The 18th Battalion experienced Christmas as a unit from 1914 to 1918. Each Christmas was a different experience for each year. The first Christmas was a gala event in London, Ontario and hosted by The Women’s Canadian Club replete with boiled ham, mashed potatoes, and green peas. The following Christmases would not be the same... Continue Reading →
Death in a Trench Bay: A Mystery
On May 13, 1916, a shell landed in a trench bay killing two men of the 18th Battalion. The Circumstances of Death Card for one of the men, Private John Humphreys, relates ‘“Killed in Action” He was with two comrades sitting in the bay of a trench in front of St. Eloi about 1 a.m.... Continue Reading →
Grace & Claire Corbould
Some family backround to one of the 18th Battalion officers, Lieutenant Charles Edward Bernard Corbould.
Bombers of the 18th
A photograph from the Toronto Telegram entitled "OUT OF SOMME BATTLE" shows 6 men who are bombers with the 18th Battalion. The photograph bears a caption and identifies the men by their initials and last name. Taking this source one can get excited that these men can be identified and connected to their service numbers.... Continue Reading →
Platoon Photograph Circa Fall 1914
No. 7 Platoon, “B” Company of the 18th Battalion CEF. No. 7 Platoon, “B” Company of the 18th Battalion CEF. Contributed by an 18th Battalion Facebook Group member. The photograph[1] is undated but there are some hints to the time on which this photograph was taken. The tunics appear to be of the Canadian Pattern... Continue Reading →
Coincidence on a Train
Coincidence. What series of events need to come together to create one? Many people attribute unseen forces to coincidence, and some dismiss that, by chance alone, there is no way a series of events or connections can occur without some unseen force conspiring to create the event that seems but impossible to have occurred. There... Continue Reading →
October 1918 Casualties
RankSurnameForenameDate of DeathReg. No.PrivateBETTONJ R10/11/1918198966PrivateBRETTINGHAM 10/10/1918739520PrivateCAMPBELLF D10/10/1918769610LieutenantCASHWILFRID ARTHUR10/10/1918LinkPrivateCATERARCHIBALD LEONARD10/2/1918730648PrivateCLEARYJERRY10/18/1918226542PrivateCROWLEYW10/11/1918769411PrivateDRUMMONDCHARLES10/10/1918124363PrivateELLISA C10/11/19183130434PrivateENGLISHB G10/1/1918651604PrivateFLOOKWILLIAM GEORGE10/11/1918189801CorporalFREEE B10/11/1918769634PrivateGRADYJ10/22/19182448453LieutenantHANKINSONELMORE LESLIE10/6/1918LinkPrivateHASTINGSNEWELL10/31/1918844575LieutenantHOSFORDGEORGE ERNEST10/17/1918LinkPrivateHUTCHISONJAMES WESLEY10/10/19183130241PrivateIRWINC E10/12/19183130715PrivateJACKSONWILLIAM CLIFFORD10/11/1918514260PrivateJOHNSTONA D10/8/1918652183PrivateKINGF P10/11/1918928690PrivateLAVELLEL S10/10/19183131642PrivateMcCAULEYGORDON10/11/1918195833PrivateMcKEIGANNEIL10/10/1918878420LieutenantMILFORDT V10/20/1918LinkPrivatePOOLEYERNEST GEORGE10/8/1918651340PrivatePOUNDSF E10/1/19182453306PrivateROACHHARRY10/11/1918123589PrivateROBINSARTHUR DAVID10/11/1918803183PrivateSCRIVERR10/9/1918195437PrivateSHETLERGEORGE EDWARD10/25/1918406167CorporalSOUTERJ P10/11/191856PrivateSPRATLINGWILLIAM JOSEPH10/14/1918158526PrivateTILLSONGEORGE EDWIN10/20/1918802108PrivateWALLISJ10/11/19182448484PrivateWEEKSIRA RALPH ALLAN10/15/1918123344PrivateWHITTAKERA R10/11/19183131518PrivateWILLIAMSF J10/3/19182448462PrivateWILLIAMSONJ R10/11/19183131754LieutenantWILSONMATTHEW MAURICE10/10/1918Link
The Cost: 913 Dead
NOTE: This list needs to be updated. Current update is as of September 16, 2021. Updated from 912 to 913 with the addition of Private Wilfred Fox, reg. no. 405752, added in November 2, 2021. The men who sacrificed from the 18th Battalion whose death were attributed to their participation in the war. In some... Continue Reading →
Bivouac of the Dead: The 18th Battalion’s Experience at the Battle at Flers-Courcelette.
