Captain Francis Alexander Scrimger VC in the Great War

First Canadian Officer Victoria Cross

Captain Francis Alexander Caron Scrimger VC born in Montreal, Quebec, on 10 February 1881 and earned his medical degree from McGill University in 1905. Service in the Great War as Surgeon with the Canadian Army Medical Corps.

Scrimger’s paternal grandparents emigrated from Scotland to Galt (Cambridge), Upper Canada, where his father born and raised. His Scottish/Welsh mother born and raised in Bayfield. Francis the second of five children born in Montreal.

First Contingent to Demobilization

Scrimger in the front line trenches with the 14th Battalion, Royal Montreal Regiment, and on the battlefields with No. 3 Casualty Clearing Station and No. 50 Casualty Clearing Station (1/1st Northumbrian, Imperial Forces). He also served with No. 1 Canadian General Hospital, and two postings with No. 3 Canadian General Hospital, the latter as Lieutenant-Colonel.

In Flanders Fields

Scrimger may have urged Lt-Col John McCrae to publish In Flanders Fields shortly after the Second Batttle of Ypres. Flanders the site of Scrimger’s VC action and the first time Canadians made a difference in the war, preventing an early victory for the German Army.

Royal Montreal Regiment

The 14th Battalion organized in Valcartier Camp in September 1914 composed of recruits from Montreal. Initially commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel F S Meighen.

Prior to the outbreak of the war, Scrimger commissioned a Captain in the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). On 13 April 1912 appointed medical officer of the Montreal Heavy Brigade, Canadian Artillery.

Valcartier Camp

At Valcartier Camp, Captain F A C Scrimger, CAMC, relieved Captain Harry Lorne Pavey, CAMC, as Battalion Medical Officer of the 14th Battalion, Royal Montreal Regiment on 22 September 1914. Pavey later MO of the 60th Battalion, and various other units.

Bugler Anthony Ginley

One of the first ‘men’ Captain Scrimger inoculates at Valcartier – Bugler Anthony Ginley. Only 14 years of age, and 4′ 8 ” tall.

First Contingent

The 14th Battalion embarked from Quebec 30 September 1914 aboard ALAUNIA and ANDANIA, with the First Contingent. Later disembarked England 16 October 1914 with a strength of 46 officers, 1101 other ranks.

Once again on 2 October 1914, aboard SS ANDANIA, Captain Scrimger examines Bugler Anthony Ginley, noting he has ‘gained’ a few inches, now an even 5′ tall and 100 pounds. Note height descriptions in service files often inaccurate – usually an estimate by the RSM. Medical file descriptions more reliable.

England

A miserable experience training on Salisbury Plain in the winter of 1914/1915 awaits the Battalion.

Spiro-meningitis spreads through the camp. Captain Scrimger in poor health in December and early in 1915. Feverish on 3 January 1915, and later discharged from Netheravon Hospital on 11 January 1915.

Scrimger still in hospital while the Royal Montreal Regiment Officers gathered for a group photo at Cassel. Scrimger readmitted later in January for strep throat, missing his opportunity to sail with the unit to France.

France

The Royal Montreal Regiment disembarked in France from HMT AUSTRALIND (a captured German cargo ship) on 10 February 1915. With the 1st Canadian Division, 3rd Canadian Infantry Brigade, and later reinforced by 23rd Canadian Reserve Battalion. Also on board 1st Canadian Heavy Battery commanded by Major F C Magee.

Canadians oblivious at this time their eventual destination lies in Flanders Fields. Hazebrouck reached at 6 am on 18 February. Five days spent at Flêtre, before marching by way of Meteren and Nieppe to Armentières where Captain Scrimger caught up to the battalion.

On 24 February, several platoons enter the front lines for instruction. Other ranks unaware they are now entering Belgium. First casualty on the night of 27 February with Pte Robert Charles Eaton of No.1 Coy wounded.

Battle of Neuve Chapelle

The 14th Battalion not called upon as expected at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle. Though seeing and hearing plenty of action, the battalion moved back to billets at Rue du Quesne on 13 March 1915. In mid-April the Canadian Divison completed a short rest and moved forward into the Ypres Salient. The scale of the war soon to be indelibly impressed upon the regiment.

Second Battle of Ypres

The first successful mass-scale gas attack of the Great War occurred in the late afternoon of 22 April 1915.

That day of battle in the dusty heat
We lay and heard the bullets swish and sing
Like scythes amind the over-ripened wheat,
And we the harvest of their garnering.

John McCrae

Chlorine Gas

The second mass-scale gas attack occurred on 24 April 1915. The Royal Montreal Regiment engaged in both actions. Scrimger credited with instructing Canadian troops to urinate on their handkerchiefs during a chlorine gas attack and to breathe through them. A practice credited with saving hundreds of lives.

Captain Scrimger, who was aware that the gas was water-soluble, instructed the men in his battalion to urinate into their handkerchiefs and hold them over their mouths when he saw the green clouds approaching.

