Canada. A Memorial Cross To Private Rayner, Died Of Wounds From The Battle Of Hill 70

Canada; George V (838169 Pte S. RAYNER.). Sterling silver, marked "STERLING" and hallmarked "R" on the reverse, on a replacement ribbon, light contact, near extremely fine.

Footnote: Stephen Rayner was born on January 18, 1888 in Leytonstone, Essex, England, the son of Henry Rayner and Jane M. Rayner. As a young man, he later moved to Canada and was a resident of Owen Sound, Ontario, working in a saw mill, when he enlisted with the Canadian Expeditionary Force, signing his Attestation Paper as a Private (838169) with the 147th Infantry Battalion "Grey Battalion", on December 4, 1915 in Owen Sound, at the age of 26, naming his next-of-kin as his mother, Mrs. Jane Rayner of Leytonstone, stating that he had no previous military service, that he was not married, that his religion was Methodist and that his trade was that of Plasterer. He was named Acting Lance Corporal on October 22, 1916. Stephen Rayner was one of six brothers who signed up for active service: his oldest brother, Harry Rayner, was later discharged as "Medically Unfit", while the others, William, Frank, Harold and Wallace were at the front. The 147th Infantry Battalion was raised in Grey County, Ontario with mobilization headquarters at Owen Sound under the authority of G.O. 151, December 22, 1915. The Battalion sailed on November 14, 1916 from Halifax, Nova Scotia aboard the S.S. Olympic, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel G.F. McFarland with a strength of 32 officers and 910 other ranks, arriving in England on November 20th. Six weeks after arriving in England, he was struck off strength of the 147th Infantry Battalion to the 8th Reserve Battalion on January 1, 1917. Rayner was with the 8th Reserve Battalion when he reported to authorities "injured" on May 25, 1917, having suffered a slight gun shot (shrapnel) wound to his hand, as the result of being an "Air Raid Casualty", but remained at duty. He reverted to the rank of Private at his own request on July 6, 1917, as he had received notice that he was to see service soon in the French theatre. He was struck off strength of the 8th Reserve Battalion and proceeding overseas to the 58th Infantry Battalion, on July 12, 1917. He arrived in France shortly thereafter, leaving for his new unit on July 28th and joining them in them in the field on August 18th. 838169 Private Stephen Rayner, 58th Infantry Battalion, Died of his Wounds in the aftermath of the Battle of Hill 70, on August 30, 1917, at the age of 29. He is buried in Aix-Noulette Communal Cemetery Extension, Aix-Noulette, Pas de Calais, France, Plot: I. P. 8., just west of Lens, and is commemorated on page 313 of the First World War Book of Remembrance. For his First World War service, Private Brown was posthumously awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal, which were forwarded to his "unmarried" wife, Elizabeth Rayner of Toronto, along with his Memorial Plaque and Scroll. His mother, Jane M. Rayner of Leytonstone, received his Memorial Cross. In his Will, dated September 25, 1916, he bequeathed all his real estate and personal estate to his wife, Elizabeth Rayner.