In the darkness of a soft summer’s Kentish night a chorus of an old Scots love song wafted in the night sung by the men of the 18th Battalion recently arrived in England… Maxwelton's braes[i] are bonnie,Where early fa's[ii] the dew,Twas there that Annie LaurieGave me her promise true.Gave me her promise true -Which ne'er... Continue Reading →
A Hero in Kent
The 18th Battalion trained in England from May to September 1915. It was based at West Sandling Camp near Shorncliffe Military Base and the 18th Battalion War Diary does not do a good job in relating the activities of the soldiers while they trained there. It is epic in its brevity. Twenty-five of May’s diary... Continue Reading →
Not Enough: After fighting the Germans he wanted to fight the Bolsheviks
This is the second in a series of posts exploring the service and life of 18th Battalion men buried in the Maritimes. The author visited the grave of a soldier in Nova Scotia during a visit to a family member and from that grew a desire to visit and honour these men, some of who... Continue Reading →
Playing Games with the Hun
A soldier’s letter published in the London Advertiser in November of 1915 gives a glimpse of the perspective of a new soldier to his introduction to combat conditions. It was written at the end of October or early November by a Welshman serving with the 18th Battalion to a friend residing in the Iroquois Hotel... Continue Reading →
A Very Personal Loss: The Lusitania and RQMS Herbert
On February 21, 1906, a couple married at Sparkbrook, Warwichshire in England. The groom was 27 years old and his bride one year younger. He was a returned army veteran with experience in South Africa and would post 8-years of military experience with the 3rd and 4th Battalion of the Rifle Brigade attaining the position... Continue Reading →
A Very Wonderful Man: Memories from 50 years after the war connect two Privates
After years of reading numerous books and hundreds of scholarly articles finding snippets and treasures in these sources about the 18th Battalion can be hit and miss. Sometimes they can only mystify. Sometimes, like this find, it can illuminate the lives of the soldiers involved and add an intimacy that can often be unexpected and,... Continue Reading →
“I certainly never put in such a Christmas before.”: Being a Brigade Chaplain During Christmas 1915
Our conception of trench life is shaped by the various descriptions of it from historiographies, eyewitness accounts, and popular media such as the excellent documentary They Shall Not Grow Old gives us but a glimpse into the tough and horrible life in the trenches. Some of the men mentioned in Captain Carlisle's letter. To the... 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 →
“…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 →
No. 55 General Hospital Wimereux
This hospital would be familiar to some of the men of the 18th Battalion as some of the wounded of the Battalion were treated here. It was also know as Eastern General Hospital. The wounded of the Battalion would proceed from a Regimental Aid Post then to a Field Ambulance, and then to a Casualty... Continue Reading →
“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 →
“I shall miss this boy dreadfully…”
Barrington Rucker[i] appears to have had a sense of humour evident in his attestation papers when he enlisted with the Canadian Expeditionary Forces. Arriving from Virginia at Windsor, Ontario, he joined the 18th Battalion on February 15, 1915 and claimed his “Trade or Calling” was an “Orange Picker.” The officers assisting this man to enlist... Continue Reading →
He Rests In Good and Valiant Company
Private Ira William Sumner had been, in peace time, a clerk for the London Life Insurance Company. With the advent of the war in August 1914, he felt that is duty was bound to a different path and enlisted with the 18th Battalion on April 10, 1915. This was very close to the departure of... Continue Reading →
Captain Ed Shuttleworth’s Recollections (1969)
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
“We Kingsville boys…”
A letter published in the November 4, 1915, edition of the Kingsville Reporter relates some of the experiences of Private "Harry" Sirverns, late of Kingsville, Ontario. The letter covers the early experiences of the 18th Battalion as it goes into the line and furnishes another lens from a foot soldier of the war from his... Continue Reading →
“Scouts should be picked men…”
On August 4, 1915, the London Advertiser published a picture on page 3. In this picture was the image of seventeen young men who were scouts for the 18th Battalion. The photograph appears to be taken in England as the Battalion was in training at West Sandling, near Hythe, Kent. In this picturesque and bucolic... Continue Reading →
History of the 18th Battalion CEF, "The Fighting Eighteenth" 