Royal Montreal Regiment

Yser Canal

On the night of Sunday, 25 April 1915, Nos. 2, 3, and 4 Companies of the Royal Montreal Regiment withdrawn behind the Yser Canal. For a while the men thought that their experiences in the Second Battle of Ypres over. Reserves too short, however. On the morning of 26 April 1915 the companies ordered forward to near St. Jean to support an attack being delivered by the French.

Counter-attacks took place at several points on the front this day. The companies of the 14th suffered from the inevitable back lash of shell and rifle fire. Amongst the casualties from this fire was Major Gault McCombe. Struck in the leg by a bullet, but remained at duty for several days thereafter. Eventually the bullet extracted from the leg by Captain Scrimger, the Battalion M.O.

Victoria Cross Action of Captain Francis Scrimger VC

Although the foregoing account omits the work of the 14th Battalion, Royal Montreal Regiment, in the Second Battle of Ypres, certain incidents deserve special mention. At the outbreak of the battle Captain F A C Scrimger, the original Medical Officer of the Battalion, in charge of an advanced dressing station at Wieltje, when French coloured troops poured back from the broken front line.

Royal Montreal Regiment

Turcos

A part of this stream halted at the dressing station where Scrimger at work, and some of the poor ‘Turcos’, crawling on the floor, sought comfort by clinging to the M.O’s. coat. Never before had Scrimger seen such terrible mass fear. No attempt to pacify or reassure these individuals could be successful. Their morale shattered, and weeks must elapse before it could be restored.

Royal Montreal Regiment

Disobeyed Direct Order

On the following day, Captain H A Boyd, Medical Officer of the 14th Battalion, having been wounded, Captain Scrimger attached to his old unit and ordered to report for duty at 3rd Brigade Headquarters. That afternoon the vicinity of Headquarters shelled and Captain Scrimger, together with other medical officers present, ordered to the rear. This order the M.O. of the 14th could not see his way to obey. Instead he proceeded to the GHQ trenches, occupied by Nos. 1, 3, and 4 Companies of his Regiment, and there, under fire, dressed the wounds of five men who had been badly injured.

Royal Montreal Regiment

Captain McDonald Wounded

Numerous wounded lay in the farm stable when the shelling intensified, and these, with the assistance of a small band of devoted stretcher bearers, under Sergeant Bethell, Captain Scrimger removed to safety. Among the wounded a staff officer, Captain McDonald. Supporting this helpless officer, Scrimger made his way out of the burning dressing station, only to run into shell fire. Refusing to abandon the wounded man, the Medical Officer lay with him at the side of a ditch, while some seventy-five 6-inch shells exploded around them.

Royal Montreal Regiment

Royal Montreal Regiment

First Canadian Officer to Merit the VC

Five shells fell within fifteen feet of the lying men, who were dazed by the concussion and half smothered by the flying mud. Eventually, when the shelling subsided, Scrimger staggered with his wounded companion to safety. For his valour in effecting the rescue just described, and for his great devotion to duty throughout the period from April 22nd to April 25th, Captain Scrimger awarded the Victoria Cross, the first Canadian officer to merit this most coveted of all distinctions in the Great War.

RMR

Nursing Sister Ellen Emerson Carpenter

Ellen Emerson Carpenter, a graduate nurse born on 14 December 1889 in Rome, Italy. She happened to enlist with CAMC in Montreal on 22 April 1915, the day of the first gas attacks in Belgium. NS E E Carpenter left Canada on 6 May 1915 with No. 3 Canadian General Hospital. She soon found herself working at No. 1 Canadian General Hospital, Etaples on 28 May 1915. At the tail end of the Battle of Festubert debacle.

Battle of Festubert

While the British and German dead buried by parties of the 14th [RMR], Captain Scrimger, who had established a dressing station at Indian Village, cared for the wounded. The Medical Officer of the 13th Battalion sick at this time, and accordingly Captain Scrimger, Captain Taylor, MO of the 15th Battalion, and Captain Gillies, MO of the 16th Battalion, placed upon them the medical work of the whole Brigade.

The task of collecting the wounded at night, amid the complicated maze of trenches, mud, and watery ditches, exhausting in the extreme. Captain Scrimger slightly wounded on one occasion and, during an attempt to reach the forward area on another, became lost and spent two hours of falling into shell holes and water-filled ditches. No rest possible on his return, however, as the wounded required constant attention.

Stretcher Bearers

The devotion to duty practiced by the Medical Officer during these trying days and nights undoubtedly stimulated the Battalion stretcher bearers, who, throughout the engagement, toiled unsparingly at their task. But the stretcher bearers not alone in their effort to help the wounded.

Bugler Anthony Ginley DCM

On the night of 18 May 1915 Bugler Anthony Ginley 26265, now aged 15, twice made his way back from the front of No. 3 Coy. to guide stretcher bearers up through heavy shelling to a spot where wounded men were waiting.

“The daring of this young soldier and the uncanny skill with which he picked his way over the difficult ground held by all ranks of the Regiment to be worthy of the highest commendation.“

Commanding Officer, Royal Montreal Regiment

Ginley later awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM).

