There are four men represented by sequential regimental numbers that are tied by their common experience and their relationship to each other. Two men were brothers and three men were Barnardo Boys. The fourth man shared the experience of serving with them and their act of enlisting tied them together until their ultimate fates. The... Continue Reading →
A Letter Home: Some Personnel Changes
Excerpt from a letter from Captain McKeough to his home sometime in July 1916: For the first time in months we have a full complement of officers & more are coming shortly. The Colonel has not yet reached here, but some are expecting him anytime. Arthur Carlisle [chaplain] got away about 6 days ago, but... Continue Reading →
Biographical Information: Private James Thomas Pearce, reg. no. 157658
Soldier: Private James Thomas Pearce, reg. no. 157658 Status of Digital Service Record: Not available as of July 8, 2016. Biography Private J.T. Pearce joined the 81st Battalion at Toronto, Ontario on September 17, 1915. He subsequently was transported to England and then to the Continent where he joined the 18th Battalion. He was 26... Continue Reading →
Blog Updates for July 2016
In general the progress for the blog is moving ahead in a systematic manner and the wealth of information online and available is astounding and daunting. Soldiers' Pages At the time of this post the database, in raw terms and without purging and verification, has 1,194 soldiers in it. Of those, approximately 1,000 soldiers have... Continue Reading →
Elgin County Soldiers Who Served in the 18th Battalion
The Elgin Military Museum at St. Thomas, Ontario works very hard to preserve and recognize the military history of the men and women of Elgin County. One of the efforts was a transcription by Joseph O'Gorman of the Elgin County Book of Remembrance. This document lists those that served and gives short biographical descriptions of... Continue Reading →
Letter Home: …unable to get near a bath for over a month.
June 24, 1916 My dear Mother, Daddy, and Grant: Of course we always say that we have wet rainy nights whenever carrying out a relief. Well last Saturday night we moved into the line again from support on a damp night and last night, really this morning, came out in nearly absolute darkness through &... Continue Reading →
A Smashed Revolver: The Actions of Armourer Corporal Kelley Leads to a D.C.M.
4th Brigade, which the 18th Battalion was part of, after an opportunity in early May to clean up, rest, refit, and make up equipment shortages after their last engagement in the front line moved into the Mercatel sector of the line south-west of Arras. Of note was the arrival of two United States Army officers[i]... Continue Reading →
After St. Eloi: A letter home.
A hundred years ago Lieutenant William Stewart McKeough wrote this letter outlining his and the Battalion's experiences: Belgium 15/5/16 My Dear Mother, Daddy, and Grant: It is some time since my last writing. We moved from here to another camp for a 3-day date before going into the line & until now have had no... Continue Reading →
The Mosaic of Life: Bigamy and Fraud in the 18th
Note: Additional information will require amendments to this blog. A member at the 18th Battalion Facebook Group found more information. The Players Private, later Sergeant Alfred Brittle Eliza Brittles, wife of Sergeant Brittle Private Charles Brookman Minnie “Brookman” Clark, wife of Private Brookman and William Clark William Clark, a rigger at a munition plant in... Continue Reading →
Images for The Bluffs Post
The Bluff was a sector of the battle space in which the 18th Battalion was involved. Below are some images of the Bluff(s) and this excellent PDF file from the CWGC outlines, in brief, the history of the conflict in the area and the establishment of war graves.
Letter Home: “…the poor Germans run like a lot of mice.”
Sergeant William Mowatt was wounded in the foot and this letter describes his experiences during the fighting in the Lens, France sector in August 1917. The Tilbury Times, Thursday 18 October, 1917. Letters From the Front. Mrs. Frank Mowatt (nee Martha Billings) is in receipt of the following letter from Wm. Mowatt, who went overseas... Continue Reading →
Milestone: 1,000 Pages
Today the 1,000th page was posted on the blog. Never dreaming that this blog would be so involving and engaging it is with some trepidation that I look towards the next 1,000 pages because, honestly, there will be a 1,000 more after that thousand. I can see that some of my initial efforts to keep... Continue Reading →
Private David Knight Died Because of His Service
Creating the 18th Battalion Facebook Group has paid dividends in many ways. In this specific case a member of the group forwarded an image that officially recognizes the illness of Private David Knight, reg. no. 888057 as being directly related to his service. Private Knight attested to the 186th Battalion on March 7, 1916 and... Continue Reading →
…and only 219 are left of the gallant 18th: A Letter of Condolence
219 OF 18TH LEFT, WRITES PTE. BETTS Stratford Soldier Says Col. Wigle’s Men Are Hard Hit. LETTER IS DATED APRIL 3. Following Battle in Which Three Stratford Men Fell. Stratford, April 22 – A first-had Tribute to the gallantry and sacrifice of the men of the 18th Battalion in their recent glorious but costly achievement... Continue Reading →
A Letter From a Soldier Who Served During the Vimy Attack: Graphic Description of Vimy Ridge
A letter from Lieutenant Stuart Cameron Kirkland published in the Aylmer Express, May 24,1917 and edited for clarity: GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF VIMY RIDGE Some of the Sights Encountered Lieut. Stuart C. Kirkland, who is now in England recovering from a wound in his arm received at the battle of Vimy Ridge, writes the following... Continue Reading →
99 Years Ago: The 18th Battalions Attack at Vimy Ridge
At Zero hour[i], vis 5.30 a.m., the advance was made. Simultaneously with the opening up of the Artillery Barrage the Battalion left the “Jumping-off” trenches[ii] and attacked the German front line. Very little opposition was met with whilst capturing the first line system of trenches. The enemy barraged “No-man’s-land” for about 15 minutes, after which... Continue Reading →
The Postcards of Private Blue to Miss Ella Mitchell, A Teacher in Paisley
One soldier. One life. The evidence of the war experiences for Private Alexander Edward Blue of the 18th Battalion is greater than most, and less than others. One gets a sense of the man, but how much of that is our projection and perspectives from our perspective influencing our perception of the evidence presented before... Continue Reading →
The Wounds of Private Blue
Private Alexander Edward Blue of Paisley, Ontario joined the 18th Battalion at it's inception. On October 27, 1914 he enlisted and began his journey to war. He would become wounded on June 29, 1916, 612 days into his service with the Canadian Expeditionary Force. His war experience is offered in digital format which allows us... Continue Reading →
It is nothing but hell on earth out there, and I know it.: A Letter From Private Blue
In two previous posts the war experience of Private Alexander Blue was reviewed. The first post offered a brief biographical sketch written in pen in long-hand and was part of the Kincardine, Ontario Royal Canadian Legion’s archives. The second post offered, from the same source, letters of assurance from a casualty clearing station immediately after... Continue Reading →
We Shall Not Forget to Pray for Him: News reaches home in Paisley, Ontario regarding the condition of Private Blue
On June 29th, 1916 in the Dickenbusch sector of the Belgium front Private A.E. Blue was wounded in the chest by a sniper's bullet. The family was informed by telegraph on July 4th of the nature of his wounds and the service records indicates he was "dangerously ill" on June 30th with that status being... Continue Reading →
History of the 18th Battalion CEF, "The Fighting Eighteenth" 