Fergus has a history mystery from the Second World War. It has to do with a Fergus man who was decorated as a Member of the British Empire (MBE). However, although there is no doubt he received the award, there seems to be no surviving record describing exactly what he did to deserve the honour.
The MBE is a category of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), which King George V established in 1917 as an award for meritorious conduct for military service personnel in support positions as well as civilians from the United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth. A member wears a silver badge on the left breast. There are five categories. The two highest also bestow a knighthood upon the recipient and have not been open to Canadians since 1935.
Civilians in all walks of life, including entertainers, are eligible. Among the celebrity civilian recipients are actors Judi Dench, Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren. Canadian civilian recipients include Dr. Frederick Banting and Guelph-born opera tenor Edward Johnson.
People might remember the time in 1965 when British high society (the older members at least) howled with indignation when the Beatles all received the MBE. John Lennon initially defended the Fab Four receiving the honour, but later returned his medal as part of his anti-war protest.
Since 1967, Canadians have been awarded the Order of Canada instead of the OBE. However, before that time, Canadians were issued 859 civil OBEs and 1,867 military ones. Among those who received the military award were First World War fighter pilots Wilfrid Reid “Wop” May and Raymond Collishaw. Another was a Second World War officer, Lt.-Col. Albert Brindle of Fergus.
Albert Peter Brindle was born in Farnworth, Lancashire, England, on Nov. 30, 1914, to Alfred and Ada (nee Clegg) Brindle. He had two sisters, Lillian (1919 - 1995) and Elsie (1923 - 1986), and a brother, Clifford (1916 - 1963). At some point the Brindle family immigrated to Canada and settled in Fergus where they resided on Union Street. Albert attended school in Fergus and Guelph, and played in the Fergus Citizens Band. After graduation he worked in Fergus for several years and then in 1937 went to Peterborough to take an engineering course. He was there when the Second World War began in September, 1939.
Early in 1940, Brindle enlisted in the Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA). He became a gunner in the 4th Anti-Tank Regiment with the rank of lieutenant. Brindle was sent overseas in the summer of 1941. Meanwhile, all of his siblings joined the services. Clifford was a sergeant-major with the Royal Canadian Engineers, Elsie was a corporal with the Canadian Women’s Army, and Lilian – formerly a supervisor at Guelph General Hospital – was with the Canadian Army Medical Corps.
Brindle wasn’t in England long before he was loaned to the British government and assigned to duty with the Imperial Army. He would spend more than three years there, eventually being promoted to lieutenant-colonel. It was while he was working with the British, with the rank of captain (and acting-major) that Brindle was honoured with the MBE. But for what, exactly?
According to an article that appeared in the Guelph Mercury while Brindle was visiting his parents in Fergus during the final weeks of the war:
“While overseas he designed guns and won for himself the M.B.E. decoration. He was with the French fleet for a time and spent considerable time in Antwerp, testing and observing the guns that he had designed in action.”
What kind of guns did Capt. Brindle design? One might assume that since he was with an artillery brigade, he worked on artillery. But if he’d been with the French fleet, did he work on naval guns? Or is it wrong to assume that he was working on big guns at all? Perhaps he’d come up with new designs for smaller weapons. Whatever he did, it had to have been significant to have earned him the MBE.
In addition to digging through books about Canadian WWII medals and decorations, this curious historian wrote letters in search of details and sent them off to Library and Archives Canada, the Canadian Society of Military Medals and Insignia (CSMMI), and the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood at St. James’s Palace in London, England.
I found nothing in the books. Library and Archives Canada had no easily accessible information – although it was suggested I could hire a private researcher in Ottawa do some legwork. A correspondent at the CSMMI said that most OBE records do not have citations, but informed me that the awards are usually granted on the basis of long-term contributions, not for one specific event or action. That certainly would seem to be in keeping with Brindle’s work with gun design.
The office in London could provide no details on the reason for Brindle’s MBE. However, the correspondent there was able to report, “I have located Major Albert Brindle in our records and can confirm he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire on the 8th June 1944. Our records also note that he was presented with his insignia on the 10th October 1944 at Buckingham Palace.”
The insignia would have been personally presented to Brindle by King George VI. The award ceremony was in fact official recognition of the King’s Birthday. Brindle’s name was entered into the London Gazette, the public record of UK state honours.
Meanwhile, back home, Brindle’s sister Lillian, a nursing student at Guelph General Hospital, won a gold medal upon graduation, along with an additional special prize for excellent operating room procedures. That year, recognition for great achievements was a family affair.
By the end of the war, Brindle was stationed in Quebec. He married Meryle P. McFee of Guelph, and at some point they moved to the United States. Brindle died in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, on July 23, 1991. He is buried in Belsyde Cemetery in Fergus, a war hero with a touch of mystery to his story.
