Name/Title
1st PWRF / WW1 - Medal Group and Estate artifacts belonging to Captain (Late RSM) 245th Battalion (Canadian Grenadier Guards) CEF 1057153 William Alfred RobertsDescription
Part of the Lieutenant Michael A. Hayes-Rivet (MHR) Trust Collection *** FOR ARCHIVE PURPOSES ONLY - ARTIFACT NOT PART OF MUSEUM COLLECTION ***
Boer War / WW1 / King Edward VII coronation Medal / and Colonial Auxiliary Long Service Medal named to Captain William Alfred Roberts 1st Regiment (CGG). Estate includes a very rare South African War Veterans Arm Band and an '87th' (CGG) Canadian Legion Beret.Context
RSM / Major William Roberts was born in Wolverhampton, England on 9 Oct 1879. A pre-Boer War member of the Royal Canadian Artillery, he served 4 years in B Battery, RCA & RCGA in Quebec City before enlisting with the 2nd Special Service Battalion of the RCR during the Boer War (Service #7870). He later transferred to “C” Battery Royal Canadian Artillery in South Africa on 13 February 1900, and served with them for the remainder of the campaign, missing the Relief of Mafeking but seeing action in Rhodesia (1 of only 150 clasps to Canadians). Major Roberts joined CGG on his return to Canada in 1901 and was selected to represent 1st Regiment PWRF for the 1902 Coronation Contingent. He enlisted as the Battalion Sgt-Major (RSM) with the 245th Battalion CEF (Canadian Grenadier Guards) in November 1916 and on its breakup, was RSM of the 156th Bn CEF in England, and the 12th Canadian Railway Troops in France. He commissioned in 1918. Major Roberst continued to serve in the CGG after the war, receiving his Colonial Auxiliary Force Long Service Medal in 1927. He was described by the Adjt of the 12th CRT, as a "painstaking and conscientious disciplinarian". His Queen's South Africa Medal was presented by His Royal Highness the Duke of York (later King George V) at Montreal on 18 September 1901 and captured on film by Thomas Edison, (He appears at the 57 second mark - and would have been serving as a Sergeant in the 1st Regiment PWRF at the time of the award ceremony), making him the first CGG Member to be captured on film.Created By
Lieutenant Michael Hayes-Rivet, retired.Create Date
September 26, 2023Updated By
Lieutenant Michael Hayes-Rivet, retired.Update Date
October 23, 2025