After the veritable slaughter that was the action at Fer-Courcelette in September for the 18th Battalion, November 1916 was a time for exceptionally light casualties. 1.301 Canadian service personnel perished during November 1916. The 18th Battalion suffered 2 men killed in action. Private Belfry had been wounded in October 1916 only to survive to the... Continue Reading →
War Diary of the 18th Battalion: October 1916
CONFIDENTIAL WAR DIARY WAR DIARY OF 18th Canadian Battalion – 2nd Canadian Division from 1st October to 31st October, 1916 Volume 14 Place Date Hour Summary of Events and Information SOMME 1 and 3.15 pm The night of 1st/2nd 18th Can Battalion relieved 21st Canadian Battn in line in front of Courcellette [sic]. 22nd Canadian... Continue Reading →
Digitized Service Record Links Added
The following 18th Battalion soldiers have digitized service records available online in PDF format and their pages have been updated accordingly: Drummond, Charles: Service no. 124363 Dryden, Walter Davidson: Service no. 730635 Dudley, William Howard: Service no. 404827 Duke, Henry Gilbert: Service no. 3130431 Duncan, Robert: Service no. 163816 Dunlop, James Alvin: Service no. 880598... Continue Reading →
Soldiers Added Since July 1, 2015
Reg. No. Rank Last Name First Name 123480 Sergeant Bate Charles Lieutenant Bates Bernard John Lieutenant Bawden Henry Norman 189580 Private Beddle Roy Craig 823109 Belcher Russell William 189487 Corporal Bishop Matthew 880036 Private BLACKBURN ALFRED JOHN 54343 Lance Corporal Blanford James 880568 Private BONE Frank Captain Brackin Garnet 880009 Private BRAGG John 3130123 Private... Continue Reading →
The Coles Brothers
The genealogy is not a primary interest of this blog mostly because one could simply get mired in the genealogical details of each soldier. But brothers serving together are a subject of great interest in the blog's research. The slow, painfully slow, digitization of the Library and Archives of Canada records of the soldiers of... Continue Reading →
Summary of Service of Sergeant James Quaey Nelson, reg. no. 53947
You can't do history alone. A relative of Sergeant Nelson contacted this blog in response to a soldier's page created recently and this dialogue has enhanced my understanding of this member of the 18th Battalion. Thanks to Dennis Nelson for forwarding this information. Below is a service summary he created and I have edited it... Continue Reading →
August 1916: The Butcher’s Bill
August 1916 appears to be a relatively quiet month for the 18th Battalion. Appears. On August 8th Lieutenant Brown, during a grenade demonstration and training session was accidentally killed when a grenade he was holding exploded. 14 other men where wounded during this incident. It could have been much worse. With only 3 men killed,... Continue Reading →
Sergeant James Quaey Nelson and a Possible Connection with My Grandfather
A recent blog comment allowed this blog to find out about a member of the 18th Battalion. Sergeant Jame Quaey Nelson shared a lot of similar background biographical information just like my Grandfather and Great Uncle. All were born in the "old country" of Scotland and recent immigrants. Sergeant Nelson was 3 years older than... Continue Reading →
The Cost of War
Since the beginning of July approximately 40 Soldiers Pages have been added to the blog. One trend of note is the number of 18th Battalion soldiers that served and were wounded. Canada suffered 138,000 battle casualties. This means 32% of the soldiers that served for Canada in the Canadian Army suffered a wound directly related... Continue Reading →
Service History Summary of the Broadbent Brothers
Summary of the service history of the Broadbent brothers who served with the Canadian Expeditionary Forces in World War 1. Three brothers, Arthur, Charles, and Ephriam all served with the 18th Battalion. William served with the 47th and the 44th Battalion. Arthur Windsor Broadbent Charles Wesley Broadbent Ephriam Edward Broadbent William David Broadbent Service No.... Continue Reading →
The Broadbent Family from Mitchell Bay, Ontario
Note: this post has been corrected to reflect update information brought to my attention. All the men below where brothers and William David was incorrectly identified as their father. Their father was Abraham Broadbent and Mary Jane Broadbent nee Bump. The Broadbent family from Mitchell Bay, Ontario sent 4 family members to war. All of... Continue Reading →
“Despite even greater disappointments and tragedies…”: Letters home from Captain Jame Roy Grey
Letters to and from the Front give us a fascinating glimpse of the lives of the people that participated directly and indirectly with World War 1. Below is a letter from James Roy Gray that offers some insight into the experiences of a solider of the 18th Battalion and later as a member of the... Continue Reading →
July 1916 Butcher’s Bill
14 soldiers of the 18th Battalion were killed in action or died of wounds in April 1916. Compare this to the 22 officers and 658 other ranks who became casualties in one action of the Newfoundland Regiment at Beaumont-Hamel on July 1, 1916. Rank Last Name First Name Age Date of Death Reg. No. Private... 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 →
Somewhere in Flanders: A letter from Captain Samuel Monteith Loghrin
This letter was written in the trenches in Flanders. The 18th Battalion had been at RIDGEWOOD in Brigade Reserve up until January 15, 1916 when it relieved the 19th Canadian Battalion at VIERSTRAAT. On the 16th of January a compatriot, Lieutenant Ambery was promoted to Captain that day but Major Sale was killed by rifle... Continue Reading →
Even When Inaccurate Photo Captions Can Be Valuable
"Here are four brothers who enlisted for active service and trained in this city [London, Ontario]. They are the quartet of Hinschliffes [Hinscliffe], cousins of Mrs. Mathews [Matthews], of 286 [285] Thames street, whose husband and son, both Johns [Jack and John], are in Belgium with the 18th Battalion: From left to right they are... Continue Reading →
“This Canadian Boy Gladly Gave His Life for His Country”
Buried in plot II. A. 5. of the Barlin Communal Cemetery Extension, located in the village of Barlin, France, is 2nd Lieutenant Lindsay Clarence Vogan who was 2nd Lieutenant with the 13th Battalion of the British Middlesex Regiment. On his headstone, according to the CWGC headstone schedules a W.H. Vogan, Esq. of Manufacturers Life Insurance... Continue Reading →
“No matter who he was or where he came from, he was a real hero and his deeds will not be forgotten.”
Private "Thomas Jones" enlisted in London, Ontario April 13, 1915. Between that date and his death on April 11, 1916 in the action around the St. Eloi Craters he made an impression on his comrades for his devotion to duty. An article in the London Free Press 16 days after his death relates some details... Continue Reading →
Updated Soldiers Pages: Digitized Service Record Link Added
Cook, Clarence William, 141649 Cooper, George, 53558 Corbould, Charles Edward Bernard Cullen, James Clifford
The Butcher’s Bill for April 1916
Of the 1,067 Canadian combatants who died during April 1916 29 were members of "The Fighting 18th." Links are the Library Archives Canada regimental number page. Some of those entries have service records at date of posting this blog post. Rank Surname Forename Decoration Date of Death Reg. No. Private DREW ALFRED HENRY 02/04/1916 402060... Continue Reading →
History of the 18th Battalion CEF, "The Fighting Eighteenth" 