A bit more computer sleuthing led to the website of LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA, a Government-sponsored resource offering a wealth of information on a variety of subjects, including soldiers of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. A phone call to their offices in Ottawa confirmed that Martin Herman Bluethner, born April 26, 1892, had indeed been a member of the CEF. Furthermore, for a very reasonable processing fee, copies of his complete military records were available. Little time was lost in placing a request for Martin Bluethner’s files. With a planned vacation trip to Europe just a few weeks away, the hope was to have the records in hand before leaving. Depending on the information contained in them, it might be possible to visit places where Martin Bluethner had been some ninety years earlier. If he had fought in France or Belgium, his files might list those locations. In the event he had not survived the War, perhaps they would disclose his resting place.
Holster flap, w/ cap badge: This Inscription on the underside of the holster flap prompted me to purchase the .455 Second Model revolver and holster that once belonged to Lt. Martin H. Bluethner. The 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles cap badge shown here is a highly collectible item in its own right.
The package that arrived contained 44 pages of material. Included in the documents were copies of Martin Bluethner’s attestation (enlistment) papers, medical history, casualty (injury) forms, regimental and company conduct sheets, pay records and his dispersal (discharge) certificate. The following summary of his military service was chronicled from the documentation:
Martin Herman Bluethner enlisted in the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force on January 11, 1915, at Stratford, Ontario. He was 22 years old, 5 feet, 7-1/4 inches tall, and weighed 135 lbs. According to his attestation form, he had brown hair and blue eyes. Martin’s civilian occupation was “clerk” and his religion Lutheran. Upon his enlistment, Recruit Bluethner was given Regimental (military ID) Number 602173 and was assigned to the 34th Battalion.
Martin H. Bluethner at age 43. This photograph, which was affixed to his “Declaration of Intention to Become a U.S. Citizen”, is the only picture of Martin Bluethner I was able to obtain. The application form was submitted on October 18, 1935. Martin was naturalized as a United States citizen on April 29, 1938, in Federal Court at Newark, NJ.
After completing cadet training, Private Bluethner shipped out for England, arriving there on November 1, 1915. While stationed with the Canadian forces at Bramshott, England, he was transferred to the 17th Reserve Battalion, CEF on March 15, 1916. On April 9, 1916, he was transferred to the 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles Battalion and embarked for France.
Throughout the 35 months that Martin Bluethner was a member of the 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles, the Battalion experienced some of the heaviest fight-ing of the War, in France and Belgium. The Somme, Flers-Courcelette, Ancre Heights, Vimy, Passchendaele, The Hin-denburg Line and Canal du Nord were just a few of the battles in which soldiers of the 5th CMR saw intensive action.
On June 24, 1916, Private Bluethner was recommended for promotion. Corporal Bluethner was wounded on October 30, 1917. Although the records do not specify the nature of the injury, or where he was when it occurred, The 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles Battalion suffered an exceptionally high casualty rate during the costly campaign of Passchendaele, in Flanders, which took place from July 31 to November 10, 1917. The odds are very strong that Corporal Bluethner was wounded in this protracted engagement. Presumably, the injury was fairly minor, as nothing in his files indicates that he was hospitalized.
On January 1, 1918, Corporal Bluethner was promoted to sergeant. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant on August 6, 1918. On November 8, 1918, Lieutenant Bluethner sustained a bullet wound in his right thigh. Once again, the injury apparently was not serious enough to cause him to be removed from the roster, and he was listed as remaining “at duty.”
The war officially ended November 11, 1918. The 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles remained in France until February 13, 1919, when they proceeded to England. On March 8, 1919, Lieutenant Bluethner departed Liverpool, aboard the H.M.S. Carmania*, for his return to Canada. He was “struck off strength” (discharged) on March 20, 1919, In Ottawa, upon demobilization of his unit.
From his military record it appears that Martin Bluethner served honorably with the Canadian Expeditionary Force for over 49 months, 35 of those months as a member of the 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles. During the more than four years he spent in the military, Martin Bluethner earned three field promotions and was twice wounded in the service of his Country.
What service Martin Bluethner’s revolver and holster might have seen during the war was already in France. His records reflect that twice during his tour in France and Belgium, he returned briefly to England (August 8 to August 18, 1917, and March 23 to April 8, 1918). It is possible that the revolver was issued to him on one of those occasions. However, the greater probability is that the gun was privately purchased from the Canadian Government by Martin Bluethner upon his promotion to lieutenant. During the First World War it was customary for commissioned officers of the British and Canadian Armies to buy their personal sidearms from Government stores. This hypothesis seems to be supported by the title “Lt. M. H. Bluethner” inscribed on the underside of the holster flap. In all likelihood, the double broad arrow marking was stamped on the gun’s frame at the time of its purchase by Lt. Bluethner.
Reconstructing Martin Bluethner’s military career led to a natural curiosity about his life following the War. Also there was the question of how his revolver and holster had found their way to a firearms dealer in New Jersey, nine decades after the gun was made. Returning to the computer, an internet search was conducted for any descendants or family members who might know “the rest of the story.” The Canadian Province of Ontario seemed the logical place to start, since Martin Bluethner’s military records listed the town of London, Ontario, as his home. Because Bluethner is not an especially common surname, a good chance existed that someone with that last name might be related to Martin. The search turned up one listing for the name. Ironically, the gentleman who answered my phone call identified himself as Martin Bluethner.
Most cordially, Martin explained that although he believed Martin Herman Bluethner was his great uncle, after whom he had been named, he had never known the man and was unable to provide any details about his later life. Upon hearing what my research had discovered, Martin’s own curiosity became piqued. Exchanging e-mail addresses, we both agreed to look further into the matter and keep each other updated on any progress made.
Over the next several weeks, a more complete picture of Martin H. Bluethner’s post-war, civilian life began to emerge. After his discharge from the Army, he was employed by the Canadian Bank of Commerce. He married Dorothy Florence Harvey on June 25, 1921, in Toronto. The wedded couple lived in Montreal, where two daughters were born to them. Martin immigrated to the United States on October 30, 1927, and established residence in Essex County, New Jersey. Six months later, on May 1, 1928, the rest of the Bluethner family joined him, making their home at 280 Gregory Avenue, in West Orange, New Jersey. On April 29, 1938, Martin Bluethner became a naturalized U.S. citizen in the Federal District Court at Newark. He continued in his banking career, starting as an auditor, and eventually attaining the position of Vice President with the Bronx Savings Bank. Martin lived out his final years in the town of Rye, in Westchester County, New York, where he died in May of 1982. He had survived one of the bloodiest conflicts in modern history and lived to a full 90 years of age.
The only remaining loose end was to determine how the revolver and holster came into the possession of the dealer who sold them to me. Through a phone call to the dealer it was learned that he bought the gun and holster from a friend. The dealer said it was his understanding that they had belonged to his friend’s father. The dealer put me in touch with the friend, who told me that several years ago his father worked for a bank in the Bronx. The bank provided the gun to his father for use