This past month a focus on the activities of the 18th Battalion with its involvement in the actions that occurred 100 years ago at the Somme was made. Several posts outlining with more detail the events that affected the 4th Canadian Infantry Brigade offered some insight into the actions of the 18th Battalion on that... Continue Reading →
Battle of Courcelette: Communications Record for September 15, 1916
Introduction The record below is a transcription of the 4th Canadian Infantry Brigade's appendices numbered 80 to 150. The appendices records the communications between the various units involved in the battle for Courcelette and relates to the units in the 4th C.I.B. as well as peripheral units attached or adjacent to the Brigade during the... Continue Reading →
The Butcher’s Bill: 18th Battalion Killed in Action, September 1916
September 1916 was a particularly bloody month of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. During the 30 days of September 1916 the Canadian Army suffered 4,759 deaths. The Canadian Army was transferred to the Somme and took part in that battle. Of the 4,759 Canadian soldiers killed in action 111 of them were from the 18th Battalion.... Continue Reading →
West Sandling Camp and the Trenches of Tolsford Hill
Michael and Paula Dugdale, residents of Saltwood, Kent, England has written a document that brought an important location for the 18th Battalion to life[i]. Background The 18th Battalion was formed in South Western Ontario, primarily from Windsor, Chatham, London, Woodstock, and Galt, Ontario during the autumn of 1914 and was part of the 2nd Contingent... Continue Reading →
Why I Do This…
...for Private Henry Allen, reg. no. 158529. He died at the age of 45 years old on August 17, 1917 and from the Canadian Great War Project soldier page we find out the date he died; his regimental number, the place he is commemorated as he has no know grave and that he enlisted. His... Continue Reading →
He was loving and kind to all…
On the 7th of May, 1915 in London, Ontario a young 21 year old Herman Aitken, reg. no. 112168 enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force with the 7th Canadian Mounted Rifles. In England he was attached to the Fort Garry Horse on January 2, 1916 and transferred to the Continent to join that unit. It... Continue Reading →
The Connection Between Captain Laing of the 18th and Leonardo DiCaprio
On October 20, 1914 Alfred Benson Laing enlisted in the 18th Battalion. He was a 24-year-old druggist with three years of officer cadet experience coupled with 7 years’ experience with the 21st Volunteers[i]. His next of kin information is noteworthy as his father was Colonel Frederick Herbert Laing located at the Laing building at the... Continue Reading →
Picture of an 18th Battalion Soldier: Private Archibald Charles Ambrous, reg. no. 53994
Up until today Private Archibald Charles Ambrous, reg. no. 53994 existed visually as a series of official documents and several web pages outlining his attestation information and death from wound received in combat August 12, 1918. A member of the 18th Battalion CEF group was good enough to join the group so he could share... Continue Reading →
153rd Battalion Internet Resource and More Pictures of Soldiers Found
The 153rd (Wellington) Battalion C.E.F. web site came in handy recently. During a search for a solder, Private Forbes Dilworth, reg. no. 50413, the web site for the Wellington County Museum and Archives web site came up with two pages of soldiers pictures from the "PART I (A-L): Elora and District Servicemen, 1914-1918." Manually going... Continue Reading →
Under Age Soldier: Private Albert Edward Miller
In a previous post the discrepancy between this soldiers date of birth and age on his attestation papers and the age of 17 years old stated on the Commonwealth War Grave Commission's Grave Registration was noted. Subsequent to that post a blog commented by davidunderdown95 direct the author to the FreeBMD site and a digitized... Continue Reading →
Report on raiding enterprise by 18th Canadian Battalion on the night 26/27 July, 1916
On the night of July 26/27th the 18th Battalion initiated a trench raid. Sadly, other then the report transcribed below, no further details, at this time, are known. The report was not signed making it uncertain who the author is but it is a valuable document. It makes mention of two private soldiers by name... Continue Reading →
HE DIED THAT WE MIGHT LIVE: The Death of Private Albert Edward Miller of Highgate, Ontario
A rare find was made today while researching the casualty list for April 1917. During the research process of enumerating and collecting information of all the 18th Battalion soldiers who died during that important month in the Battalion’s history a unique, an as yet, singular document was found. Private Albert Edward Miller, reg. no. 226140... Continue Reading →
“Why, what is the news?”: Underage Soldier Dies Serving with the 18th
"Why, what is the news?" Those words probably reverberated in the vestibule of 696 Ashdale Avenue[1] in Toronto, Ontario one day in early December of 1916. It was a question posed by the mother of Private Charles Duncan Compton as a Toronto Star newspaper reporter followed up on the news of this soldier’s death. His... Continue Reading →
A Numbers Game: Curious Case of Sequential Regimental Numbers and 4 Soldiers of the 116th Overseas Battalion
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 →
History of the 18th Battalion CEF, "The Fighting Eighteenth" 