TRIGGER WARNING: This blog post relates the experiences of a combat soldier that may not be appropriate for all readers. The 18th Battalion’s role and experiences during the 15 September 1916 Battle of Flers-Courcelette are not officially well documented. The War Diary for that month is bereft of detail to the point that someone printed... Continue Reading →
Proving Himself to be a Good Soldier: One of 40 male family members fighting for Empire.
The soldier sits, relaxed, on a stool. A comrade, face out of frame, leans into him as he sits. He holds a swagger stick, a common affectation of the Canadian troops of the other ranks. The photo is sadly indistinct, and we cannot see the details of his face, but he is looking directly at... Continue Reading →
Bombers of the 18th
A photograph from the Toronto Telegram entitled "OUT OF SOMME BATTLE" shows 6 men who are bombers with the 18th Battalion. The photograph bears a caption and identifies the men by their initials and last name. Taking this source one can get excited that these men can be identified and connected to their service numbers.... Continue Reading →
Bivouac of the Dead: The 18th Battalion’s Experience at the Battle at Flers-Courcelette.
“On France's eternal camping groundTheir silent tents are spread.While glory guards with solemn roundThe Bivouac of the Dead.”Poem attached to Sergeant Chester P. Smiths Memorial Page. Adaptation of Bivouac of the Dead, Theodore O’Hara, 1851. There is a succinct, enigmatic entry in the pages of the 18th Battalion’s War Diary for September 1916. “NOT MUCH... Continue Reading →
Mute But Not Retarded: The Case of Private Russell
With special thanks to Kristen Den Hartog who made me aware of this soldier. She is currently researching this soldier. Please reach out to her if you can assist her. The impact of physical and psychological injuries to the soldiers that served with the 18th Battalion will never be fully understood. These injuries were, however,... Continue Reading →
“…a pretty near squeak…”
This is the last of a 4-part series of the analysis of articles relating to Private Frederick Hodson, who served with the 18th Battalion. Special thanks to Annette Fulford (@avidgenie) Lizbet Tobin, and Sharon Munro for assistance with this article. Private Frederick Hodson, M.M. of the 18th Battalion. Hodson is well established in England, as his... Continue Reading →
“…speechless when his name was called out…”: Hodson Earns the Military Medal
This is the second of a 4-part series of the analysis of articles relating to Private Frederick Hodson, who served with the 18th Battalion. In the first part of this series Private Hodson gave an extensive interview that portrayed a soldier’s life while serving with the 18th Battalion from its inception but the interview focused... Continue Reading →
Private Charles Bigler, A Dane in the Service of Canada
It was a Friday, the end of the work week perhaps for Charles Bigler when he went to the local recruitment centre in Sarnia and enlisted. He was not the typical man of the 2nd Contingent to enlist. He was not British or Canadian born and he was 12-years older than the average age of... Continue Reading →
Faceless No More: Lieutenant Frederick Charles Garland Maund
Lieutenant Frederick Charles Garland Maund. Source: 18th Battalion Facebook Group via member. Lieutenant Frederick Charles Garland Maund was from Kingston and perished on the first day of the attack by the Canadian Expeditionary Force during its involvement at the Somme on September 15, 1916. But for the work of like-minded people dedicated to bringing his... Continue Reading →
The Attentions of Miss Mary
18th Battalion Association[i] Windsor and Detroit Branch *MEMORIES[ii]* Do you remember that just before Christmas (1915) every member of the Battalion received a nice gift package from the people of Windsor. Inside each package was a card showing the name of the donor. You were supposed to sign the card and hand it back in.... Continue Reading →
The Fate of Major Ashplant Former Member of the 18th Battalion
LEFT HERE WITH 33rd BATTALION “D” COMPANY IN 1915. Six former officers of “D” Company, of the 33rd Battalion, which left London under command of Lieut.-Col. A. Wilson in November 1915. From left to right they are: Lieut. Harris Mills (Note that Lieutenant Mills is actually on the far right. Per blog comment below.), Lieut.... Continue Reading →
Her “Boy Scout”
The smile seems more intimate than a smile a young officer would give a stranger. It is a smile of familiarity and pride as the Officer marches past. The young boys stand with apparent casual regard for the men of the 99th Overseas Battalion marching past. The Sergeant to the officer’s left looks askance with... Continue Reading →
One-Thousand Four-Hundred and Seventy Days
Walter Perry, of Highland Creek, Ontario, decided to join the Canadian Army. His previous military experience consisting of serving three-and-a-half years as a Bugler. He joined the 81st Battalion in Toronto, Ontario on September 18th, 1915 and was assigned the regimental number 157659. From this point in time he served and trained in Canada until... 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 →
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 →
Review of Somme Presentation at Laurie Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies
‘Ghastly and Gruelling’: Canada’s Ignored Campaign on the Somme, 1916 by William F. Stewart William F. Stewart is the author of "The Embattled General: Sir Richard Turner and the First World War" and a historian with a particular interest in the Canadian Expeditionary Force's involvement at the Somme in the late summer and fall 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 →
Soldiers of Windsor: The Windsor Star
Two news articles give some context to the experiences of soldiers from the Windsor area. The 18th Battalion had been in the line as of the latter part of September 1915 and had experience its first Christmas on the Continent. The Battalion had experienced light casualties, in regards to men killed, with 34 men who... Continue Reading →
Blog Updates for September 2016
This past month a focus on the activities of the 18th Battalion with its involvement in the actions that occurred 100 years ago at the Somme was made. Several posts outlining with more detail the events that affected the 4th Canadian Infantry Brigade offered some insight into the actions of the 18th Battalion on that... Continue Reading →
Battle of Courcelette: Communications Record for September 15, 1916
Introduction The record below is a transcription of the 4th Canadian Infantry Brigade's appendices numbered 80 to 150. The appendices records the communications between the various units involved in the battle for Courcelette and relates to the units in the 4th C.I.B. as well as peripheral units attached or adjacent to the Brigade during the... Continue Reading →
History of the 18th Battalion CEF, "The Fighting Eighteenth" 