Introduction One of the challenges about researching the men of the 18th Battalion is that the information on hand, though very valuable, in the form of their individual service records at the Library and Archives Canada gives a snap shot of that person’s war experience. This is more of a “photograph” of time. Each page... Continue Reading →
The McDermids/MacDermids of Glammis Ontario
In a letter written in the fall by Private Joseph Edgar McAfee, regimental number 651738 the news that Neil McDermid[i] late of Glamis [Glammis], Ontario was wounded made its way across the Atlantic to find its way into the Paisley Advocate as “news from the front.” In the letter, Private McAfee relates that a fellow... Continue Reading →
What’s In a Name?
History and memory can be tenuous. As time passes and the source of history - the people who experienced the events - fade with each death. With each passing year after an event, be it small or world shaping, there is a loss of the source of information about the event. There are books, archives,... Continue Reading →
“…not likely to become an efficient soldier.”
On the 22nd of September 1914, the war was in its 39th day[i]. A young man, all of 20-years joined the 1st Battalion CEF which had only been created 20-days before. This soldier, reg. no. 1288904[ii] served with that battalion with a clean record, but it was determined that on October 2, 1914 at Valcartier,... Continue Reading →
The First to Die
With thanks to Patrick Dennis, Colonel (RET’D), OMM, CD who reached out to me and pointed me in the right direction. His work to inform us about the role of conscription can be best appreciated by his book, “Reluctant Warriors: Canadian Conscripts in the Great War” Without his help and his work my interest and... Continue Reading →
“The parapet was blown flat in two places…”
Private (later Lieutenant) Wesley Strang Caldwell[i] was yet to earn the Military Medal for his actions at Courcelette, the Somme, when this letter was published in the Huron Expositor on March 10, 1916. He was 20-years old, just shy of his 21st birthday by 40 days. He was a combat veteran claiming to have served... Continue Reading →
New Blog Header Image
Thanks for Peter Moogk for reaching out to me we have another moment if the 18th Battalion's history captured and shared. This image shows the officers of "C" Company in September 1915 at West Sandling. To put that month in context, the Battalion left for England on the night of the 14th and had been... Continue Reading →
“…because life in the trenches was less irksome and monotonous and no more beastly than in places like Bouvigny Huts”
Bouvigny Huts. Bouvigny Huts. Those two words may have spelled mixed feelings with the Battalion. This would be the first time they ware billeted there but other battalions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force reported the conditions for this facility in the rear that “…life in the trenches was less irksome and monotonous and no more... Continue Reading →
Transcription of the 18th Battalion Diary in Process
The PDF file attached to this post is a copy of the 18th Battalion War Diary as one contiguous document. The document is comprised of the monthly diary entries as each one was written and are now combined into one document compiled from all the entries that were transcribed. There is information in the forward... Continue Reading →
Two Men. Two Scouts. One Raid.
On the night of July 26/27 men of the 18th Battalion carried out a “minor trench raid”. The weather was “Fine but dull”[i] on that day. In that raid were two men, originals with the Battalion, who both have quite different stories. Private Forrester Private Alfred Forrester, reg. no. 53648[ii] war service started out rather... Continue Reading →
Lieutenant Walter Garlick Worth’s Photographs
The Worth family has quite a history and some rare photos of one of their members brings part of his recuperation after being wounded a Vimy Ridge into a sharper focus. Walter Garlick Worth was part of a family that was industrious. His father, Dyson, was involved in the yarn industry, beginning at the ripe... Continue Reading →
“Did I tell you how I got hit? “: A Letter Home to Glamis Ontario
Soldiers letters do not stand on their own. They impart small, discrete, often obscure, snippets of information that connect the writer with the people of his hometown, unit, and his social circle. They can often give clues that lead to a broader understanding of the writer and his experiences during his service. The letters also... Continue Reading →
A “Soldier of Fortune” Returns…
Private Gordon Wellington Wilder, regimental no. 54265[i] of the 18th Battalion, CEF is an enigma. From his attestation papers on his enlistment he was a 30-year old Anglo-Irish British subject that indicated prior military experience with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers and had served 2-years in the Sudan; 3-years in South Africa; and 13-months in China.... Continue Reading →
“…we cannot buy a candle or any thing to eat…”: Letters from Lance-Corporal Parker
On January 24, 1916 a man from Hastings, Ontario enlisted with the 93rd Battalion, so beginning his military career. We have one postcard and three letters from his overseas service, and they give us the opportunity to look a bit deeper into the war experience of Private John Edward Parker (reg. no. 195573).[i] Private Parker... Continue Reading →
18th Battalion Association Event Circa 1940
A recent contribution to the 18th Battalion Facebook Group brought a candid photograph of two members of the 18th Battalion to life. The photograph is from an event circa 1940 and it is evident that it, most likely, an event related to the 18th Battalion association. The two men prominent in the photograph are Sergeant... Continue Reading →
First Galt Daily Reporter Employee to Be Wounded
An article in the December 21, 1915 edition of the Galt Daily Reported relates the first casualty from former Galt Reporter employees serving in the war, Private John Hollins, had been wounded during service with the 18th Battalion. Private Hollins enlisted on November 4, 1914, at Galt with the 18th Battalion and gave his trade... Continue Reading →
Poetry and Regret
Some time after the Armistice in 1918 and July 1921 a former private of the 18th Battalion wrote a poem and published it in pamphlet form. It is now an obscure document and would be lost to history save for the work of Canadiana Online. Hidden, waiting to be found was the pamphlet with its... Continue Reading →
History of the 18th Battalion CEF, "The Fighting Eighteenth" 