSCOUGH, AND THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION, PLEASE SEE THE PERMANENT FILE P20160017001-GA.

Catalogue Number

P20160017001

Acquisition Date

2016-06

Collection

Museum

Less detail