Scrimger’s Victoria Cross Announced

On the night of 22 June 1915, the 14th Battalion moved forward to reserve trenches (Givenchy Sector), and there passed two quiet and uneventful days, being relieved at 8 pm on the 24th by the 2/6th Battalion, Gordon Highlanders, and returning to billets at Beuvry.

Inspection by Brig-Gen Turner

On the following day the Battalion inspected by Brig.-General Turner, who announced that the Distinguished Service Order had been awarded to LtCol W. W. Burland and that, for bravery and devotion at the Second Battle of Ypres, Captain Francis Scrimger VC, Medical Officer of the Battalion, had been granted the Victoria Cross.

Regiment Celebrates

Rain fell during the inspection, but failed to dampen the enthusiasm of the troops, who cheered heartily. Obviously the honours gained by the Commanding Officer and the Medical Officer, Captain Francis Scrimger VC, approved by all ranks of the Battalion.

Buckingham Palace

On 21 July 1915, Captain Francis Scrimger VC decorated by King George V at Buckingham Palace. He also sat for his portrait by Archibald George Barnes.

The serenity Barnes’ work won many admirers in a traumatized post-war world and he was later elected a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters in 1923, the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours in 1924 and the Royal Institute of Oil Painters in 1925.

While Scrimger receives his VC in England, NS Ellen Emerson Carpenter transferred to No. 3 Canadian General Hospital, Camiers on 23 July 1915.

On 28 August 1915, Bugler Anthony Ginley DCM awarded 5 Days F.P. No. 2 for slovenly conduct out of bounds (8 August 1915).

Medical VCs in the Great War

Eleven Medical Officers merited the Victoria Cross in the Great War. Three arguably Canadian. One earned the VC prior to the war, and another awarded two VCs after Scrimger’s VC! Captain Arthur Martin-Leake VC began the Great War as the first double-recipient, having earned his first in the Boer War.

Scrimger’s action pre-dated the actions of the second double-recipient, Captain Noel Godfrey Chavasse VC & Bar (1 July 1916 and 16 September 1917). Only Captain Charles Upham VC & Bar (Second World War) would later join this very exclusive club of double-recipients of the British Empire’s most coveted medal.

Chronologically, Medical Officer VC actions in the Great War follow.

• Captain Henry Sherwood Ranken VC
• Lt Arthur Martin-Leake VC & Bar
• Lt George Allan Maling VC
• Captain Francis Alexander Scrimger VC
• Captain John Alexander Sinton VC
• Captain John Leslie Green VC
• Lt William Barnsley Allen VC
• Captain Noel Godfrey Chavasse VC, MC
• Captain Harold Ackroyd VC, MC
• Captain Noel Godfrey Chavasse VC & Bar, MC
• Captain John Fox-Russell VC
• Captain Bellenden Seymour Hutcheson VC, MC

Captain Harry Sherwood Ranken VC

For tending wounded in the trenches under rifle and shrapnel fire at Hautvesnes on 19th September, and on 20th September (1914) continuing to attend to wounded after thigh and leg had been shattered. Posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.

Lt Arthur Martin-Leake VC & Bar

Lieutenant Arthur Martin Leake, RAMC, previously awarded the Victoria Cross on 13 May 1902, granted a Clasp for conspicuous bravery in the present campaign.

For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty throughout the campaign, especially during the period 29th October to 8th November, 1914, near Zonnebeke, in rescuing, whilst exposed to constant fire, a large number of the wounded who were lying close to the enemy’s trenches.

Lt George Allan Maling VC

For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty during the heavy fighting near Fauquissart on 25 September 1915. Lieutenant Maling worked incessantly with untiring energy from 6.15 a.m. on the 25th till 8 a.m. on the 26th, collecting and treating in the open under heavy shell fire more than 300 men.

At about 11 a.m. on the 25th he was flung down and temporarily stunned by the bursting of a large high-explosive shell, which wounded his only assistant and killed several of his patients. A second shell soon after covered him and his instruments with debris, but his high courage and zeal never failed him and he continued his gallant work single-handed.

Captain Francis Alexander Caron Scrimger VC

On the afternoon of 25th April, 1915, in the neighbourhood of Ypres, when in charge of an advanced dressing station in some farm buildings, which were being heavily shelled by the enemy, he directed under heavy fire the removal of the wounded, and he himself carried a severely wounded Officer out of a stable in search of a place of greater safety.

When he was unable alone to carry this Officer further, he remained with him under fire till help could be obtained. During the very heavy fighting between 22nd and 25th April, Captain Scrimger displayed continuously day and night the greatest devotion to his duty among the wounded at the front.

Captain John Alexander Sinton VC

Brigadier John Alexander Sinton VC OBE FRS DL born in Victoria, British Columbia on 2 December 1884. As a Captain with the Indian Medical Service he earned his VC at the Orah Ruins, Mesopotamia on 21 January 1916.

For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty. Although shot through both arms and through the side, he refused to go to hospital, and remained as long as daylight lasted, attending to his duties under very heavy fire. In three previous actions Captain Sinton displayed the utmost bravery.

