What are war diaries?
War diaries are the written, day-to-day record of a battalion or other organization that are kept to record the significant events and movements of personnel, individuals, and the unit as a whole.
What format are they?
The war diaries online are scans of paper sheets of a standardized form. The diaries are often hand written and sometimes are type written. The diary has specific information that is recorded but the diary and its details can vary depending on the soldier keeping the diary and the activity in which the unit is involved. In the case of the 18th Battalion the attack on Vimy Ridge has volumes of valuable information including officer’s messages, maps, and the like.
The quality of the scan and other environmental factors make reading the diaries online a challenge and interpreting them is exacerbated by the legibility or illegibility of the writing and many technical terms and abbreviations used in the Canadian Military at that time.
Where can I find them?
18th Canadian Infantry Battalion
Medical Officer, 18th Canadian Infantry Battalion
Master List of CEF Battalion and Units
Examples of War Diary Pages
Discover more from History of the 18th Battalion CEF, "The Fighting Eighteenth"
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History of the 18th Battalion CEF, "The Fighting Eighteenth" 
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