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Hi everyone,
recently I found a kitbag of Jospeh Samuel ELKO in France, he was apparently CPL in RCE during the world war two. The died on August 16th, 1991 but I can't find more about him, could you help me to find informations about him ? (photos, documents, unit, descendants, etc..)
Thanks for your precious help.

https://legionmagazine.com/en/last-post ... &id=201797

Pierre-Aldric wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 26, 2022 11:42 am

Hi everyone,
recently I found a kitbag of Jospeh Samuel ELKO in France, he was apparently CPL in RCE during the world war two. The died on August 16th, 1991 but I can't find more about him, could you help me to find informations about him ? (photos, documents, unit, descendants, etc..)
Thanks for your precious help.

https://legionmagazine.com/en/last-post ... &id=201797

Pierre, I’ll see what I can find……….I actually LIVE in the city that the Royal Canadian Legion gave the information on Cpl Elko. I was also an Engineer in the Canadian Army (Lieutenant).

Pierre, starting to find information on him

This first record is his award of the Canadian Forces Decoration……this is a LONG SERVICE medal, so it means that he stayed in the Army after the war

This is a Voters Census in 1975, shows him living in Chilliwack (where I live) as his job at that time was Corps of Commissionaires. The Corps of Commissionaires is an organization that offers Security Services etc, and usually the members are all EX - Military. So he “probably” worked at the Canadian Army Base in Chilliwack (it’s where the Engineer School was located)…….and probably was on of the Corps members who worked at the Front Gate to the base
Phot of his daughter marrying at the base Chapel……the fellow in the photos is in the Canadian Forces and in the Military Engineers (I can tell be the uniform and his collar tags on his uniform

Thank you for all this information, this is the first time I've heard of this Corps of Commissionaires. Does the Chilliwack base have any information on his WWII past? Also, any information on his daughter and her husband?
Thanks in advance.

Pierre-Aldric wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 26, 2022 3:28 pm

Thank you for all this information, this is the first time I've heard of this Corps of Commissionaires. Does the Chilliwack base have any information on his WWII past? Also, any information on his daughter and her husband?
Thanks in advance.

Quick answer is no, that base was closed in the late 1990’s and moved to Base Gagetown in New Brunswick, Canada.

There is a Military Museum in Chilliwack that I can check with BUT, I’m not there right now (at our winter home in the US)……i won’t be home to Chilliwack until Feb next year. I will check further and see if we can find anything else out.

I’m still looking to see what I can find on line.

The Corps of Commissionaires is a National Organization and supplies men and women all over Canada, for the Government and private agencies and businesses.

Also, I haven’t looked in The History of the Royal Canadian Engineers Volume II yet……I have a copy but I’m afraid its at home in Canada, so can’t look at that until I return. It may not have any information on him in it, but you never know.

I’m still looking

Just a quick correction on your information, His Service number was H-93311 and then after the was SH-93311. On the Kit Bag it indicates MD 10, that is Military District No 10 which was Eastern Ontario and Manitoba. That is were he enlisted in the Army. ALL SERVICE NUMBERS given to recruits joined in the MD started with an H, AND his service number of H-93311 tells me that he originally joined the 20th Field Company, RCE

More info

The Chilliwack Progress
Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada
22 Apr 1953, Wed • Page 13
Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada · Wednesday, November 14, 1956

He is on his way to the Suez as part of Canada’s UN commitment in 1956

Calgary Herald
Calgary, Alberta, Canada · Saturday, December 08, 1956

A photo of him, he went by the name Sam Elko (his middle name)

I suspect 482B is a unit serial, but have been unable to find any mention of it. Clive Law published a reference for all unit serials but it's out of print.

Applications of unit serial numbers on kit/baggage/stores of the Canadian Army Overseas, 1943-45

https://milart.blog/2015/08/18/applicat ... s-1943-45/

Same blog has unit serials for all units mobilized with 1st and 2nd Divs, but no sign of 482B