Captain John Leslie Green VC

For most conspicuous devotion to duty on 1 July 1916. Although himself wounded, he went to the assistance of an officer who had been wounded and was hung up on the enemy’s wire entanglements, and succeeded in dragging him to a shell hole, where he dressed his wounds, notwithstanding that bombs and rifle grenades were thrown at him the whole time.

Captain Green then endeavoured to bring the wounded officer into safe cover, and had nearly succeeded in doing so when he himself was killed.

Lt William Barnsley Allen VC

3rd September 1916 For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty. When gun detachments were unloading H.E. ammunition from wagons which had just come up, the enemy suddenly began to shell the battery position. The first shell fell on one of the limbers, exploded the ammunition and caused several casualties.

Captain Allen saw the occurrence and at once, with utter disregard of danger, ran straight across the open, under heavy shell fire, commenced dressing the wounded, and undoubtedly by his promptness saved many of them from bleeding to death.

He was himself hit four times during the first hour by pieces of shells, one of which fractured two of his ribs, but he never even mentioned this at the time, and coolly went on with his work till the last man was dressed and safely removed.
He then went over to another battery and tended a wounded officer. It was only when this was done that he returned to his dug-out and reported his own injury.

Captain Noel Godfrey Chavasse VC & Bar MC

16th September, 1916 On the 16th September, 1916, for most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty.

During an attack he tended the wounded in the open all day, under heavy fire, frequently in view of the enemy. During the ensuing night he searched for wounded on the ground in front of the enemy’s lines for four hours.

Next day he took one stretcher-bearer to the advanced trenches, and under heavy shell fire carried an urgent case for 500 yards into safety, being wounded in the side by a shell splinter during the journey. The same night he took up a party of twenty volunteers, rescued three wounded men from a shell hole twenty-five yards from the enemy’s trench, buried the bodies of two officers, and collected many identity discs, although fired on by bombs and machine guns.

Altogether he saved the lives of some twenty badly wounded men, besides the ordinary cases which passed through his hands. His courage and self-sacrifice, were beyond praise.

Bar

1st August, 1917 For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty when in action. Though severely wounded early in the action whilst carrying a wounded soldier to the Dressing Station, Capt. Chavasse refused to leave his post, and for two days not only continued to perform his duties, but in addition went out repeatedly under heavy fire to search for and attend to the wounded who were lying out. During these searches, although practically without food during this period, worn with fatigue and faint with his wound, he assisted to carry in a number of badly wounded men, over heavy and difficult ground. By his extraordinary energy and inspiring example, he was instrumental in rescuing many wounded who would have otherwise undoubtedly succumbed under the bad weather conditions. This devoted and gallant officer subsequently died of his wounds.

Captain Harold Ackroyd VC MC

31st July – 1st August 1917 For most conspicuous bravery. During recent operations Capt. Ackroyd displayed the greatest gallantry and devotion to duty. Utterly regardless of danger, he worked continuously for many hours up and down and in front of the line tending the wounded and saving the lives of officers and men. In so doing he had to move across the open under heavy machine-gun, rifle and shell fire.

He carried a wounded officer to a place of safety under very heavy fire. On another occasion he went some way in front of our advanced line and brought in a wounded man under continuous sniping and machine-gun fire. His heroism was the means of saving many lives, and provided a magnificent example of courage, cheerfulness, and determination to the fighting men in whose midst he was carrying out his splendid work. This gallant officer has since been killed in action.

Captain John Fox-Russell VC

6th November 1917 For most conspicuous bravery displayed in action until he was killed.

Captain Russell repeatedly went out to attend the wounded under murderous fire from snipers and machine-guns, and in many cases, when no other means were at hand, carried them in himself, although almost exhausted.
He showed the greatest possible degree of valour.

Captain Bellenden Seymour Hutcheson VC MC

Bellenden Seymour Hutcheson born in Mount Carmel, Illinois, on 16 December 1883. Educated at Mound City High School and graduated from Northwestern Medical School as a physician and surgeon. He renounced his American citizenship to join the Canadian Army Medical Corps in 1915, yet reclaimed it after the war.

Military Cross

Hutcheson went overseas as a medical officer of the 97th “American Legion” Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, with the rank of Captain. He
later transferred to the 75th (Toronto Scots) Battalion and became its
medical officer. Awarded the Military Cross for his actions during the opening day of the Battle of Amiens, 8 August 1918, dressing the wounded under heavy enemy fire.

September 2, 1918 For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty on September 2nd, 1918, when under most intense shell, machine-gun and rifle fire, he went through the Queant-Drocourt Support Line with the battalion. Without hesitation and with utter disregard of personal safety he remained on the field until every wounded man had been attended to.

He dressed the wounds of a seriously wounded officer under terrific machine-gun and shell fire, and, with the assistance of prisoners and of his own men, succeeded in evacuating him to safety, despite the fact that the bearer party suffered heavy casualties. Immediately afterwards he rushed forward, in full view of the enemy, under heavy machine-gun and rifle fire, to tend a wounded sergeant, and, having placed him in a shell-hole, dressed his wounds. Captain Hutcheson performed many similar gallant acts, and, by his coolness and devotion to duty, many lives were saved.

