As part of my research into my mothers early life, I sent a question about this photograph to Library and Archives Canada; thought the response may be of interest/help to anyone else who may come across this thread when researching the Canadian General Hospital, Marston Green.
Thank you for your inquiry to Library and Archives Canada regarding a photograph of your mother at Marston Green during WWII.
It’s indeed possible that these are Canadian servicemen in the photo with your mother, but I wouldn’t want to make a definitive assessment as I am not an expert and I’m not sure there is quite enough to go on in this picture, particularly since I’m not able to zoom right in without losing detail. However, I will outline my findings below for you and recommend other avenues of inquiry for you if you wish to pursue it further.
First, it may be helpful to know that the numbered Canadian General Hospital (CGH) units were armed forces units like any other and were moved around to various locations throughout the war. So when Marston Green first opened it was “No. 1 Canadian General Hospital”, but this unit was relieved by the No. 7 Canadian General Hospital in 1941; other units stationed there were No. 16 CGH (1943) and No. 19 CGH (1944). In case you are interested, the 2-volume official history of the Canadian Medical Services for the years 1939-1945 (along with other Canadian Armed Forces official histories) is available online at the following link: https://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/his/oh-ho/index-eng.asp
While a search of our online catalogue for published holdings did not turn up any publications related specifically to Marston Green, our archival collection includes a number of documents concerning the facility there, which are among the War Diaries of Canadian General Hospital units. To search our archival collection, you can access the Archives Search from our website: https://collectionscanada.gc.ca/lac-bac/search/arch_adv
Simply type “Marston Green” next to Any Keyword in the first search box and you should get 6 results. The first is a photo dating from 1943 when the facility at Marston Green was run by No. 7 CGH, and the rest are documents from various units’ war diaries. (War diaries are a day-to-day description of unit activities for army units in active service, and contain information about unit location and the operations in which it may be involved.) You might also want to do the following search to see additional results from the War diaries:
- Next to Any Keyword enter “General Hospital” (without quotes)
- Select Finding Aid number from the second drop-down menu and enter 24-15 in the search box
If any of the documents located are of interest, you can find information about ordering copies, including a link to the online order form, at the following link:
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/reproduction-requests/Pages/reproduction-requests.aspx
Reference information to provide in the order form should include the Archival ref. no., Vol. no., and file no., i.e.: RG24-C-2. Volume/box number: 12647. File number: 11/SUP 1 GH/1.
In terms of the uniforms worn by the Canadian forces during WWII, there is a range of possibilities depending on rank, unit, year, and location of deployment, but I have attached some scanned pages from the following publication which illustrate a number of combinations:
Canadian forces in World War II / René Chartrand ; illustrated by Ron Volstad. -- Oxford : Osprey Publishing, 2001.
As I mentioned above, it’s hard to say for sure whether the servicemen in your picture are Canadian, but judging from the style of pants worn by the man at far right, it’s a strong possibility! I have also attached a page from the same publication which discusses the Glengarry caps worn by Canadian Highland units. Again, it’s hard to decipher in your photo (I’m not able to zoom without losing resolution) but it’s possible that the man standing second from right is wearing a Glengarry cap. More information and images of Glengarries can be found at the following link (scroll down to 1939-1945): https://www.canadiansoldiers.com/uniforms/glengarries.htm.
See also information under the heading “Battle Dress” at the same website: https://www.canadiansoldiers.com/uniforms/battledress.htm
The following images in our collection show Canadian WWII servicemen wearing Glengarry caps (click on the thumbnails to see larger images):
- MIKAN no. 3238345 (PA-171258) : https://collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_archives/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&rec_nbr=3238345&lang=eng&rec_nbr_list=3238345
- MIKAN no. 3227168 (PA-145490) : https://collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_archives/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&rec_nbr=3227168&lang=eng&rec_nbr_list=3227168
- MIKAN no. 3203923 (PA-135956) https://collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_archives/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&rec_nbr=3203923&lang=eng&rec_nbr_list=3203923
You may also be interested in our database “Faces of the Second World War”, which features 2500 photos from the Department of National Defence Collection:
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/second-world-war/faces-second-war/Pages/faces-second-world-war.aspx
Enter keywords such as “General hospital”, “field ambulance”, “Canadian Army Medical Corps”, etc. in the search box and submit.
If you wish to request high-resolution copies of any of our images, you can fill out the online order form linked to above, providing the “PA” number as reference.
Finally, you may wish to pursue your research with one of the following institutions, who may be able to ascertain definitively whether the servicemen pictured in your photo are Canadian:
- Canadian War Museum: https://www.warmuseum.ca/learn/research-collections/
You can search their artifact collection (there are hundreds of results when searching “uniform”) or submit your question to the museum’s Military History Research Centre.
- Directorate of History and Heritage, Department of National Defence: https://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/adh-sdh/cl-lc/index-eng.asp
I hope this information is helpful to you; please do not hesitate to let us know if you have any questions about any of the above.