“On France's eternal camping groundTheir silent tents are spread.While glory guards with solemn roundThe Bivouac of the Dead.”Poem attached to Sergeant Chester P. Smiths Memorial Page. Adaptation of Bivouac of the Dead, Theodore O’Hara, 1851. There is a succinct, enigmatic entry in the pages of the 18th Battalion’s War Diary for September 1916. “NOT MUCH... Continue Reading →
Three Men Stand Together
The three men stand together. Their faces are such that one cannot define emotion. Two of the men are not stoic as much, it seems, attempting to suppress laughter while being serious soldiers. The man on the left has his eyes fixed at the photographer is there is no hint of a smile, unlike the... Continue Reading →
Finances and the Private
On October 29, 1914, a 27-year-old labourer[i] enlisted with the 18th Battalion. He had 1-year experience with the 30th Wellington Rifles. He had previously enlisted with the 6th London Battery (Independent), Canadian Field Artillery (CFA), but that enlistment, for some reason, only lasted from August 12 to 29 of 1914. Now, he had permission to... Continue Reading →
A Fate Awaited Him at Home
On July 29, 1915, The London Advertiser reported, in one line, that Private Hugh Marshall, reg. no. 54266 had “Died of injuries sustained by motor car accident. Glasgow, July 22.” London Advertiser. July 29, 1915. Not much of an epitaph for a man and his life. Born in Glasgow on November 10, 1883, he was... Continue Reading →
The Toms Brothers of Bayfield
This is an imagining of the lives and experiences of two brothers who enlisted with the 161st Battalion and were transferred to active duty with the 18th. I have always been struck by the loss of one, or both brothers that served together and this short story is my expression of what it would have... Continue Reading →
“…an intense desire to meet the enemy…” Corporal Tripp Writes Friends in London.
Fresh from arriving in England on the next stage of his military journey, having enlisted with the 18th Battalion on October 27, 1914, Corporal Herbert Tripp, reg. no. 53622, a chef, late of Sarnia, Ontario, and a former resident of London, Ontario, writes home to friends in London of his recent experiences in the Canadian... Continue Reading →
Some News From Hastings to London, Ontario
Fred Young, reg. no. 53180, was a prolific letter writer to the newspapers in London and Windsor, Ontario during the war, and poet laurate of the 18th Battalion after the war. In this letter written while he was posted with the Administration Staff at Hastings with the Assistant Director of Medical Services, he outlines some... Continue Reading →
“Love for liberty and for you is all that keeps our pluck. ” A Letter to a Priest.
Via Operation Picture Me. Wiarton Echo. February 14, 1917. Near the end of January 1917, a 24-year-old soldier from Cape Croker[i] wrote a letter to his parish priest. He was not an exceptional soldier, in that he had not earned military recognition through medals[ii], but he was exceptional as he represented a community in the... Continue Reading →
Russell Stanley 1891
From a wonderful resource we find that several men of the 18th Battalion came from Uxbridge, Ontario.
Information about Private Van Luven, Lorne: Service no. 409245
The efforts of these sites to commemorate Canadian soldiers is so precious. This page is about a soldier that served with the 18th Battalion.
“In Ticklish Places…”: A sniper writes to his Reverend.
“In Ticklish Places…”: A sniper writes to his Reverend. On December 7, 1915, Private James Parker, reg. no. 54357, having finished having his feet inspected for trench foot, settled down to write a letter to his Reverend, H.H. Bingham while the 18th Battalion was in Divisional Reserve at La Clytte (De Klijte). Source: The London... Continue Reading →
Solace: a father-and-son story
This article by Kristen den Hartog is a touching and poignant reminder of the cost of war and how companionship can help both parties. See the article at this link: https://www.geist.com/fact/dispatches/solace/
Note that the link is also in the post.
❤ Many of you know that for the past several years I’ve been working on a book about WW1 patients and staff of a military hospital here in Toronto. The research is incredibly time-consuming but fascinating too, and I have had some wonderful encounters with the descendants of my “characters.” I wrote about one of the most moving exchanges for Geist magazine recently, and the article, titled “Solace,” is now viewable online.
Below, a photo of Bud Colquhoun and one of his father Stewart, sent to me from his friends in Northern Ontario.
History of the 18th Battalion CEF, "The Fighting Eighteenth" 