Ellen’s Return to England

Nursing Sister Ellen E Carpenter temporarily transferred to Military Hospital, Shorncliffe on 8 December 1915, barely missing the arrival of Captain Francis Scrimger VC to No. 1 CGH.

Christmas 1915

Reaching Kortepyp Huts late on the night of December 24th, the men of the 14th turned in for a few hours’ sleep and then gave themselves over to celebration of the Christmas holiday.

Routine training resumed on the morning of the 26th and on the night of the 29th the unit moved into the front line once more. Some days later Trenches 139-141 heavily shelled, Sergeants Neilson and Cowan and ten men being wounded and two men killed. That same night Sergeant W C Blackett of the recently formed Scout Section accidentally killed while on patrol.

Farewell to Captain Francis Scrimger VC

A further loss to the Battalion at this time caused by departure of Captain Francis Scrimger VC to join the staff of No. 1 Canadian General Hospital. Captain Scrimger’s work as M.O. of the Regiment had been of the finest character and all ranks, appreciating what he had accomplished, joined in wishing him well.r

No. 1 Canadian General Hospital

First Encounter with Ellen

Captain Francis Scrimger VC posted to No.1 Canadian Field Hospital, 30 December 1915. No. 1 CGH organized at Valcartier 14 September 1914 initially under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Murray MacLaren. Most of personnel from No. 5 Field Ambulance (Active Militia), Montreal. No.1 Canadian General Hospital had as its basis, the volunteers, officers and men from No. 5 Field Ambulance.

On 18 January 1916, Captain Francis Scrimger VC making an incision into the hand of a patient. He accidentally sliced his own finger. The following day, Nursing Sister Ellen E Carpenter ToS No. 3 CGH. Ellen expecting to work with a Canadian Hero, not treating one as a patient. The finger of Captain Francis Scrimger VC infected, painful and swollen on the 22nd. Worse by the 25th and on 29 January 1916, Francis says good bye to Ellen. Sent to the LIVERPOOL MERCHANTS HOSPITAL, Etaples.

Francis’ Return to England

Captain Francis Scrimger VC invalided to England from Etaples on 26 February 1916. Surgery to amputate his septic finger at Granville Special Hospital on 6 May 1916.

Granville Canadian Hospital Ramsgate

Captain Francis Scrimger VC’s myopic astigmatism also aggravated by service. He now has only 6/60 uncorrected vision in both eyes. Scrimger granted a month’s sick leave before returning to duty in London when the Medical Board at Granville Hospital, Ramsgate on 4 July 1916 declares him fit for duty.

Surgeon Captain Francis Scrimger VC remains on the staff of the Canadian Army Hospital at Ramsgate.

Bugler Anthony Ginley DCM Duped

Meanwhile, Bugler Anthony Ginley DCM of Scrimger’s former unit, the RMR, accepts a Leave to the UK on 11 April 1916. Ginley believes the leave is to recover from his recent sprained foot. Just turned 16, Anthony unaware he has been tricked, and on his way to being discharged as under-aged.

By 30 May 1916, Bugler Anthony Ginley DCM, discharged from service in Ottawa. Ginley’s story not yet over. Ginley subsequently served in Canada with the 207th Infantry Battalion. He returns to England in June of 1917 with the CAMC.

Captain William Gratton Lyall

Captain William Gratton Lyall attached to Borden’s & Eaton’s MG Battery as Medical Officer, joined No. 3 Casualty Clearing Station on 3 October 1916. Lyall later joins Captain Francis Scrimger VC’s surgical team in March of 1917.

Captain Francis Scrimger VC posted to Hastings on 28 November 1916. But, he returned to his posting at Ramgsate in London on 1 January 1917, now with the rank of Major.

Ellen’s Return to England

NS Ellen E Carpenter granted leave to England from No. 3 CGH on 2 January 1917. A year since Ellen and Francis have been together. Only a fortnight together before her return to France.

Ellen’s Return to France

Nursing Sister Carpenter returns to No. 3 Canadian General Hospital on 15 January 1917. Captain Francis Scrimger VC returns six weeks later, but with No. 3 CCS. He will have to wait until the end of the year to see Ellen again when she is also temporarily posted to No. 3 CCS.

Francis’ Return to France

Major Francis Scrimger VC ToS No. 3 Casualty Clearing Station on 3 March 1917, Remy Siding.

No. 3 Casualty Clearing Station

No. 3 Casualty Clearing Station organized in Winnipeg in June 1915 initially under the command of Lt-Col R J Blanchard. Left Montreal aboard SS GRAMPION on 1 July 1915, arriving later in England on 10 July 1915 with a strength of 8 officers and 97 other ranks. Stationed at Moore Barracks Military Hospital, Shorncliffe until 6 February 1916 when attached to 2nd Army Troops, BEF at Remy-Siding.

