Sherlock Sandy Mail

 Hullo! I got more mail! 

This actually came a few weeks ago... sooo far behind in posting about these things!

So this one is from the Beanie Mouse crew in the UK...

Ooohhh... chocolate truffles! I wonder if there are...

...oops... did I say chocolate truffles out loud? Shoot... I just did it again... sigh...

"Did I hear the word chocolate??? And truffles???"

"Was he going to eat chocolate truffles without me??"

" 'e was, wasn't 'e???"

Noooo... absolutely not!

"Huh... let me give this envelope a sniff... nope... not smelling any truffles... nor chocolate..."

No, I think your cousins were just reusing a chocolate truffle bag... which means they probably ate the chocolate truffles! Anyhow... we have a nice map-card here...

From Thessaloniki... which we think is likely Thessalonica in Greece...

Oooh... another puzzle for Sherlock Sandy!! With a prize to be won!

And a nice postcard too... let's pay close attention, cause it could be part of the clue. I wonder if it's Franklin's ill-fated voyage?

Did you know they found Franklin's ship up in the Arctic?? Yup, they found the Erebus... pretty cool...

Yes, but what happened to all the poor mice and rats on that ship? That's what I want to know... 

Anyhow... here's the clue:

"A long time ago in the age of steam

A new medal created named after the Queen

Memorial heptagonal coin from the Mint

to celebrate recipients most valorous stints.

What is the medal?"

And let's see... the painting on the front is actually of "The Resolution & Adventure Taking in Ice for Water". Cool... the painting is from the New South Wales library... so maybe this was an Antarctic expedition. Alright, let's put on our thinking caps with this clue.

There haven't been that many actual Queens of England... like Elizabeth I, Victoria and Elizabeth II. And the heptagonal coin is... the 50p piece again... sooo... let's say the Victoria Medal (VC) which is the "highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces."

And... we're right! See... here's a pic of it...

"A medal and a coin is all well and good but... I'd rather have some chocolate truffles..."

Are we sure there aren't any in here??? Not even a crumb? Or a chocolate smear??

Thanks for the mail Beanie & Co! I did a bit of research and Canada has had 99 recipients of the Victoria Cross - for service in the Crimean War, Boer War, WW1, WW2 and a few other conflicts, including one in Canada during the Fenian Raids!

I thought our most famous VC was the World War I flying ace, Billy Bishop. But no... there was a guy named William G. Barker, also a WW1 flying ace who is a super-decorated soldier. When he returned to Canada in May 1919, Billy Barker came with the Victoria Cross, the Distinguished Service Order and Bar, the Military Cross and two Bars, two Italian Silver Medals for Military Valour, and the French Croix de Guerre. And... he was also mentioned in despatches three times. 

Billy G. Barker medals from the Canadian War Museum 
l to r - 1. Victoria Cross. 2. Distinguished Service Order with Bar. 3. Military Cross with 2 Bars. 4. 1914-1915 Star. 5. British War Medal 1914-1920. 6. Victory Medal with Oak Leaf. 7. Medal for Military Valour (Italy) 8. Croix de Guerre with Bronze Star (France) 9. Medal for Military Valour (Italy)

Wow... Wikipedia says he's the "most decorated war hero in the history of Canada, the British Empire, and the Commonwealth of Nations." (By "decorated" they mean medals for "valour" not just regular medals.) "Only two other servicemen in the history of the Commonwealth or Empire have received as many British medals for gallantry. These were Mick Mannock and James McCudden and, like Barker, both were "scout pilots" in the First World War. Barker, Mannock, and McCudden each received six British medals, including the Victoria Cross. McCudden was also awarded a French Croix de Guerre. But with his three foreign medals and three Mentions in Despatches, Barker received a total of 12 awards for valor." Double wow... Funny that I'd never heard of this guy before... He was born in Dauphin, Manitoba (we've been there!).

P.S. He's NOT the same Billy Barker of the Gold Rush era who founded Barkerville in central BC.

Flying ace Billy Barker's story is a bit sad. He was badly wounded in his last dogfight and almost died. His legs and one of his elbows were shot up badly and he was only able to walk for the investiture of the VC in March 1919. He died in 1930 at the age of 35 while demonstrating a new biplane to the RCAF.

Apparently, we even had a postage stamp of him but we must have missed that one in 2019!

Cool... Thanks for putting Sherlock Sandy on the trail of Canadian VCs! And the Commonwealth's most decorated Serviceman... who's Canadian, eh!

P.S. Canada created it's own Victoria Cross in 1993 but so far, no one's been awarded it yet...