General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

2

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Sterling silver; copper.

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

10.0 cm

Width

7.0 cm

Height

4.0 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Communications

Category

Commemorative

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Unknown

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

City

Unknown

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Saskatchewan

Period

1917.

Canada

The individual to whom this artifact belonged was Selwyn Thompson “Sel” Franks (1899-1985). He was born on September 21st, 1899, in Weston, Ontario. His family moved to Regina, Saskatchewan, between 1907 and 1908. According to family lore, Franks enlisted in the British Army’s air service, the Royal Flying Corps, in 1916. He left for training after completing high school. The institution he attended was the Regina Collegiate Institute, the city’s first high school. Franks’ initial training took place at the University of Toronto. During the winter of 1917 to 1918, he was one of the many trainees who went to Texas, near Fort Worth, to continue his training. Franks obtained his pilot qualification badge in early 1918. After a brief visit in Regina in March, Franks sailed toward the United Kingdoms, where he arrived in April. Once there, the young officer, either second lieutenant or lieutenant, received further training. In August of 1918, Franks crossed into France where he was assigned to a bomber unit, the No. 49 Squadron, in the Royal Air Force. Franks took part in a number of missions, or sorties, both low-level ones near the front and high-level ones further behind enemy lines. Franks kept on flying until the Armistice. At some point thereafter, the No. 49 Squadron was sent to a French village near the Belgian border, then to a town in Germany. The unit stayed there until July 1919, when it was disbanded. Franks himself was already home by then, as he had apparently arrived in Regina on May 1st, 1919. The presence of four Canadian Air Force (CAF) buttons and a CAF cap badge in the donation could indicate that Franks was transferred to this service, at least on paper, at some point between its authorization, in August and September of 1918, and the disbandment of its two squadrons in the United Kingdoms, in January and February of 1920. Franks was a member of the 1923 class of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering. This being said, a burst appendix delayed his graduation as an electrical engineer until 1924. His brother, Wilbur Rounding Franks (1901-1986), is the gentleman who, during the Second World War, developed a G-suit, a special type of flying suit for pilots designed to reduce the impact of tight turns in aerial combat. The Franks G-suit was one of a few developed by Allied countries during the Second World War.

Function

A medal awarded to the members of the Collegiate Institute of Regina board.

Technical

Unknown

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

Lettering engraved on one side of medal reads: “GENERAL PROFICIENCY MEDAL/1ST CLASS/L. T. Franks/1917/STERLING/RM”; lettering embossed on other side of medal reads: “ALITE FLAMMAM/COLLEGIATE/INSTITUTE/REGINA BOARD”.

Missing

The artifact appears complete.

Finish

Silver coloured metal, in different tones of grey; brass coloured metal.

Decoration

Embossed design composed of a hand holding a torch, straight lines of different lengths, a wreath with a bow, and ribbons.