Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
2002.06.03.02 |
Object Name |
Pants, Military |
Date |
1945 |
Year Range from |
1939 |
Year Range to |
1945 |
Features |
Pants: Khaki green, battledress; 5 button fly, button tabbed waistband with belt loops. Lg. patch pocket with button flap on left leg. Sm pleated pocket with button closure on rt. leg; tabbed pant cuff on both legs, for use to tack into an anklet. Seam pockets on both legs. Rear: flap pocket on rt leg. Interior: 7 metal button encircle waistband, owner's label: "W.M. Alkenbrack". Stamped with "Size 5 Battledress Trouser-Serge Ht 5'5" to 5' 6" waist 31" to 32" Breech 37" to 38" Tip Top Tailor's Ltd. Sept. 1945". |
Object Story |
These battledress pants were made by TipTop Tailors in 1945 before being shipped to the Royal Canadian Artillery. They were then issued to Wesley Alkenbrack during his service in World War Two. Wesley Mackinnon Alkenbrack was born the youngest son to Claude E. and Flora Alkenbrack on September 9th, 1918 preceded by his older brothers Almonte Douglas Alkenbrack (b. 1912) and Robert Bruce Alkenbrack (b. 1914). Sometime before 1940, Wesley enlisted and served in the 47th Field Battery militia in Napanee. In 1940, Wesley married Elizabeth "Beth" Gibson (b. 1923) and then enlisted in the 34th Field Regiment of the Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA). He was then shipped overseas for the duration of the war in the RCA's 34th Field Battery, 14th Field Regiment. On June 6th 1944, now known as D-Day, Wesley landed at Berbieres-Sur-Mer as a part of Juno's first assault on the beaches of Normandy. Between 1945 and 1946 he stayed in Europe with the Canadian Army Staff Lines of Communication posted in Ghent, Brussels and Paris. He was officially discharged on June 19th, 1946 ranking as a Captain. Beyond the war Wesley became a partner in R. W. Kimmerly Lumber Company in Napanee. He also had two daughters with his wife, Catherine and Betsy. In 1993, Wesley became the chairman of a committee founded by the Lennox and Addington Historical Society that was tasked to document the experiences of World War Two veterans from Lennox and Addington County. In 1999, this research was handed off to historian Stephan Fochok who compiled the stories into a manuscript called "Remembering: Lennox and Addington Veterans of World War II and Korean Conflict" where Wesley's accounts are documented. In his spare time, Wesley began writing and researching about a wide range of topics including publishing a manuscript on the history of the Napanee River called "River Journey: Personal Recollections of the Lower Napanee River" as well as writing another manuscript, this time left unpublished, called "Murdoff's Tavern". In 2002, Wesley was awarded the Queen Elizabeth Golden Jubilee Medal for his contributions to his community and Canada as a whole. Wesley passed away at the age of 90 on January 2nd, 2008. His wife Beth then moved to British Columbia to be with her daughters and grandchildren. Beth passed away in 2016 at the age of 93 in BC. Both Beth and Wesley's ashes have been spread at the Alkenbrack family cottage on the Bay of Quinte. |
People |
Alkenbrack Alkenbrack, Beth Alkenbrack, Betsy Alkenbrack, Catherine Alkenbrack, Wes Alkenbrack, Wesley Mackinnon Alkenbrack, Wesley MacKinnon, 1918-2008 |
Subjects |
1940's Clothing & dress Costumes Military Military life Military officers Military uniforms Militias People associated with military activities Soldiers Soldiers, WW2 Uniform Uniforms Veterans World War II Writers WWII |
Search Terms |
32/34 Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery 32/34 Royal Canadian Artillery Field battery 34th Field Battery 47th (Napanee) Field Battery RCA Bay of Quinte British Columbia D-Day Lennox and Addington Historical Society Military Napanee Normandy Paris Royal Canadian Artillery Uniform Uniform, Military Uniforms World War Two World War Two, D-Day World War Two, Royal Canadian Artillery World War Two, soldiers |