Stuart Cameron Kirkland was a 33 year old barrister who joined the 91st Battalion at St. Thomas on April 26, 1916. Less then a year later, assigned to the 18th Battalion, he was to participate in the attack on Vimy Ridge where he was wounded. Eventually invalided back to Canada were he served on a... Continue Reading →
November 1917 Casualties
The 18th Battalion was active in the Passchendaele Sector and the number of men in the 18th that have no known grave bears witness to the terrible conditions and ferocity of the fighting in that sector. Rank Surname Forename Date of Death Reg. No. Private ABERCROMBY J 09/11/1917 123978 Private AKINS J 09/11/1917 770008 Private... Continue Reading →
October 1917 Casualties
October 1917 found the 18th Battalion in the Vimy Sector engaged in working parties. A review of the War Diary for this month does not find any mention of any action in which Privage Swan was involved in that may have caused his death. His service records as of the date of this posting are... Continue Reading →
Faces of April 1917
Men of the 18th Battalion who made the ultimate sacrifice.
A Letter From Major Nelson Aboard the S.S. Grampian
Major George Whitford Nelson, adjutant for the 18th Battalion writes from the S.S. Grampian: Mrs. W. Kidd Elsinore, Ont., Bruce Co. Canadian Pacific Railway Ocean Services R.M.S. Grampian Mid Ocean April 25, 1915 Dear Friends, I can’t very well tell you where I am but will know better when I get a chance to post... Continue Reading →
A Traitor in the Ranks
The war is over. Not long over but the reverberations and attitudes to people considered “others” by Canadian society appears to still be prevalent and on the minds of the general public even at wars end. At least it was important enough to make a page three story in the Border Cities Star published in... Continue Reading →
Summary of Service: Bryce, William Wilson: Service no. 770063
A recent contact by a relative allowed a more detailed examination of the service record of Private William Wilson Bryce. Below is a summary of service high-lighting the more significant aspects of his service. Private Bryce's service record only has one demerit for being absent without leave very early in his service and his experiences... Continue Reading →
The Letters of Private Henry Roward Barrett, reg. no. 739518
Private Barrett was a mystery soldier since January 2016. He was found quite by accident when a letter he wrote was found in The Grand River Sanchem[i] under the name of Harry Barrett. After searching vainly for this soldier using a manual search at the Library and Archives Canada the search was abandoned to focus... Continue Reading →
“Probably Just a Little Used Up.”
An article in the Windsor Star circa 1916 gives topical news about a number of soldiers from the local area. Lance-Corporal (later Sergeant) Leslie Butler if the 18th Battalion is figured prominently in the story and several other soldiers of the 18th are also mention. The Battle of Flers-Courcelette on September 15, 1916 and the... Continue Reading →
They were shelling while I was writing…
IN THE MIDST OF THE CONFLICT Lieut. Wm. McLean Writes of His Experiences in France. The following letter was received recently from Lieut. Wm. McLean by his father, Mr David McLean. Lieut. McLean went overseas with the 130th Battalion and has been in France in the think of the conflict for some time: France,... Continue Reading →
16 Days in the Line: The Death of Private Dorken
He only served 16 days in the front line. For is service he is honoured at the Vimy Memorial and he will not be forgotten. Private Ernest John Dorken joined the C.E.F. on January 4, 1916 in Woodstock, Ontario. It appears that he was one of three sons of the Dorkens that would volunteer for... Continue Reading →
The Obituary of Lieutenant A.E. Babcock
In a previous post a letter sent by then Sergeant Babcock related some of his experiences in the war during his service with the 18th Battalion. After the war ended Lieutenant Babcock was demobilized and took up residence in London, Ontario. His obituary then outlines his involvement with the automotive industry working for a Dodge... Continue Reading →
…a very uplifting effect: A Letter from the Front
On May 3, 1916, the Paisely Advocate included a letter[i] written by then Sergeant Andrew Enos Babcock, a native son of Paisely, about his experiences with the 18th Battalion. Sergeant Babcock was an original member of the 18th Battalion with the assigned regiment number of 53989 when he enlisted on October 27, 1914 in Walkerton,... Continue Reading →
A Swim Binds Two Soldiers in Time
This post has been superseded by this post. Two soldiers. One from Paisley, Ontario, a small town in the Grey-Bruce region of Ontario with rolling hills of trees and farmer’s fields. The other from the urban environs of Toronto. Both were in a technical trade; one being a tinsmith and other a steam fitter. Both... Continue Reading →
“Patient says he does not want to leave army.”
21-year-old George Marsden woke up on October 22, 1914 in Windsor, Ontario and enlisted in the 18th Battalion and was assigned the regimental number 53264. Also on that day and location a Frank Marsden was to enlists under the regimental number 53263.[i] One of these soldiers had a secret which would affect their military service.[ii]... Continue Reading →
The Penny
War offers its participants a million varied ways to become ill, injured, wounded or die. For Company Sergeant Major Walter William Herd, reg. no. 53527 an injury he sustained was most unusual and almost grimly comical C.S.M. Herd[i] enlisted in the C.E.F. with the 18th Battalion on October 26, 1914, and as can be attested... Continue Reading →
Sergeant Austin’s Accident: The Tale of Two Emerging Modern Weapon Systems
Robert Wallace Austin reg. no. 113067 joined the Canadian Army at 8:45 a.m.[i] on July 23, 1915 in the city of Ottawa.[ii] He was just shy of one month past his twenty-first birthday when he joined the 8th Canadian Mounted Rifles (8th C.M.R.) and he was to be transported to England in October 1915 to... Continue Reading →
May 1917 Casualties
Summary of May 1917 Activities (for more information please refer to war diary transcription to be posted at a later date) 42 members of the 18th Battalion perished this month. The beginning of May 1917 found the Battalion in service in the vicinity of Arras, France and were in reserve at NUEVILLE ST VAST where... Continue Reading →
No Relations
When you process a lot of information regarding the soldiers of the First World War you get "use" to the format of the forms such as the attestation papers. Every once and a while this research holds information that makes one pause and wonder about the service person being researched. Private Thomas Collins, reg. no.... Continue Reading →
“If it so happens that I am allowed to die for my country…”: The Unusual Will of Private R.H. Burgess D.C.M.
A will is a macabre document. It is a recognition by the object of the will, the living person (the testator) who is making the will out, that they will cease to exist. The will exists and enforces the conditions of the testator after they have died and invokes certain conditions at the distribution of... Continue Reading →
History of the 18th Battalion CEF, "The Fighting Eighteenth" 