Talk:Reginald Barlow

Section on "Resume Embellishment" inserted by the Regimental Adjutant of The Royal Canadian Regiment following review of referenced documents. If Barlow had been decorated by Queen Victoria for saving an officer from the field of battle, it would be known by the Regiment. - M.M. O'Leary, Capt, The RCR

There has been no slander, only research provided from primary sources on The Royal Canadian Regiment. Please provide independent corroboration of this claimed valour award. If you believe it exists, try finding it in the London Gazette. - M.M. O'Leary, Capt, The RCR

Apparently there is no interest in maintaining any semblance of accurate research with regard to Barlow's claim of "being decorated by Queen Victoria". Please provide some evidence other than newspaper clippings. - M.M. O'Leary, Capt, The RCR

So now that the claim to an award has been neatly removed from the article, it doesn't mean that the claim doesn't still exist in the referenced newspaper articles. The edispute was not about his colonelcy, it was about his claimed award from Queen Victoria. - M.M. O'Leary, Capt, The RCR

===NOONE CLAIMED "VALOR" ON MY OWN PART (WB2); THIS "FACT" WAS PUT IN BY SOMEONE ELSE POSSIBLY MISINTERPRETING AN OLD ARTICLE. PLEASE READ THE "LOST HEAR ON PULLMAN" ARTICLE. IT APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN EMBELISHED BY THE WRITER HIMSELF, BT HECK, THAT WAS IN 1903 AND IN L.A. WE HAD NO CELEBRITIES AT ALL, SO THE REPORTERS "PUFFED THEM UP" A LOT.

The originally quoted passage, which you removed, came from Barlow Genealogy, specifically his obituary. The obituary is subtitled "Decorated by Queen for Valor in Boer War". It states that he served in The Royal Canadian Regiment and that "his decoration from Queen Victoria was awarded for the rescue of his wounded captain under fire." As an officer of The Royal Canadian Regiment, I questioned and investigated this claim, and found no independent sources to corroborate it. Removing the statement does not invalidate the fact that the claim was made and published at the time, or that it has not been substantiated. I will remember that the accepted approach on Wikipedia is to remove discomforting information rather than to add research and analysis of it. - M.M. O'Leary, Capt, The RCR

For the record, my insertion on his claim was:

• Possible Resume Embellishment
  • Although reported in at least one newspaper article during his acting career, specific details of Reginald Barlow's claimed military history are in doubt. The difficulty of confirming records during the early part of 20th Century may have permitted Reginald Barlow to embellish his resume.
  • He reputedly served with The Royal Canadian Regiment in The Second Boer War (1899-1900) for which he was supposed to have been decorated by Queen Victoria for the rescue of his wounded captain under fire.
  • The service records for 7012 Lance Corporal R.H. Barlow of The Royal Canadian Regiment showed that he was "married", with two children, in 1899 on enlistment for the South African War. If this is the same Barlow, this marriage is not elsewhere identified. It is unconfirmed if this is the same Reginald Barlow.
  • Reginald Barlow is not mentioned in the First Volume of the regimental history: "The Royal Canadian Regiment 1883-1933", by R.C. Fetherstonhaugh; Centennial Print & Litho, Fredericton, New Brunswick, reprinted 1981. He is also not mentioned in the narrative history "With the Royal Canadians" (PDF), by Stanley McKeown Brown, 1900.
  • There is no award to Barlow listed in John Blatherwick's "Canadian Army Honours - Decorations - Medals 1902-1968" (New Westminster: FJB Pubications, 1993)
  • Barlow is also unknown to the Regimental Headquarters of The Royal Canadian Regiment in any regard to actions on the battlefield or awards received and is not identified in any honours and awards list maintained by the Regiment.

