War Diary of the 18th Battalion CEF
Articles, war diaries, and recognition to the Men of the "Fighting 18th"
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 →
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 →
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 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 →
On December 21, 1915, the Galt Daily Reporter reported that the 18th Battalion was in the front line based on letters dated November 30, 1915, from the “boys of the 18th Battalion”. The letter gives some perspective of the attitudes of the soldiers of this unit, thought, sadly, none of the “boys” who wrote the... Continue Reading →
Private Reginald Sachs was an 18th Battalion "Original" having enlisted in Galt, Ontario on October 23, 1914. This letter was printed October 29, 1915 and would describe the end of September or early October 1915 when the Battalion first entered the trenches in active duty after its training as part of the 2nd Canadian Contigent... Continue Reading →
In the early 1970s the last members of the 18th Battalion Association, purportedly the first post-Great War battalion association formed in Canada, was winding down. The number of members had declined due to age and many of these men, now in their 80s, wanted to put together a series of memories to share amongst themselves.... Continue Reading →
This is the first of a 4-part series of the analysis of articles relating to Private Frederick Hodson, who served with the 18th Battalion. 476 days had passed since the enlistment of Private Hodson and the publishing of his letter in the Rushden Echo. Frederick Hodson, a shoemaker from Galt, Ontario, had joined the 18th... Continue Reading →
Introduction The blog has come into the possession of an exciting and valuable series of documents care of Dan Moat, a member of the 18th Battalion Facebook Group. His Great Grand-Father, Lance-Corporal Charles Henry Rogers, reg. no. 123682 was an active member in the 18th Battalion Association and the Royal Canadian Legion. With is interest... Continue Reading →
The ties between Canadians and the sea-side town of Folkestone, England go back to the First World War. A popular image was of a soldier holding a rifle with a bayonet, advancing in front of the Union Jack with the assurance: “Don’t be Alarmed, the Canadians are on guard at Folkestone”. The impression made upon... Continue Reading →
Major Sale was an active and influential member of the Goderich, Ontario community as a dentist. He was active in the Canadian Militia with the 33rd Regiment and joined the 18th Battalion as a captain shortly after its inception in October 1914. He served his Battalion diligently and was earned a promotion to major in... Continue Reading →
Introduction There is no doubt that Sergeant Fred Young was an ardent supporter and chronicler of the 18th Battalion. He was very active in the 18th Battalion Association after the war, serving on its executive and being designated as its “poet laureate”. But, perhaps his enthusiasm for his Battalion allowed him to exercise some “poetic... Continue Reading →
A series of four news articles from the St. Thomas Times-Journal illuminates the career of John A. Wallace who was an original member of the 18th Battalion[i]. The articles span from November 1914 to October 1915 and offer insights into the life of Wallace, and by extension, the other non-commissioned men of the Battalion. The... Continue Reading →
In the August 31, 1915 edition of the Montreal Gazette on page 13 is a news story. Pushed back inside the paper in the Sports Section is a story. The headlines of the day decry: EXPECT SEASON TO SET BAR TO TEUTON’S SURGE: Military Observers Hope That Equinoctial Period Will Limit Forward Movement or MINES,... Continue Reading →
Introduction The role of an Assistant Provost Marshal is basically the Chief of Police for a military unit or encampment. Keeping control of the approximately 15,000 troops from all branches of the Army in the 2nd Division was a very real challenge. The “boys” being young, many far from home, but conversely many native... Continue Reading →
The Hallam brothers were from Grantham, Lincolnshire, England and were born 6 years apart. The eldest, Ernest had amassed a wealth of life experience having served in the Imperial Army in South Africa, the Sudan and Egypt and then taking is fortunes to the colonies and establishing himself in Port Arthur, Ontario where he continued... Continue Reading →
DISCOVERY Of First World War Practice Trenches: TOLSFORD HILL - SALTWOOD, KENT A previous post outlined in some detail the excellent work of Michael and Paula Dugdale of Saltwood, Kent, England. The article entitled West Sandling Camp and the Trenches of Tolsford Hill relates the work done with a perspective in regards to how it relates... Continue Reading →
Michael and Paula Dugdale, residents of Saltwood, Kent, England has written a document that brought an important location for the 18th Battalion to life[i]. Background The 18th Battalion was formed in South Western Ontario, primarily from Windsor, Chatham, London, Woodstock, and Galt, Ontario during the autumn of 1914 and was part of the 2nd Contingent... Continue Reading →
One soldier. One life. The evidence of the war experiences for Private Alexander Edward Blue of the 18th Battalion is greater than most, and less that others. One gets a sense of the man but how much of that is our projection and perspectives from our perspective influencing our perception of the evidence presented before... Continue Reading →
Romance from the trenches. Below is a story relating to one unknown member of the 18th Battalion who, with his first Christmas in the trenches in 1915, used a unique method to assuage and address his boredom and loneliness. This is related by Lieutenant Harry Anderson Secord during an interview for the CBC Radio broadcast... Continue Reading →
War Diary of the 18th Battalion CEF 