In the paper En Route to Flanders Fields there is a quote that is currently a mystery: Sergeant Dickson of the 18th Battalion Canadian Infantry was, until enlistment, a pastor at the Methodist Episcopal Church in Cleveland City, Ohio and was invited to lead a service from the pulpit in the Grace Hill Wesleyan Church,... Continue Reading →
“I hope only I get about half a dozen of the “Huns” before they get me.”
A letter written by Pte. Sydney Hampton to his family 99 years ago, almost to the date, is illuminating. The 18th Battalion is in England training and in a month will embark for Flanders. Pte. Hampton letter illuminates and illustrates the attitudes of a Canadian solder at this time. It is interesting as from the... Continue Reading →
Researching the Canadian Expeditionary Force
Some great research tools!
Correcting History One Soldier at a Time
In a recent soldier post of Private James Hislop (Service No.: 54341) it occurred to me that the soldier record for him was incorrect. He was listed as serving in the 15th Battalion, Central Ontario Regiment at the time of his death. Since I had corroboration that he had served with the 18h Battalion through... Continue Reading →
War Diary of the 18th Battalion: February 1916
Confidential War Diary of 18th Canadian Battalion 2nd Canadian Division From 1st February to 29th February 1916 Volume 6 Place Date Hour Summary of Events and Information VIERSTRAAT Feb. 1 “B” and “D” Coys in trenches “M” + “N”. Lt. Col. E.S. Wigle acting Brigadier 4th Can. Infy. Bgde. Lieut. RISPIN went to 1st Infy.... Continue Reading →
A Letter Home: The ’18th’ suffered terribly lately.
Note: Posted corrected to state true author of letter and to add text from second JPEG. On May 2, 1916 Major George Whitford Nelson's wife Edna wrote a letter to her family in Canada. The 18th Battalion had been in overseas action since September 1915 and had seen fighting in Flanders. It has been blooded... Continue Reading →
War Diary of the 18th Battalion: January 1916
Confidential War Diary of 18th Canadian Battalion 2nd Canadian Division from 1st January to 31st January 1916: Volume 5 With appendices 1-2 Place Date Hour Summary of Events and Information LA CLYTTE Jan. 1 Battalion in LA CLYTTE in Divisional Reserve – “B” and D Companies were paid other Companies conducted training in specialists. Officers... Continue Reading →
Hope Dashed…
On January 31st, 1916 the 18th Battalion War Diary recorded: Battn as yesterday - Pte. Atherton wounded on fatigue. Scouts Broadwell, Reeves reported missing - Lost on patrol. One wonders how the family found out and took this information but a news article later in the year gives hope and then another one dashes it.... Continue Reading →
“He did his duty and did it well…”
Clipping from the Calgary Daily Herald May 8, 1916 LIEUT. F. DAWSON DIED LIKE SOLDIER DECLARES HIS O.C. F.J. Lawson Receives Letter Telling How Son Was Fatally Wounded That Lieut. Frank Lawson, of Calgary, who was mentioned a short time ago by The Herald, was killed in action in the St. Eloi fight, made the... Continue Reading →
Missing, believed drowned…
On November 17, 1915 the HMHS Anglia was sunk of Folkestone by a submerged mine lain by a German UC series of mine laying submarines. It was the 1st sinking of an Allied hospital ship from enemy action and 134 souls where lost. Two of them were men from the 18th Battalion. From the war... Continue Reading →
Father and Son in the 18th Battalion
Smith... What a name to have to research. If one goes to the LAC database and does a last name search for 'Smith' you get approximately 7,000 results. Impressive if you think of this last name as a percentage of all the Canadian troops that served overseas - about 1%. I wonder how common, or... Continue Reading →
Private David Gray: Finding Peace in Shorncliffe
One of the challenges with the research with this blog is the amazing quantity and assortment of information. It leads you in all sorts of directions. On Twitter I became aware of the Shorncliffe Trust (twitter handle @shorncliffe95 ) which is working hard to preserve and commemorate the history of this area. Since the 2nd... Continue Reading →
Every Man Remembered Project
The Royal British Legion has created a site and is working with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to commemorate every Commonwealth soldier that fell during First World War. See: http://www.everymanremembered.org/ My commemoration of my Uncle John Taylor Dewar.
Interesting Documents Found
Found are two very interesting documents in PDF format. One document illustrates the hope and promise of an early victory and the other document illustrates the realistic expectations that a society faces after a conflict such as The Great War. 18th Battalion Christmas Greetings from The Women's Canadian Club PDF offers a glimpse of the... Continue Reading →
Research Paper: En Route to Flanders Fields: The Canadians at Shorncliffe During The Great War
This paper is a must read. En Route to Flanders Fields: The Canadians at Shorncliffe During The Great War By Diana Beaupré
A Servant Soldier’s Death
Holland, Mark: Service no. 53345 has a page but the research on this soldier has brought some more information as usual so I am posting the results in a post to highlight the life of the common Canadian soldier and how their death's were communicated. Note that the term "servant soldier" was a proper term... Continue Reading →
The Tragedy that Befell Pte. Hislop and Holland
On researching Pte. James Hislop (I am using this spelling as it is consistent with official government records) I was able to garner some more information from CEF Study group that helps illuminate not just this serving soldier but also 2 more soldiers. Please note the letter below. Pte. Jame Hislop had named his father... Continue Reading →
War Diary of the 18th Battalion: December 1915
Confidential War Diary Of 18th Canadian Battalion 2nd Division From 1st December to 31st December 1915 Volume 4 Place Date Hour Summary of Events and Information 1 4:30 PM Battn. Relieved 19th Battn a VIERSTRAAT- “B” . “D” Coys in trenches and “C” . “A” Coys in battalion reserve – 6 other ranks struck... Continue Reading →
“Brickfields” and Death: The Battle of Fler-Courcelette Page Posted
Read about this major battle that led to casualties equal to or greater than a Canadian Division at that time.Why did 93 men of the 18th Battalion die and why was it not recorded?
Brothers
As I work through the War Diary and do my Soldiers research I have found several stories belying the terrible toll the Great War had on families. Several times there have been brothers serving together such as the Nelson brothers. Today I found the Cash bothers. See their soldier pages here and here for more... Continue Reading →
History of the 18th Battalion CEF, "The Fighting Eighteenth" 