The issue of compensation for our service men and women has been a long-standing issue.[i] In the First World War X Canadians were wounded and many stories outline inadequate pension and compensation for the sacrifices they made. One soldier, Private Donald Roy MacDonald (reg. no. 53709)[ii] was one such man. Hailing from the Bruce-Huron area... Continue Reading →
About to Get Into the Game: The 18th’s last exercise before going to war.
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 →
Overview of Private Albert Jean Julien
Albert Jean Julien, reg no. 189764, enlisted with the 91st Overseas Battalion at St. Thomas, Ontario on 3 January 1916. He was married to Katherine[i]. He listed his trade as a tailor and as his wife was shown to live at 30 King Street. He had two sons, Albert Michael Leo Julian (1907-1999) and Glen... Continue Reading →
“Some of the Men Drawn Together…”: The “Russians” of the 18th Battalion
In the upper picture of this group are four native born Russians: Sergy Dondik, a former sergeant in the czar’s bodyguard at Warsaw, who came from Chicago to join the ally of this fatherland at Windsor; John W. Pearson, who was born at Skermacish, Latonia, a province grouped with Russian Poland; fighting has been reported... 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 →
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 →
The Life of William Frederick Routly
This is a transcription of a biography written by this man’s daughter, Barbara Joan (Routly) Spruce. The original document is typewritten and was scanned and accessed at Family Search. The document scan is deprecated and difficult to read in some places. An attempt has been made to be faithful to the author’s version so... Continue Reading →
Book Offering: Les Tranchées de Mémoire
One of our active members who not only supports the memory of the men of the 18th Battalion but other Canadian units that fought in the First World War has published a book. Quentin de Givenchy has painstakingly researched, photographed and recorded a moment in a soldier's life. Imagine coming off the line and marching... Continue Reading →
A Bricklayer’s Experience with the 18th Battalion
Each soldier in the Canadian Expeditionary Force had their own unique experience serving. When one watches a battalion marching during a parade there is a perception of a one-mindedness of the personnel of that unit and the military ethos requires the sublimation of the individual will and their unique personality and experiences. No matter how... Continue Reading →
Three Men on the Grass: Exploring a Photograph
This photograph was contributed to the 18th Battalion Facebook Group and is the basis of this post. Three men lie causally on the grass. The photo is pixelated but one can derive a certain youthfulness from the photograph. Two of the men hold knobbed ended batons or swagger sticks and the man on the left... Continue Reading →
The Fate of a Cornish Miner
It is like a mist, history is. The comings and goings of the myriad of individuals who populate our world is significant to them and their kin. But, as time goes by, as family members die, and when a family’s future is not guaranteed by the issue of progeny, that person’s history dies out very... Continue Reading →
“The Zepps Call…”: Eyewitness to the First Airship Shootdown
Bookkeeper Walter James Buchanan of Goderich, Ontario enlisted with the 71st Battalion on 21 September 1915. At the age of 21 he had 4 years of militia experience and lived in a small Ontario town routed in its connection to Lake Huron and the surrounding farms. At the time of his enlistment he never would... Continue Reading →
The Artist and the Pacifist — Two brothers’ WW1 stories
I love such in-depth biographical work. Each story is unique and important.
The Bricklayer from London Ontario
Each soldier in the Canadian Expeditionary Force had their own unique experience. When one watches a battalion marching during a parade there is a perception of one-mindedness and that the military ethos involves the sublimation of the individual and their unique personality and experiences. But, no matter how hard an army tries to forge individuals... Continue Reading →
The “Rawleigh Man”
Witley Camp. January 1918. It had just snowed 4 inches and Private Charles Arthur Reed (reg. no. 651593), formerly of Eden Grove, Ontario was responding to a letter from his mother. Letter dates 14 January 1918 from Private Reed to his mother, Isabella Ann (McNaugthon) Reed (1871-1953) His primary concern at the beginning of the... Continue Reading →
Too Old to Soldier? The Service of Private Luff
The third in a series of posts exploring men of the 18th Battalion who were buried in the Canadian Maritimes. The author visited the grave of this soldier to acknowledge his service to our nation and to let him know he is not forgotten. This is only part of his story. Private Thomas Luff’s story... 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 →
Private Sherwood’s Loss
This is the first of a series of blog posts investigating the service and experiences of 18th Battalion soldiers from the Maritmes. As the 18th Battalion was a Western Ontario battalion it generally received replacements from battalions raised in the same geographic region. The author is presently visiting such graves of the men he has... Continue Reading →
A Stop in the Chaudière-Appalaches Region of Quebec
September9, 2022 Motel MagistralSaint-Raphaël, QCChaudière-Appalaches Administrative/Tourist Region Today was a long day. I wish I had access to the train service in 1915 as I may have made better progress. The Canada of today is so different from that of my grandfather’s time when he enlisted in the 18th Battalion in October of 1914. There... Continue Reading →
The Beginning of Remembrance: A Trip to the Maritimes
September 8, 2022 East of Trenton, Ontario It was a night about 2-weeks before Remembrance Day about 15-years ago (the exact year is a bit foggy) when my daughter announced that she was going to volunteer to speak at her school’s Remembrance Day ceremony. Who would of thought this innocent statement would lead me to... Continue Reading →
History of the 18th Battalion CEF, "The Fighting Eighteenth" 