Original British WWI Wounded Machine Gunner Medal & Character Certificate Grouping of Sergeant Fairlie Bruce Craddock - Shot in the Jaw
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Original Items: One-of-a-Kind Group. This is a very well-identified British WWI medal and document grouping belonging to Serjeant Fairlie Bruce Craddock, service number 57023, who served with the Machine Gun Corps on the Western Front and was ultimately discharged as no longer physically fit for war service following a recorded gunshot wound to the jaw.
The group includes Craddock’s British War Medal, Victory Medal, wound stripe, and original character certificate documenting his service and medical condition.
The group includes:
- British WWI Victory Meal, rim-engraved 57023 SJT. F.B. CRADDOCK. M.G.C..
- British WWI War Medal, rim-engraved 57023 SJT. F.B. CRADDOCK. M.G.C..
- WWI British metal wound stripe, these are very difficult to find. This example is well-marked on the back but is missing the pin.
- Character certificate of Sergeant Fairlie Bruce Craddock showing his cause of discharge as G.S.W. Jaw or gunshot wound in the jaw. It shows his regiment as the Northampton regiment and Machine Gun Corps. He was in the BEF France from 25-4-17 to 9-4-18.
Research into surviving Machine Gun Corps personnel records identifies: 57023 Fairlie Bruce Craddock with service in the 171st Machine Gun Company, 224th Machine Gun Company, and 189th Machine Gun Company, providing unusually useful detail beyond the general M.G.C. naming found on the medals.
The 171st Machine Gun Company served with the 171st Brigade of the 57th (2nd West Lancashire) Division before being absorbed into the divisional Machine Gun Battalion during the 1918 reorganization. The 224th Machine Gun Company later became D Company, 14th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps when the Machine Gun Corps was reorganized into divisional battalions in March 1918. The 14th Battalion served with the 14th (Light) Division, which suffered extremely heavy casualties during the German Spring Offensive of March and April 1918.
The combination of the named British War and Victory Medals, original wound stripe, character certificate recording “G.S.W. Jaw,” documented BEF service from April 1917 to April 1918, and independent Machine Gun Corps records placing Craddock with the 171st, 224th, and 189th Machine Gun Companies makes this a particularly strong identified First World War casualty grouping.
Its historical value lies in the way the individual pieces reinforce one another, linking a named Machine Gun Corps serjeant not only to his campaign medals but also to his combat wound, Western Front service, and medical discharge from the British Army.
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