Kind regards,
Alison Pier
Reference librarian, Reference Services
Library and Archives Canada / Government of Canada
1-866-578-7777 / TTY:1-866-299-1699
Thank you for your inquiry to Library and Archives Canada regarding a photograph of your mother at Marston Green during WWII.
It’s indeed possible that these are Canadian servicemen in the photo with your mother, but I wouldn’t want to make a definitive assessment as I am not an expert and I’m not sure there is quite enough to go on in this picture, particularly since I’m not able to zoom right in without losing detail. However, I will outline my findings below for you and recommend other avenues of inquiry for you if you wish to pursue it further.
First, it may be helpful to know that the numbered Canadian General Hospital (CGH) units were armed forces units like any other and were moved around to various locations throughout the war. So when Marston Green first opened it was “No. 1 Canadian General Hospital”, but this unit was relieved by the No. 7 Canadian General Hospital in 1941; other units stationed there were No. 16 CGH (1943) and No. 19 CGH (1944). In case you are interested, the 2-volume official history of the Canadian Medical Services for the years 1939-1945 (along with other Canadian Armed Forces official histories) is available online at the following link: https://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/his/oh-ho/index-eng.asp
While a search of our online catalogue for published holdings did not turn up any publications related specifically to Marston Green, our archival collection includes a number of documents concerning the facility there, which are among the War Diaries of Canadian General Hospital units. To search our archival collection, you can access the Archives Search from our website: https://collectionscanada.gc.ca/lac-bac/search/arch_adv
Simply type “Marston Green” next to Any Keyword in the first search box and you should get 6 results. The first is a photo dating from 1943 when the facility at Marston Green was run by No. 7 CGH, and the rest are documents from various units’ war diaries. (War diaries are a day-to-day description of unit activities for army units in active service, and contain information about unit location and the operations in which it may be involved.) You might also want to do the following search to see additional results from the War diaries:
- Next to Any Keyword enter “General Hospital” (without quotes)
- Select Finding Aid number from the second drop-down menu and enter 24-15 in the search box
If any of the documents located are of interest, you can find information about ordering copies, including a link to the online order form, at the following link:
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/reproduction-requests/Pages/reproduction-requests.aspx
Reference information to provide in the order form should include the Archival ref. no., Vol. no., and file no., i.e.: RG24-C-2. Volume/box number: 12647. File number: 11/SUP 1 GH/1.
In terms of the uniforms worn by the Canadian forces during WWII, there is a range of possibilities depending on rank, unit, year, and location of deployment, but I have attached some scanned pages from the following publication which illustrate a number of combinations:
Canadian forces in World War II / René Chartrand ; illustrated by Ron Volstad. -- Oxford : Osprey Publishing, 2001.
As I mentioned above, it’s hard to say for sure whether the servicemen in your picture are Canadian, but judging from the style of pants worn by the man at far right, it’s a strong possibility! I have also attached a page from the same publication which discusses the Glengarry caps worn by Canadian Highland units. Again, it’s hard to decipher in your photo (I’m not able to zoom without losing resolution) but it’s possible that the man standing second from right is wearing a Glengarry cap. More information and images of Glengarries can be found at the following link (scroll down to 1939-1945): https://www.canadiansoldiers.com/uniforms/glengarries.htm.
See also information under the heading “Battle Dress” at the same website: https://www.canadiansoldiers.com/uniforms/battledress.htm
The following images in our collection show Canadian WWII servicemen wearing Glengarry caps (click on the thumbnails to see larger images):
- MIKAN no. 3238345 (PA-171258) : https://collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_archives/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&rec_nbr=3238345&lang=eng&rec_nbr_list=3238345
- MIKAN no. 3227168 (PA-145490) : https://collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_archives/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&rec_nbr=3227168&lang=eng&rec_nbr_list=3227168
- MIKAN no. 3203923 (PA-135956) https://collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_archives/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&rec_nbr=3203923&lang=eng&rec_nbr_list=3203923
You may also be interested in our database “Faces of the Second World War”, which features 2500 photos from the Department of National Defence Collection:
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/second-world-war/faces-second-war/Pages/faces-second-world-war.aspx
Enter keywords such as “General hospital”, “field ambulance”, “Canadian Army Medical Corps”, etc. in the search box and submit.
If you wish to request high-resolution copies of any of our images, you can fill out the online order form linked to above, providing the “PA” number as reference.
Finally, you may wish to pursue your research with one of the following institutions, who may be able to ascertain definitively whether the servicemen pictured in your photo are Canadian:
- Canadian War Museum: https://www.warmuseum.ca/learn/research-collections/
You can search their artifact collection (there are hundreds of results when searching “uniform”) or submit your question to the museum’s Military History Research Centre.
- Directorate of History and Heritage, Department of National Defence: https://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/adh-sdh/cl-lc/index-eng.asp
I hope this information is helpful to you; please do not hesitate to let us know if you have any questions about any of the above.
Kind regards,
Alison Pier
Reference librarian, Reference Services
Library and Archives Canada / Government of Canada
1-866-578-7777 / TTY:1-866-299-1699