Private Anthony Ginley DCM Returns to England

Private Anthony Ginley DCM, formerly of the Royal Montreal Regiment, and still under-age, returned to England on 9 June 1917 with the CAMC, but remains at Shorncliffe until May 1918.

Ellen’s Leave

NS Carpenter granted 14 days leave from 20 September 1917 to 5 October 1917.

Francis’ Leave

Granted 14 days leave 24 November 1917, rejoining No. 3 CCS from leave on 9 December 1917.

Much to Scrimger’s delight, he learns Ellen has been transferred to No. 3 CCS on 18 December 1917.

Operation Michael

On 18 March 1918 shells fall close to the Nursing Quarters. The next day, the front comes too close to No. 3 CCS, and again, far too close to the Nursing Quarters. Admissions closed, and the Nurses, with the exception of Ellen, evacuated to St. Omer. On the 25th the remainder of the unit evacuated.

However, just before the unit moved, on 21 March 1918, Major Francis Scrimger VC and his surgical team attached for temporary duty with No. 50 Casualty Clearing Station, Imperial Forces.

With the Canadian Corps deliberately avoided by the German Army in their Final Spring Offensive, Scrimger gets a chance to return to the front lines with the BEF.

No. 50 Casualty Clearing Station (1/1st Northumbrian, Territorial Force)

War Diary begins by calling the unit “1st Northumbrian Divisional Casualty Clearing Station”. On 30 May 1915 arrived by rail at Hazebrouck via Boulogne, initially attached to 10 CCS. Left No. 10 CCS on 19 June 1915and set up in the old Préfecture and on Rue de l’Orphilenat – remained for almost two years. Moved to Mont des Cats on 27 May 1917 and to Roye on 24 February 1918. Moved by lorry to Hargicourt and later on to Namps-au-Val, 26 March 1918.

East of Amiens, with No. 50 CCS, Scrimger assembled his team that included NS Carpenter. They worked incessantly until the order to evacuate received. Scrimger, his team, and an Irish medical officer remained, however, to care for about 50 wounded men.

They managed to get the patients to a road crowded with retreating artillery troops and persuaded the soldiers to carry their comrades to safety, some upon the gun carriages. Scrimger and his colleagues returned to the station to retrieve their equipment, which they wheeled on stretchers for 30 miles to return to No. 3 CCS. 

Frévent 

The Nurses returned from St Omer and No. 3 CCS set up in the old recreation area of No. 6 Stationary Hospital, Frévent, Pas-de-Calais on 26 March 1918.

NS E E Carpenter Mentioned in Despatches

Nursing Sister Ellen E Carpenter Mentioned in Despatches (MiD), 28 May 1918, London Gazette No. 30706. Captain W Lyall of the surgical team also Mentioned in Despatches, and several members of No. 50 CCS. Scrimger certainly deserved a MiD, or a Military Cross. His actions previously during the Battle of Festubert may have warranted a Bar to the VC. A superior officer unable to nominate Scrimger since his actions not witnessed by a Commissioned Officer at Festubert, and for that matter, with No. 50 CCS.

Francis’ surgical team returned to No. 3 CCS from his tour with the BEF on 29 March 1918. News of Ellen’s MiD reach the unit three days later.

Scrimger’s Surgical Team Joins No. 3 CGH

While preparations effected at No. 3 Hospital to accommodate greater numbers of casualties, news from the front brought to the unit by Major F. A. C. Scrimger, V.C., Captain William Gratton Lyall, Nursing Sister E E Carpenter, and Privates John Parkinson 2348, Henry ‘Harry’ Joseph Shipman 2364, and Alfred Henry Coles 527548, all members of a surgical team who had walked 30 miles, pushing their equipment on a wheeled stretcher, after having been driven out of Roye by the enemy.

No. 3 Canadian General Hospital

No. 3 Canadian General Hospital

No. 3 CGH organized on 5 March 1915 as No. 3 General Hospital (McGill). Commanded by Colonel H. S. Birkett. Designation changed to No. 3 Canadian General Hospital on 18 June 1915. Recruited from McGill students and medical professors.

Left Montreal 6 May 1915 aboard METAGAMA. Later arrived at Plymouth 15 May 1915 with a strength of 104 officers, 205 other ranks. Arrived in France 18 June 1915.

ToS No. 3 Canadian General Hospital

Pending further orders, Scrimger’s Surgical Team ToS of No. 3 CGH. Major Francis Scrimger VC, had won the Victoria Cross at the Second Battle of Ypres, while serving as Medical Officer to the 14th Battalion, Royal Montreal Regiment. Thus he appeared on the establishment of No. 3 for the first time.

Nursing Sister Carpenter, however, knew the unit of old, having sailed with it from Canada and served previously on its strength in France.

Private Anthony Ginley DCM promoted to Corporal in May of 1918. But, he reverts in ranks the following month in the hopes of returning to the front.

Marriage

On 5 September 1918 Francis Alexander Caron Scrimger VC married Ellen Eason Emerson Carpenter at St. Columba’s Church, Pont Street, London. The service performed by the Rev’d. Archibald Fleming DD and the Rev’d. John Tudor Scrymgeour, Francis Scrimger’s brother, also serving in France as a chaplain and working with the YMCA.

