History of the 18th Battalion CEF, "The Fighting Eighteenth"
Articles, war diaries, and recognition to the Men of the "Fighting 18th"
TRIGGER WARNING: This blog post relates the experiences of a combat soldier that may not be appropriate for all readers. The 18th Battalion’s role and experiences during the 15 September 1916 Battle of Flers-Courcelette are not officially well documented. The War Diary for that month is bereft of detail to the point that someone printed... Continue Reading →
Marg Liessens is a prolific contributor to the Canadian Virtual War Memorial site and others with her photographs of headstones and other images related to the remembrance of our armed forces. While researching Private Oliver Chester Ellis, reg. no. 189469 a visit to the Canadian Virtual War Memorial contained the photograph of Private Ellis. Of... Continue Reading →
On 5 April 1912 at Chatham, Ontario a young couple began their life together. The former bachelor was 21 years old, and his new bride was all of 19. The former was of the Presbyterian faith while the latter was Methodist. Both resided in Chatham at the time of their betrothal and would make their... Continue Reading →
The issue of compensation for our service men and women has been a long-standing issue.[i] In the First World War X Canadians were wounded and many stories outline inadequate pension and compensation for the sacrifices they made. One soldier, Private Donald Roy MacDonald (reg. no. 53709)[ii] was one such man. Hailing from the Bruce-Huron area... Continue Reading →
In the darkness of a soft summer’s Kentish night a chorus of an old Scots love song wafted in the night sung by the men of the 18th Battalion recently arrived in England… Maxwelton's braes[i] are bonnie,Where early fa's[ii] the dew,Twas there that Annie LaurieGave me her promise true.Gave me her promise true -Which ne'er... Continue Reading →
Albert Jean Julien, reg no. 189764, enlisted with the 91st Overseas Battalion at St. Thomas, Ontario on 3 January 1916. He was married to Katherine[i]. He listed his trade as a tailor and as his wife was shown to live at 30 King Street. He had two sons, Albert Michael Leo Julian (1907-1999) and Glen... Continue Reading →
In the upper picture of this group are four native born Russians: Sergy Dondik, a former sergeant in the czar’s bodyguard at Warsaw, who came from Chicago to join the ally of this fatherland at Windsor; John W. Pearson, who was born at Skermacish, Latonia, a province grouped with Russian Poland; fighting has been reported... Continue Reading →
The soldier sits, relaxed, on a stool. A comrade, face out of frame, leans into him as he sits. He holds a swagger stick, a common affectation of the Canadian troops of the other ranks. The photo is sadly indistinct, and we cannot see the details of his face, but he is looking directly at... Continue Reading →
The 18th Battalion trained in England from May to September 1915. It was based at West Sandling Camp near Shorncliffe Military Base and the 18th Battalion War Diary does not do a good job in relating the activities of the soldiers while they trained there. It is epic in its brevity. Twenty-five of May’s diary... Continue Reading →
This is a transcription of a biography written by this man’s daughter, Barbara Joan (Routly) Spruce. The original document is typewritten and was scanned and accessed at Family Search. The document scan is deprecated and difficult to read in some places. An attempt has been made to be faithful to the author’s version so... Continue Reading →
One of our active members who not only supports the memory of the men of the 18th Battalion but other Canadian units that fought in the First World War has published a book. Quentin de Givenchy has painstakingly researched, photographed and recorded a moment in a soldier's life. Imagine coming off the line and marching... Continue Reading →
Each soldier in the Canadian Expeditionary Force had their own unique experience serving. When one watches a battalion marching during a parade there is a perception of a one-mindedness of the personnel of that unit and the military ethos requires the sublimation of the individual will and their unique personality and experiences. No matter how... Continue Reading →
This photograph was contributed to the 18th Battalion Facebook Group and is the basis of this post. Three men lie causally on the grass. The photo is pixelated but one can derive a certain youthfulness from the photograph. Two of the men hold knobbed ended batons or swagger sticks and the man on the left... Continue Reading →
It is like a mist, history is. The comings and goings of the myriad of individuals who populate our world is significant to them and their kin. But, as time goes by, as family members die, and when a family’s future is not guaranteed by the issue of progeny, that person’s history dies out very... Continue Reading →
Bookkeeper Walter James Buchanan of Goderich, Ontario enlisted with the 71st Battalion on 21 September 1915. At the age of 21 he had 4 years of militia experience and lived in a small Ontario town routed in its connection to Lake Huron and the surrounding farms. At the time of his enlistment he never would... Continue Reading →
I love such in-depth biographical work. Each story is unique and important.
Last year I wrote about the WW1 experiences of my great grandfather Harry Underwood, a POW, and his older brother Harold, a recipient of the Military Medal who was killed in action in 1918.
In honour of Remembrance Day 2022, I’d like to tell the WW1 stories of two of my husband’s great uncles, brothers Algernon and Sidney Saword. Their experiences couldn’t be more different from each other: Born in England, they were recent immigrants to Canada when war broke out; Algernon (‘Algy’) was quick to sign up with the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) and soon found himself back in Britain and on the battlefields of Europe, while Sidney, whose religious beliefs made him a non-combatant, served with the CEF in Canada on the railways.
Growing up in Southend
Sidney James Saword (b. 1894) and Algernon Leslie Saword (b. 1895) were the two oldest surviving sons of James Saword…
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Each soldier in the Canadian Expeditionary Force had their own unique experience. When one watches a battalion marching during a parade there is a perception of one-mindedness and that the military ethos involves the sublimation of the individual and their unique personality and experiences. But, no matter how hard an army tries to forge individuals... Continue Reading →
Witley Camp. January 1918. It had just snowed 4 inches and Private Charles Arthur Reed (reg. no. 651593), formerly of Eden Grove, Ontario was responding to a letter from his mother. Letter dates 14 January 1918 from Private Reed to his mother, Isabella Ann (McNaugthon) Reed (1871-1953) His primary concern at the beginning of the... Continue Reading →
The third in a series of posts exploring men of the 18th Battalion who were buried in the Canadian Maritimes. The author visited the grave of this soldier to acknowledge his service to our nation and to let him know he is not forgotten. This is only part of his story. Private Thomas Luff’s story... Continue Reading →
This is the second in a series of posts exploring the service and life of 18th Battalion men buried in the Maritimes. The author visited the grave of a soldier in Nova Scotia during a visit to a family member and from that grew a desire to visit and honour these men, some of who... Continue Reading →
History of the 18th Battalion CEF, "The Fighting Eighteenth" 