BAVINGTON, John Lawrence, Irish Regiment of Canada

[Hrhdiddy]

Looking for any information on this gentleman.  Bavington, John Lawrence.  Anything would be helpful. 

 

[Blackadder1916]

Can you provide any context?  What was his relationship to the Irish Regiment of Canada?  When?  Why?

 

[Hrhdiddy]

I do not know very much.  He was my father and I am trying to find out information.  I was told he fought in the Irish Regiment in World War 2.  I am looking for a way to verify he was there and for how long. 

Thank you

 

[Blackadder1916]

The most direct way would be to request a copy of his service record from Library and Archives Canada.  You will find instructions on how to request his records here.
http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/transparency/atippr/Pages/Access-information-military-files.aspx

 

[Michael OLeary]

Hrhdiddy, using the Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) procedure (use the formal request option) should work given that his name is likely unique. I assume you do not have his service number or birthdate to provide additional details.

One alternative, although its a more expensive than the ATIP request, is to use one of the freelance researchers listed by LAC. A researcher can work with the LAC staff to ensure the correct file is being drawn even when the full identification details that LAC prefers are not available. From my own experience with him, I can recommend Arnold Kay for this, he can be found in the LAC list of researchers at the following link.

Hiring a Freelance Researcher - https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/freelance-researchers/Pages/freelance-researchers.aspx

There is a John Lawrence Bavington listed in ancestry.ca

• BIRTH 8 OCTOBER 1927 %u2022 Toronto, Ontario
• DEATH 26 DECEMBER 2003 %u2022 Ottawa, Ontario

The page links to this grave record:

John L. Bavington in the Web: Canadian Headstone Index, 1840-2017

Name: John L. Bavington
Cemetery: Notre Dame - Section J
Burial Place: Carleton (incl. Ottawa), Ontario, Canada
Notes: BAVINGTON LEST WE FORGET JOHN L. BAVINGTON LIEUTENANT - RCAMC WORLD WAR II VETERAN AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN OCTOBER 8, 1927 - DECEMBER 26, 2003 BELOVED HUSBAND OF JEANNE-MANCE LAFRANCE MARCH 30, 1926 -

Obituary: https://ottawacitizen.remembering.ca/obituary/john-bavington-1065879803

He appears here in the Canada Gazette:

Part I (1947-1997), volume 85, number 36, 8 September 1951, page 12
https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/canada-gazette/001060-119.01-e.php?image_id_nbr=717007&document_id_nbr=11625&f=g

Royal Canadian Infantry Corps
TB14014 John Lawrence Bavington (Central Comd Cont, COTC) to be Lt., 30 Apr 1951

 

[Hrhdiddy]

Michael, thank you for the article.  Question, does this mean he was to be made a Lieutenant? In 1951?

 

[Michael OLeary]

Michael, thank you for the article.  Question, does this mean he was to be made a Lieutenant? In 1951?

Yes. I could not find him earlier than that in the Gazette, and any wartime officer appointments and promotions should show up in that source. If he was born in October 1927, it is unlikely he saw service in the Second World War.

 

[Hrhdiddy]

Yes. I could not find him earlier than that in the Gazette, and any wartime officer appointments and promotions should show up in that source. If he was born in October 1927, it is unlikely he saw service in the Second World War.

Thank you sir for your time, it is greatly appreciated.  We were told that he enlisted with his brothers, who were older, and he was 15 and tagged along with them.  Not sure how that happened.  I have what is reportedly his King George medal, but that could be gotten anywhere these days. 

 

[Blackadder1916]

It is possible that he lied about his age and enrolled along with his brothers.  It was in many ways a young person's war.

https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/historical-sheets/youth

Approximately 700,000 Canadians under the age of 21 served in uniform during the Second World War

http://www.richardgilbert.ca/achart/public_html/articles/publications/cdn_boy_soldiers.htm

At the outbreak of the Second World War, teenage boys again flocked to the recruiting centres to enlist. Times had changed. They were rejected in larger numbers at the recruiting offices than in WWI. Despite this, many slipped through the net and got into a uniform. What happened during WWI was repeated in WWII. Some, but not all officers who discovered underage soldiers in their units returned them to Canada. In other cases, parents applied to the authorities to reclaim their adventurous sons, got them and took them home. It might have been a cat and mouse game that tested the authorities, but it was also testament to the patriotism of the nation's youth. Many of the teenage soldiers in this category from as young as 15 served during the war, but as adult soldiers, not boy soldiers.

What do you mean by "King George Medal"?  If he had been awarded only one medal for wartime service, it is possible it is the "War Medal 1939-1945" which could have been given if he served fulltime for 28 days, even if he never left Canada.  There were a number of other medals that were awarded for WW2 service.

Do you know if, and where your father went to university or college?  According to the Canada Gazette entry provided by Mike, that J.L. Bavington was in the "COTC" (Canadian Officer Training Corps).  The COTC was made up of students attending university or college who concurrently received military officer training as part of the reserve.  Usually COTC units were identified separately by their educational institution (e.g. Ontario Agricultural College Contingent, COTC  as per the gazette entry preceding Bavington's), however, his unit is identified as Central Command Contingent (Central Command was Ontario, less some parts up north).

While it would not be a normal pattern, it is conceivable (speculation only) that he enrolled in the Canadian Army during the war by lying about his age.  He may have been one of the "lucky" boys whose true age was not discovered, or was not found out until he had been sent overseas.  Of note, you mentioned that he supposedly joined when he was 15; the Irish Regiment of Canada embarked for overseas on 28 October 1942 (a couple of weeks after he turned 15).  Even if his service in the Canadian Army was more than short-lived during the war, given his age it would be unlikely that he was commissioned, however it is possible that following the war while in university he joined the COTC and was thus commissioned as an officer via that means in 1951.  Additionally, the inscription on the headstone identifies him as "WORLD WAR II VETERAN" and "RCAMC" (Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps); interesting connections.

 

[Hrhdiddy]

I believe at the time he was at the University of Toronto.

As for the medal, it is the one that you show, we as kids called it the King George Medal.  I do not know the other medals that exist for him. When he passed away my brother took position of all his military things.  There are four children and we each got a piece of his war history, and we each got one of the buttons from his dress uniform. 

As for what is written on his marker, that was put there by my mother and sister based on the things my father had told them.

Thank you so much for taking the time to help me on my quest.  My family and I are a bit disconnected at the moment so I am trying on my own to figure things out.  Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Hrhdiddy]

I believe at the time he was at the University of Toronto.

As for the medal, it is the one that you show, we as kids called it the King George Medal.  I do not know the other medals that exist for him. When he passed away my brother took position of all his military things.  There are four children and we each got a piece of his war history, and we each got one of the buttons from his dress uniform. 

As for what is written on his marker, that was put there by my mother and sister based on the things my father had told them.

Thank you so much for taking the time to help me on my quest.  My family and I are a bit disconnected at the moment so I am trying on my own to figure things out.  Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

I have found a photograph with my father wearing a General Service pin on his lapel.  What would be the significance of this?

 

[Michael OLeary]

General Service Badge
https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/medals-decorations/details/32

Eligibility and criteria

On Friday, March 29th, 1940 Canada's Administrator in Council, W. Duff, signed Order in Council P.C.1022. This established the War Service Badge "Service" Class. This was for members of the Naval, Military or Air Forces of Canada who have declared their willingness, or who have engaged, to serve in any of the said forces on active service beyond Canada and Overseas, during the present war, and who have been honourably ceased to serve on active service:

1. After not less than three months of continuous paid service
2. By reason of physical disability