Francis had met up with his brother Tudor earlier in the war, and they played a practical joke on Ellen. Frank introduced her to Tudor, remarking on the different spelling of his surname, but did not reveal that they were brothers until months later.

Departure of Private Alfred Henry Coles

On 27 September 1918, Private Alfred Henry Coles leaves Scrimger’s medical team bound for a career in the RAF.

On 3 October 1918 Major Francis Scrimger VC reported from No. 3 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station to replace Lt-Col A T Bazin, DSO, Officer in charge of Surgery. After a prolonged period of loyal service in France, both at the front and at the base, he proceeded to duty on Home Establishment.

Return to No. 3 Canadian General Hospital

Major Francis Scrimger VC SoS No. 3 Casualty Clearing Station on 2 October 1918 and reposted to No. 3 Canadian General Hospital in relief of Lt-Col Alfred Turner Bazin DSO.

Scrimger appointed Acting Lt-Col on 21 October 1918.

Return of Private Anthony Ginley DCM

Pte A G Ginley DCM proceeded back to Canada from Kinmel Park on 23 November 1918. SoS 10 January 1919 upon Demobilization. He now stood 5′ 4″ tall and 130 pounds at 18 years of age. Not awarded the Victoria Cross, but significantly, Anthony awarded the 14/15 Star in addition to the DCM.

In a letter to Col. Birkett, written on November 26th, Col. Drum mentioned the notable services rendered in the Surgical Department by Lt-Col Francis Scrimger VC, and Major L. H. McKim

Prisoners of War

In addition to the statement from the Officer in charge of Medicine, Col. Drum received a report on released prisoners of war from Lt-Col Francis Scrimger VC, Officer in charge of Surgery. Without doubt the most striking features in the condition of the 200 patients first admitted to the surgical wards were marked emaciation and the prevalence of skin diseases.

Generally speaking, the patients received during the first two weeks after the Armistice were in a worse condition than those arriving later, a fact explained by employment of the former immediately behind the German lines in France and Belgium. Work there had been exhausting, and food had been entirely inadequate. Prisoners coming from the heart of Germany, on the other hand, had been maintained during captivity by food parcels from England.

Skin Disease

As mentioned, skin disease amongst the released prisoners was common, and many suffered in addition from boot galls and infected sores on feet, arms, and legs. Sixteen of the cases had been wounded at the front and had undergone treatment in medical units of the German Army. In most instances, Lt-Col Francis Scrimger VC reported, the wounds showed that reasonably good care had been given them. Owing to the starved condition of the majority of the patients, however, mental dullness was most noticeable.

Death of Major & OMR H J Adair

On December 12th a telephone message stated that Major Hamilton John Adair had recovered consciousness and doing well. Col. Drum, Lt-Col Francis Scrimger VC, and Major Malloch visited him during the day and received a favourable report from the officer in charge of the case, who anticipated recovery in about two weeks.

Next day a message informed the Commanding Officer of No. 3 that the patient’s condition had changed for the worse. Major Malloch, Captain D. S. Lewis, and Captain G. H. Broughall, Church of England Chaplain, thereupon proceeded to No. 14, but there was nothing they could do. Major Adair unconscious and his pulse so feeble that it could be felt only with the greatest difficulty. No improvement occurred, and death took place at 3.15 o’clock in the afternoon of 13 December 1918.

Two days later, officers, nursing sisters, and other ranks of No. 3 Hospital attended the funeral at Terlincthun Cemetery. Major W. H. Tytler, Major N. G. Cooper, Captain A. M. Yeates, Captain R. M. Janes, Captain D. S. Lewis, Captain F. A. Brockenshire, and Captain D. C. Lochead acted as pall-bearers, and Captain Broughall read the burial service of the Church of England.

In the Hospital Diary, Col. Drum noted these details, and added: “I lose an old and tried comrade, with whom I have served for many years and at many stations. A splendid soldier and a reliable and efficient officer, he was straight as a die and true as steel.” That this opinion was shared by others was proved at the funeral, when officers and other ranks from all units in the area gathered voluntarily to pay their last respects.

Christmas 1918

December 25th dawned bright and clear, to the joy of the 1,165 patients at No. 3 Hospital. At 9.30 a.m. Col. Drum, Col. Elder, LtCol Scrimger, Major Malloch, Captain Fallis, Matron MacLatchy, Nursing Sister Hoerner, Nursing Sister Wright, and Sergt.-Major Finlay commenced an official tour of the wards and departments of the Hospital, which were decorated more elaborately than ever before.

Orchestra

At 11 a.m. patients were given a Christmas dinner that left little to be desired. At noon other ranks of the Hospital dined joyously in the Canadian Red Cross Recreation Hut. By kind permission of LtCol T. M. Carter, R.A.M.C., ten pieces from the orchestra of No. 7 Convalescent Depot played during the meal. After visiting this feast, the Commanding Officer and his party proceeded to the Sergeants’ Mess. A warm welcome awaited them.

