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 →
Summary November 1916 18th Battalion War Diary
Link to November 1916 War Diary Transcription November found the 18th Battalion approximately 50 kilometers from the hell that was the Somme. Now located in the Lens Sector in the vicinity of Bully-Grenay the Battalion was able to find relative rest and recuperation after the actions of September and October. The first part of the... Continue Reading →
October 1916 Casualties
October 1916 finds the 18th Battalion still engaged at the Somme. October 3rd was a particularly bad day for the Battalion. Rank Surname Forename Age Date Reg. No. Private BARTON ALBERT 34 10/10/1916 415134 Private BROCK H E 27/10/1916 54003 Private BURTON SIDNEY 33 02/10/1916 157097 Private CLARKE ARTHUR RAYMOND 03/10/1916 124362 Private DANIEL... Continue Reading →
April 1917 Casualties
April 1917 is a historical focal point in Canadian history. The Battle of Vimy Ridge is lauded over every year as a seminal moment in Canada's history and from this author's point of view the attention is well deserved. The battle was effectively fought and realized its aims with dash and elan. There were problems... Continue Reading →
Picture of an 18th Battalion Soldier: Private Archibald Charles Ambrous, reg. no. 53994
Up until today Private Archibald Charles Ambrous, reg. no. 53994 existed visually as a series of official documents and several web pages outlining his attestation information and death from wound received in combat August 12, 1918. A member of the 18th Battalion CEF group was good enough to join the group so he could share... Continue Reading →
Under Age Soldier: Private Albert Edward Miller
In a previous post the discrepancy between this soldiers date of birth and age on his attestation papers and the age of 17 years old stated on the Commonwealth War Grave Commission's Grave Registration was noted. Subsequent to that post a blog commented by davidunderdown95 direct the author to the FreeBMD site and a digitized... Continue Reading →
HE DIED THAT WE MIGHT LIVE: The Death of Private Albert Edward Miller of Highgate, Ontario
A rare find was made today while researching the casualty list for April 1917. During the research process of enumerating and collecting information of all the 18th Battalion soldiers who died during that important month in the Battalion’s history a unique, an as yet, singular document was found. Private Albert Edward Miller, reg. no. 226140... Continue Reading →
Now We See Through the Glass Darkly; But Then Face to Face
Such was the epitaph on the headstone of Major V.H. de Butts Powell. This Canadian soldier was to have an impact on Canadians and the Western world long after his death on January 2, 1918. Before Major de Butts Powell joined the Canadian Field Artillery on January 15, 1915 he served as a teaching master... Continue Reading →
The Mosaic of Life: Bigamy and Fraud in the 18th
Note: Additional information will require amendments to this blog. A member at the 18th Battalion Facebook Group found more information. The Players Private, later Sergeant Alfred Brittle Eliza Brittles, wife of Sergeant Brittle Private Charles Brookman Minnie “Brookman” Clark, wife of Private Brookman and William Clark William Clark, a rigger at a munition plant in... Continue Reading →
March 1917 Casualties
March 1917 involved 1,036 casualties resulting in death. Of those 11 where of the 18th Battalion. Rank Surname Forename Age Date of Death Reg. No. Additional Information Corporal BUCK ARTHUR LAWRENCE 28 24/03/1917 124539 SON OF FREDERICK WILLIAM BUCK AND ELLEN BUCK, OF 6, RICHMOND TERRACE, NORTHGATE, PONTEFRACT, YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND. Private BUCKLEY JOHN... Continue Reading →
British Home Children and Barnardo Boys Who Paid the Ultimate Price
Until quite recently this blog only recognized one British Home Child. Private William Edwin Hunt, reg. no. 54081 was an 18th Battalion “Original” having enlisted in Guelph, Ontario on October 27th, 1914[i]. Sadly the research notes I have do not indicate the source as to how this soldier was discovered but his daughter, Mary Hunt... Continue Reading →
In the event of my death…
100 years ago today Private James Benjamin Brodie, reg. no. 53776 died of wounds he sustained to both legs. A poignant reminder of his existence is his will. It reads: Will Pte. J.B. Brodie. no. 53776 In the event of my death I leave all that is due me to my Wife Esther Brodie 160... Continue Reading →
Casualty List: January 1917
Surname Forename Date of Death Rank Reg. No. CALVERT HUGH 03/01/1917 Private 226535 LEASK JAMES LESTER 04/01/1917 Private 745118 MOSS STANLEY 10/01/1917 Private 226623 SHORT ROBERT WILLIAM 25/01/1917 Private 769243 TAYLOR ISAAC 08/01/1917 Private 195959 WILSON ROBERT THORNTON 05/01/1917 Private 745220 Note: The title of subsequent casualty list posts will be changed as the old... Continue Reading →
3 Boys From Blenheim
3 boys of Blenheim, Ontario, did not come home. All of them served with the 18th Battalion and one of the other connections they share is the display of their original grave markers at the Blenheim and District Freedom Library and Museum. This discovery all began with entering the data for Private James Peter Pegg,... Continue Reading →
The Elliott Brothers of Cape Croker
The Elliott brothers came for Cape Croker, in the Bruce Peninsula, and if one looks at their service records it may show the concern of an older brother over that of the younger. Daniel and Joseph Elliott joined the 160th Battalion in Cape Croker. This village was approximately 90 kilometers from the headquarters in Walkerton,... Continue Reading →
The Sadness of a Mother
Private Cecil Grant died of wounds on April 11, 1917. His family showed their grief through a poem that was printed in the Southwestern Ontario Memorial Album. The poem reads: Sleep on dear son, in your soldier’s grace, Your life for your country you nobly gave, No friends stood near you to say good-bye, But safe... Continue Reading →
Brothers in Arms: The 18th Battalion Men that Died on November 11th
There will be a post that will be generated on November 11, 2015 commemorating the personnel of all branches of Canada’s military that served and died on November 11th during World War 1. Of these soldiers there are two 18th Battalion soldiers that died on the last day of the conflict. These men are Privates... Continue Reading →
History of the 18th Battalion CEF, "The Fighting Eighteenth" 