O.K. WELL I JUST REFERRED DIRECTLY TO THE CANADIAN ARCHIVES' MEDALS REGISTRY, THE 1903 ARTICLE I REFERRED TO ABOVE, AND HIS SERVICE RECORDS THAT ALL COOBERATE THAT HE HAD THREE SIVER CLASPS FROM JOHANNESBURG, CAPE COLONY, AND ORANGE FREE STATE. THE POST MORTEM ARTICLE THAT YOU MENTION, WAS WRITTEN IN 1943, AND SURVIVING RELATIVES ET AL ARE WELL KNOWN BY GENEALOGISTS TO EXAGERATE OR GET THE FACTS WRONG. SO HE DID NOT GET A MEDAL FOR "VALOR" AS I WAS TOLD BY A PROFESSIONAL WHO DEALS EXHAUSTIVELY WITH INFORMATION CONCERNING ALL THOSE WHO RECIEVED MEDALS, ESPECIALLY THE "VICTORIAN CROSS", FROM CANADA. HE PROBABLY JUST LIED ABOUT HIS AGE AND OTHER INFORMATION, AS SO MANY DID, JUST TO GET INTO THE WAR; BUT ITS NOT EXACTLY CERTAIN AT THIS POINT WHAT HE DID LIE ABOUT. HE DID HAVE A BROTHER BY THE NAME OF HARRY WHO MARRIED A MARY NICHOLSON, AND HE HAD A SISTER BY THE NAME OF LILLIE; BUT WE CANNOT TELL SINCE HE DOESN'T EVEN SHOW UP ON ANY CENSUS RECORDS UNTIL 1920. THE CITES YOU GIVE ABOVE ARE PUZZLING, AS I STATE, SINCE THEY OBVIOUSLY CONTRADICT WHAT IS FREE TO LOOK AT IN THE CANADIAN ARCHIVES. POSSIBLY: "PUBLISHER EMBELLISHMENTS"? BUT ITS COMMON TODAY: LYING TO THE PUBLIC ALL THE WAY UP TO THE COPYRIGHT OFFICE. THEIR LATEST GIG, IS TO SUDDENLY CREATE "FIRST EDITIONS" OUT OF BOOKS THAT HAVE BEEN ON THE MARKETPLACE FOR AS LONG AS THIRTY OR MORE YEARS. 208.251.92.42 05:51, 31 May 2007 (UTC) (WB2)

The Queen's South Africa Medal was issued to all soldiers who served in South Africa between 1899 and 1902, approximate 177,000 were issued to British and Commonwealth soldiers. The Cape Colony clasp was issued to to "all troops in cape Colony at any time between 11 Oct 1899 and 31 may 1902 who received no clasps for other actions in cape Colony nor the 'Natal' clasp." The Jonannesburg clasp was issued to 'all troops who were north of an east/west line through Klip River Station (exclusive) and east of a north/soth line through Krugerdorp Station (inclusive), on 31 May 1900." The Orange Free State Clasp was issued to "all troops in the Orange River Colony at any time between 28 February 1900 and 31 May 1902, who received no clasps for other actions in the Orange River Colony." (Source - British Battles and Medals, Seventh Edition, Spink, 2006) - M.M. O'Leary, Capt, The RCR

He may have lied to enlist, relatives may have exaggerated his obituary - neither justify attempting to purge those details from the Wikipedia article in order to avoid discussion and explanation of erroneous details of his life which have been previously documented. Wikipedia should be seeking to identify those errors and provide credible research disproving them for later researchers who may happen upon the obituary or similar information on Barlow. The online obituary remains a false claim to an award which was not presented according to available sources. - M.M. O'Leary, Capt, The RCR

visitor comment

Hi. Just passing by. If his claim of a notable medal was just in one paper, it may not be notable enough to mention. If the claim was significant and noted or discussed in a number of sources, then a sentence to that fact could very well be merited. If the accuracy of the claim has not been discussed in reliable sources, and the regiment has asked Wikipedia to avoid perpetuating incorrect information, then we should err on the side of caution and accuracy. Just some thoughts from a layman passing through. Canuckle 19:42, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Follow Up

After looking at this for a while, and noticing several individuals who are respectfully redacting Reginald's movie credits, I wanted to add that as Reginald ranked rather high in the American military during WWI and even taught and wrote a small book on fixed bayonet fighting at the time, and given that many entertainment personalities find themselves working under Secret and Top Secret circumstances during and after war-time activities have ceased; is it possible that he could have been listed separately? I mean to say, is it possible that if Reginald served under the Crown in some sort of Secret or Top Secret manner, would it even be listed under Canadian archives for regulars? Wouldn't that sort of thing be listed separately if it is even kept in Canadian archives at all? I mean to say, if it was under a truly Top Secret capacity, wouldn't all that sort of stuff be kept in England and not in Canada? WB2 (talk) 02:49, 23 April 2013 (UTC)