Item Description
Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. This is a truly astounding WWI Musette bag marked on the back F.E. WOOTTON, identifying the bag to Francis Edward Wootton, OBE, MC, ED, who served for more than four years during the First World War and was awarded the Military Cross in 1919. He enlisted again during the Second World War and served from 1939 to 1945. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the last year of the war. He was also awarded the Canadian Efficiency Decoration for his long and meritorious service in the militia.
Wootton’s Military Cross Citation reads:
For conspicuous gallantry and determination during the attack on Blecourt on September 28th, 1918, and subsequent attack on Cuvillers on September 28th, he pushed forward and kept in touch with the infantry, sending down many important targets which were engaged by the battery. He remained at an observation post during the night under heavy shelling. The following day he did excellent work with the forward section, taking on enemy guns and troops in the open with good effect. Although slightly wounded, he remained on duty for three days and nights without food or sleep.
The bag is in fair condition for its age, and was absolutely carried by Wootton throughout most of the war. There is some damage to the leather, and the front flap is tearing a bit at both ends, but it is still solid. There is some staining on the interior as well. The bag retains its carrying strap and is in good shape overall.
The bag comes with ten pages of printed research including his Military Cross citation, biography, and other documents.
Francis was born on 19 January 1885 in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Around 1911 he moved to Winnipeg to attend Wesley College then he enrolled in engineering at the University of Manitoba in the fall of 1913. Francis enlisted in Winnipeg on 7 November 1914, three months after Britain entered the war. He said he was a member of the 90th Regiment, a Winnipeg-based militia unit, and he’d previously served with two other militia units. Francis was a big man, 6’4” and 190 lb with a 39” chest; his nickname in later years was Tiny. He signed up as a gunner with the 17th Battery, 5th Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery. He headed overseas as a reinforcement in June 1915, sailing from Montreal on the SS Northland on 1 July and arriving in England about ten days later. He was transferred to the 2nd Reserve Battery and stationed at Shorncliffe, where he trained as a signaller. In early October he was sent to France and later the same month he was assigned to the 1st Battery, 1st Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery. He spent the next 18 months as a signaller with this unit.
On 1 April 1917 Francis returned to England with the view of getting a commission. He was posted to the 2nd Reserve Battery and commissioned as a Lieutenant on 20 August 1917. In early September he attended an eight-day telephone course and starting on 23 September he had a one-month Officers’ Firing Course. At the end of October he was sent back to France and transferred to the 12th Battery, 3rd Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery. The Canadians spent the winter of 1917-18 holding a long stretch of the front line in the Vimy-Lens area. In March 1918 Francis suffered shell gas poisoning and he spent about four days recovering in a field ambulance.
The final period of the war, known now as the Hundred Days Offensive, started on 8 August 1918. The Canadians were heavily involved in operations in those last three months. Francis was wounded on 6 October, suffering a slight gunshot or shell wound to his face, and he spent about ten days at No. 8 British Red Cross Hospital in Boulogne. He was also suffering from stomach problems, nervous debility and varicose veins in both legs. He was given sick leave in the UK from 30 October to 30 November and he recuperated at a castle in northern Scotland. During that time the Armistice ended hostilities on the Western Front. In December Francis returned to France where he was posted to the Canadian Infantry Base Depot. He was assigned to Conducting Duty with the rank of Acting Captain while so employed.
Francis returned to England in January 1919 and served as a staff officer for the next five months. He was awarded the Military Cross in February 1919, for his actions in France in September 1918 at Blecourt and Cuvillers. He embarked from Southampton in late June 1919 on the SS Mauretania, arriving in Halifax on 3 July. He was discharged on demobilization on 10 July in Toronto and his intended residence was Winnipeg.
After the war, Francis was employed as an assistant superintendent with the Canadian Pacific Railway. He also attended the University of Saskatchewan and graduated with an engineering degree (with “great distinction”) in 1921. He had a lengthy and prominent career with the CPR, eventually becoming a superintendent. He was also an officer in the militia, getting promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in 1924 and commanding the 17th Field Brigade, Royal Canadian Artillery from 1924 to 1936.
In July 1937 Francis became assistant superintendent for the CPR in Kenora, Ontario and he and his family lived there for more than two years. Francis enlisted again when the Second World War started. He was commissioned as a Lieutenant-Colonel and given command of the 4th Army Field Brigade, Royal Canadian Artillery on 1 December 1939. He led his unit to England in February 1940 but returned to Canada in April. He served at Camp Petawawa until 1943, most of that time as the senior administrative officer. In March 1943 Francis helped organize the No. 1 Canadian Railway Operating Group, Royal Canadian Engineers, and he commanded the unit in France and Germany in the last two years of the war. According to the Kenora Miner and News, he was the oldest active Canadian officer serving in a theatre of war. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in June 1945 and returned to Canada in September. His son also enlisted during the war and served overseas in the Italian campaign.
In November 1945 Francis was promoted to superintendent for the CPR in Medicine Hat, Alberta. In November 1949 he moved to Ottawa to serve as a railway advisor to the Defence Research Board. He retired from the CPR in January 1950 after 47 years of service, including ten years with the Canadian army.
Lieutenant-Colonel (Retired) Francis Edward Wootton, OBE, MC, ED, passed away in the Ottawa Civic Hospital on 27 September 1951, at age 66.
This is a truly astounding musette bag with a long and storied history to the oldest active serving Canadian officer in a theater of war during World War II. He certainly carried this bag during the period for which he was awarded his Military Cross. Comes ready for further research and display.
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