Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Efficiency Decoration, G.VI.R., 1st issue, Canada, undated, reverse impressed, ‘Major J. F. Houston’, in damaged Royal Mint case of issue, extremely fine £100-140

John Frederick Houston was born in Carleton Place, Ontario on 21 November 1890. He was educated there and became a teacher and taught in Western Canada to finance his medical studies at Queen’s University. With the outbreak of the Great War, he went overseas serving 8 months as a Private in the C.A.M.C. but was returned to complete his final year at Queen’s because of the shortage of military doctors. He then returned to active service overseas in 1917 with the C.A.M.C. After the war he took postgraduate studies in New York and in the early 1920’s opened an office in Hamilton. Dr Houston returned to military duty with the onset of the Second World War. Promoted to Major he was in charge of the permanent medical board in Hamilton until his return to private practice in 1943. He was also a Past President of the Hamilton Academy of Medicine, a former Chairman of the General Hospital’s Medical Board, and a Past President of the Hamilton Association of Occupational Therapy. Dr Hamilton died in Hamilton on 21 August 1974.

Sold with a portrait photograph of the recipient in uniform, together with a quantity of copied service papers.