At 6 p.m. the nursing sisters on night duty dined in the Red Cross Hut; and at 7.30 p.m. a dinner for officers and the remaining nursing sisters was held. Guests on this occasion, in addition to Col. Elder and LtCol Turner, included Brigadier-General J. F. Embury, C.M.G., D.S.O., and Brigadier-General A. E. Ross, C.B., C.M.G., of the Canadian Section, G.H.Q. After the toast to the King had been drunk, “Absent Friends” proposed by the Commanding Officer and honoured with traditional ceremony. Tables were then cleared for a dance, which continued until midnight. As the clock struck twelve, a full orchestra, loaned by Col. Marshall, O.C. No. 1 Convalescent Depot, led in the singing of Auld Lang Syne.

Demobilization

On 10 March 1919, 21 other ranks proceeded to the Canadian General Base Depot for demobilization. Then on 13 March 1919 Lt-Col F A C Scrimger VC relinquished the post of Officer in charge of Surgery and proceeded to Home Establishment, being succeeded by Major L H McKim.

Throughout the month other officers followed to England. Some being replaced on the strength. Which on 1 April 1919 totaled 23 medical officers, 1 quartermaster, 1 dental surgeon, 2 chaplains, 1 matron, 15 nursing sisters, and 185 other ranks.

Memorial Service at St. Paul’s

Views at Memorial Service at St. Paul’s for Nurses who have fallen in the war, circa April 1919.

LtCol F A C Scrimger VC SoS of the CEF in Canada on General Demobilization 16 May 1919, MHQ Ottawa.

Scrimger’s Medical Team

Private John Parkinson

Private John Parkinson of Scrimger’s Medical Team, served the entire war with No. 3 CCS. Demobilized in Winnipeg on 22 May 1919. John died 28 April 1948 of acute broncho-pneumonia in Vancouver, BC.

Private Henry ‘Harry’ Joseph Shipman

Pte Henry Joseph Shipman demobilized on 23 September 1919, also in Winnipeg.

Private Alfred Henry Coles

Private Alfred Henry Coles joined the RAF after the Armistice and served in England until the following summer. He embarked for Canada on 8 July 1919 on the SS Megantic, sailing from Liverpool and landing at Quebec. Alfred attended the Vimy Memorial unveiling in 1936 with his wife Stella.

Royal Victoria Hospital

Scrimger appointed in the post-war years to the Chair of Surgery at McGill and to be Chief Surgeon of the Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH).

At first Scrimger served as assistant surgeon at the RVH and continued to practise privately.

• In 1921 appointed staff lecturer in clinical surgery at McGill.
• A founding fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in 1929
• In 1930 became a member of the American Surgical Association.
• In 1931 named assistant surgeon at the Children’s Memorial Hospital (CMH) and assistant professor of surgery at McGill.
• The following year promoted to the position of surgeon at the RVH and in 1933 to surgeon-in-chief of the CHM.

In 1932 Dr Scrimger removed a darning needle from the heart of a patient sent from Kitchener, Ontario. Newspapers in Toronto and Boston reported on the successful operation.

He published academic papers, book chapters, and a surgical handbook. According to his friend and colleague Edward Archibald, Scrimger’s greatest contributions to medicine his research on post-operative collapse of the lung, chronic lung abscess, and dilation of the oesophagus.

Death of Dr Francis Alexander Caron Scrimger VC

Scrimger overworked and his health suffered. In 1934 he diagnosed his own heart attack travelling from Montreal to Philadelphia and telegraphed ahead to a friend in Albany, to arrange for an ambulance to meet the train. In 1936 he succeeded Archibald as chief of surgery at the RVH and chair of McGill’s department of surgery.

Less than a year later Scrimger suffered a second fatal heart attack. Dr Scrimger VC died suddenly in Montreal on 13 February 1937.

Ellen Emmerson Carpenter Scrimger died 4 September 1973. Their daughter Elizabeth also lies in the family plot with her husband David Charles Fraser.

Canadian War Museum

On 17 October 2005 Lt.-Col. Scrimger’s VC and campaign medals presented to the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, by his three daughters of the Fraser, Corbett-Thompson and Wootton families of Montreal.

The Scrimger VC medal set consists of the Victoria Cross, the British War Medal 1914–1920 and the Victory Medal 1914–1919. Unknown if CWM has displayed the set in the museum. Thousands of artifacts remain in storage.

Captain Alexander Caron Scrimger

Scrimger’s only son, Captain Alexander Caron Scrimger (Arts, 1939-’41), 29th Canadian Reconnaissance Regiment (South Alberta Regiment), Canadian Armoured Corps, killed in action in Holland, 28 October 1944, aged 23 years.

Bugler Anthony Ginley DCM

Bugler Anthony Ginley DCM died 2 November 1945.

Dr Alfred Turner Bazin

Lt-Col Bazin rose to become professor of surgery at McGill in 1924 and chairman of the McGill department of Surgery in 1937-1938. He died 3 September 1958 and buried in Mount Royal Cemetery.

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