In Memory of Lt. John James Doble - Died today, 100 Years ago - Canadian Colt 1911

pcvando

pcvando

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Hello,

I acquired a C prefix Colt 1911 a few years ago, and I did a lot of research on its history and was able to find out that it was the personal sidearm of Lt. John James Doble of the 116th Canadian Bn.

They were sent to fight in France during WW1 and this is the Colt 1911 Lt. Doble carried.

He was born in Sunderland Ontario on May 9th 1882, and belonged to the 34th. Militia regiment prior to WW1.

I managed to obtain his full original service records (50+ pages). He was killed in action April 11th during the battle of Vimy Ridge, exactly 2 months after he arrived in France. (Arrived D11/M2/17, KIA D11/M4/17)

I wont go into too much detail, but he was killed by German artillery fire while crossing an open trench line. His sidearm taken by a good friend and later returned to the family in Canada. The pistol has some shrapnel damage to the right side of the slide. I will post more detailed pics later.

I just wanted to honor what he did, and many brave men such as himself. He paid the ultimate price exactly 100 years ago on this day, around this time.

As military surplus collectors, please never forget who the brave men were that carried these guns, and what they did for us. I encourage you to do as much research as possible, especially on Canadian used pistols as many records still exist today. It is always fascinating to put a name and face on a firearm.

This pistol was on him the moment he was killed. It survived with the scars to prove it, he did not.

May he rest in peace.

John James Doble
May 9th 1882 - April 11th 1917

Pcvando

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More info: http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remem...al-war-memorial/detail/65110?John James Doble
 
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RIP to him and to all vets that gave their life for our freedom... let us never squander the freedom we sometimes take for granted.
 
You should get in touch with Al Voth, the editor of the NFA magazine Canadian Firearms Journal.
The CFJ has an ongoing series of articles about one specific gun and who it belonged to.

I did one on my K31 and the tag it contained
 
Well done pcvando, an honourable tribute to John James Doble - RIP

I have in my possesion a WW1 Colt named to a Capt. in the 72 Highlanders. I've tried to research his name to no avail, any tips would be appreciated.
 
To me the history of a firearm is important and and adds value for me.
More important is knowing of the person that gave it it's history.

Thank you for sharing this history with us.
 
live4therut said:
Love me those named cdn colts, nice one Paul! Where did the provenance come from on this one? Family history? Is it engraved anywhere?
Click to expand...

Thanks Pat! It came from J.J. Dobles family, with many hours of research afterwards.

No engraving on this one, but when I took off the grips, his initials are penciled onto the back of one. :)

I will take some detailed pics and post them up. I also found pics of soldiers carvings and drawings in the Vimy tunnel systems, a few are from the 116th Bn., and carved in the tunnel along with their names is "April 9th" so chances are he used this 1911 in those tunnels a few days before he was killed.

It is so cool when you know where this 1911 was used and what it might have seen.
 
tootall said:
You should get in touch with Al Voth, the editor of the NFA magazine Canadian Firearms Journal.
The CFJ has an ongoing series of articles about one specific gun and who it belonged to.

I did one on my K31 and the tag it contained
Click to expand...

Thank you for the suggestion, I will look into this.
 
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