Applicant for Enlistment English and French Badge

Authored by veterans.gc.ca and submitted by JF_112

Not everyone attempting to enlist in the Canadian Forces met the existing minimum medical (physical) standards. Initially, no distinguishing button was issued to those persons rejected for failing to meet the standards. Although a Committee on War Service Badges had recommended on 27 October 1939 that two badges be established; a SERVICE badge for those voluntarily attested for active service beyond Canada and a RESERVE badge for those medically exempt (among other reasons); that recommendation was not acted upon. Instead, rejected applicants for service in the army were issued with form M.F.M. 12 (Militia Form M.12) - Certificate of Medical Unfitness for Service in the Canadian Active Service Force. This form did not satisfy the need for an easily identified indicator of exempt status however, and rejected applicants suffered in the eyes of the public as a result.

There were many requests from the general public and veterans organizations for a suitable badge and on June 26, 1941 the Adjutant-General informed the Minister of Defence that he would be discussing the matter at a meeting of the Awards Board. The result of the demands and the meetings was the enactment, by Canada's Governor General, The Earl of Athlone, of Order in Council P.C. 7893 on Saturday, October 11, 1941, (retroactively effective September 1, 1939) to create a badge to identify the medically unfit volunteers and distinguish them from those who had not yet volunteered.

Loki-L on July 9th, 2020 at 17:14 UTC »

To avoid them being bullied and shamed for not volunteering.

Like the whole white feather thing in WWI.

brock_lee on July 9th, 2020 at 16:30 UTC »

In the US, it was kind of seen as a failure. My dad was drafted for Korea, but was classified as "4F" which means unfit to serve.

To be eligible for Class 4-F, a registrant must have been found not qualified for service in the Armed Forces by a Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) under the established physical, mental, or moral standards.

Not sure why. I asked him about it once and his answer was "I don't know, they said something about my blood." And he never talked about it. He seemed like a fit, able-bodied guy and so on, and lived to be 81, only dying from a medical mistake, not poor health or old age.

tezoatlipoca on July 9th, 2020 at 16:26 UTC »

Not sure if those who were "essential to the war effort" were likewise issued something. Both of my grandfathers volunteered and were turned down as essential - one was a butcher and one was a tool and die draftsman for deHaviland. :/