"B" at the beginning of a WWII Canadian service number?

Hello,

I am doing some genealogical research and came upon a Memorial Cross medal with the following info on the back:

B-161695 GNR J. G. Quinn

The gentleman's name was Joseph George QUINN. I know he died in 1953 so not during WWII, but perhaps of wounds suffered during WWII? I know he served in WWII as in 1944 he is listed in the Toronto City Directory as "Active Service".

Is there any significance to the letter "B" at the beginning of the service number? Thanks

 

Hello Owen, thank you so much for taking the time to reply, I really appreciate it. Do you know if there is any way I can find out more about his Memorial Cross medal? From what I have read online, it was given to the family of the soldier after his death. But he died in 1953. From what I understand, that means his death was a result of wounds that happened during his service in WWII? Also I looked up the rank of "GNR" and what I found was that he would have been in an artillery unit?

Should I post these questions in a separate thread about the Memorial Cross?

Cheers,

Georgia

 

GNR would be short for "gunner" which was the equivalent of a private in the artillery. (Though I imagine you picked up on that in your search.)

 

I was just reading about the Memorial Cross and wondered whether he went to Korea?

If the 161- number is his service number you could request his files from Library and Archives Canada.

 

I'll check out the Korea clue and look into officially requesting his file. A cousin of mine asked about the Memorial Cross at his local Legion after the person went and looked something up, my cousin was told that he couldn't get information about why this Memorial Cross was given because it was "classified". It seems odd that him being a GNR in the artillery in WWII would be classified so maybe he did go to Korea.

 

That does seem strange... but the records at LAC which are open are listed as:

• all military records before 1914
• service files for those who served in the First World War (1914 to 1918)
• service files for those who died in service during the Second World War or who subsequently died due to wartime injury or illness (1939 to 1947)
• records relating to medals, honours and awards

And everyone else's records are closed, so if it was due to injury in the SWW but he only died in 1953 then maybe because it was so long after the war, his records fall into the "closed" category.

Here's the link with info about making requests: https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/transparency/atippr/Pages/Access-information-military-files.aspx

 

Perhaps my cousin misunderstood "closed" for "classified", it could be that simple. I will tell him to make an official request for the service record.

Thank you again Owen, for all your assistance, I really appreciate it. Cheer!

 

Can you check this service number again…….in my records their is no such number……during WW2, part of the number also represented the “original unit” the person may have joined…..in this case their is NO number starting with B-161695 in the Canadian Army Active Service Force records…..the “last” number series is B156001 to B 157000

I check the Reserve Force, and all Service Numbers in “B” start are in the 400000 range up to 600000

So you may have an “extra” number in their???

Also, his Obit says he served in WW2 in the Canadian Tank Corps……..and his “trade” before he joined was Aeronautical Engineers in 1944 and he worked for the Victory Aircraft company

IF, I’m just guessing here, if the number was ACTUALLY B-61695, he would have joined “No. 2 District Depot, The Ontario Regiment” which make more sense as the Ontario Regiment WAS an Armoured Corps regiment….but this is me just guessing.

You may wish to check the Number again and the source

Cheers

 

Thank you for that excellent information. That makes a lot of sense, I will get a photo of the Memorial Cross, perhaps my cousin made a typo in the description.

Cheers

 

Thank you so much Chris for taking the time to help me out with this, is is an interesting mystery.

 

May I ask where you found the obituary for Joseph George QUINN? Thanks

 

I'm intrigued and would like to see the obit now.

I was at the Ontario Regiment museum for one of their live vehicle days last month.

 

I am curious to why his Memorial Cross would say "GNR"? Isn't that an Artillery rank?

 

The one I have is from the Globe and Mail Newspaper from 1953.

 

1. Records for WW II veterans not killed in combat are not closed, they are restricted. That means they may be obtainable based on other information (especially whether the person is alive or not and family connection), with various levels of access or redactions based on alive/deceased < 20 years/deceased > 20 years.
2. Certainly worth double checking that number, but it's not out of the question that blocks were assigned that have not been captured in references that document the blocks. I recall one example from many years ago that I discussed with Clive Law, author of one of these references and he thought this possible if not likely. That said, Clive's reference has the last MD2 block as B124501 - B125000, so Temujin seems to be working with a more current list.
3. Requests for personnel files were backed up beyond a 2 year wait as of early this year and it is likely significantly worse now. Requests have been shut down for some time this spring and will remain so until Sept or October. They are in the process of moving all restricted files to a new storage site. Covid has also impacted staffing. If you are interested in expediting in the fall, I can recommend an Ottawa researcher who can usually get a file in a few weeks and charges a reasonable fee. Drop me a PM.

 

Hi Kevin, thank for clarifying the situation for access to the service records. I will PM re the researcher if I can figure out how to do that. Cheers

 

I’ve gone thru the Greater Toronto City Directories for 1944,1945 & 1946……each one shows that he is living in Toronto, and the 1945 shows him as a “act ser” (acting sergeant?) but still located at the same address……..my search of Ancestry.ca show his “family tree” with similar information in it… I’m just checking 1946 now

IF he indeed he did serve in Korea, his Service Number would be different…..after the War, approx 1950, they changed the Service Numbers (for the individuals that stayed or joined the Army) with the letter “S” at the beginning, so they kept the same number but “S” was added to the front, eg SB-123456…..my father in law kept his original WW2 service number, but “S” was added to the beginning

Source: Regimental Numbers of the Canadian Army 1936 to 1960 by Clive M Law

And to answer Klambie questions, yes I’m working from Clive’s Revised Second Edition

 

I know have him located at the same address in Toronto in 1944, 1945 and 1946…..I can post these if you’d like……AND, I’m assuming that this is the correct man, the original info came from a Family tree on Ancestry.ca