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Auction: 24113 - Orders, Decorations and Medals - e-Auction
Lot: 481

Sold by Order of a Direct Descendent

The Great War trio to Private C. E. Deal, The Queen's (Royal West Surrey) Regiment, who survived the Great War only to tragically die in a workplace incident in Kansas City, Missouri in October 1919

1914-15 Star (G-5467 Pte. C. Deal. The Queen's R.); British War and Victory Medals (G-5467 Pte. C. Deal. The Queen's R.), contact marks, otherwise very fine (3)

Charles Ernest Deal was born in Lee, Kent circa 1881. He was the second eldest of seven children born to Thomas George Deal, a gardener, and his wife Sarah Ann. The 1901 census records Charles as living with his family at 154 Ennersdale Road, Lewisham, London and working as a plumber's mate. Deal is recorded to have attested with the 7th King's Royal Rifle Corps Militia on 3 April 1901 and was later discharged as a Private on 2 April 1907 upon the termination of his limited engagement. It is possible that Deal gave a false date of birth, as the recorded birth years on the census and his militia attestation differ. However, due to the shared name and address they certainly both relate to the same Charles Deal.

The included letters reference Deal returning to England from America to serve in the First World War, so at some point presumably he moved to the United States to find work. During the War, Deal was a Private in the Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment and entered the War in France on 15 June 1915. According to his younger brother Percy, who also served in the War with the East Lancashire Regiment,

"I know my brother went through more hardship than I did during his 4 year service because he was always in the front line trenches and I know it had effected his health. I feel proud of my brother when I think of the thousands of miles he came from to help his country when She called…"

Deal survived the War and was transferred to Class Z Army Reserve on 19 March 1919. At an unknown date soon after, he travelled back to the United States and found work as a labourer with the Burrell Engineering Company in Kansas City, Missouri. Tragically, Deal was killed during a workplace incident on 17 October 1919 when a concrete hopper fell on him, killing him instantly, while he worked on the construction of a lift. Ten days later, his body was interred at the Forest Hill Cemetery in Kansas City.

This Lot includes a wealth of letters and correspondence relating to the tragedy and ensuing wrongful death workplace lawsuit. Those letters include Deal's friend and colleague John Mooney informing Percy of the death, noting "I am anxious to see you get all you can out of the Company, for [they] sure hold a mans life cheap in this country".

Percy responded: "It is impossible for me to say how terrible is our loss…. It seems so hard that he should be able to go through 5 years of the Great War always in the front line trenches and then only to go back to America for a few months to meet his death."

The detailed correspondence continues between Percy and Mooney, as well as between Percy and the British Consulate in Kansas City, the Missouri undertaker, the lawyer appointed by the Union to handle the case, and the Burrell Engineering Company. The Company ended up going bankrupt shortly after Deal's death, which disrupted the lawsuit. The ultimate outcome of the lawsuit is unclear from the included documents.

Sold together with large number of original correspondence and documents relating to Deal's death and the lawsuit against his Company, as well as copied research, medal rolls, and M.I.C.

For the medals and related archive belonging to his brother, Percy Henry Deal, please see Lot 435.

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Sold for
£180

Starting price
£40