After the veritable slaughter that was the action at Fer-Courcelette in September for the 18th Battalion, November 1916 was a time for exceptionally light casualties. 1.301 Canadian service personnel perished during November 1916. The 18th Battalion suffered 2 men killed in action. Private Belfry had been wounded in October 1916 only to survive to the... Continue Reading →
War Diary of the 18th Battalion: November 1916
CONFIDENTIAL WAR DIARY WAR DIARY OF 18th Canadian Battalion – 2nd Canadian Division from 1st November to 3oth November, 1916 Volume 15 Place Date Hour Summary of Events and Information BULLY 1 18th Canadian Battalion in Brigade reserve. Company and platoon drill. Units special training. Extract from D.R.O. 2976 “To be Acting Staff Captain 4th... Continue Reading →
In the Trenches
Below is an letter pertaining to the 18th Battalion scanned and posted at the Ow.ly profile of LdnOntWWI (On Twitter @LdnOntI). The year of publication of this letter is unknown and is it is unknown if this it is complete. It gives us a glimpse of an experience a soldier of the 18th Battalion had.... Continue Reading →
War Diary of the 18th Battalion: October 1916
CONFIDENTIAL WAR DIARY WAR DIARY OF 18th Canadian Battalion – 2nd Canadian Division from 1st October to 31st October, 1916 Volume 14 Place Date Hour Summary of Events and Information SOMME 1 and 3.15 pm The night of 1st/2nd 18th Can Battalion relieved 21st Canadian Battn in line in front of Courcellette [sic]. 22nd Canadian... Continue Reading →
War Diary of the 18th Battalion: September 1916
Preamble: The Battle of the Somme was fought between July 1 and November 1, 1916. During this battle the total casualties for both sides have been estimated at approximately 887,000. The British Army on the opening day suffered 57,000 casualties. For the 18th Battalion this battle was one of it bloodiest engagements up until this... Continue Reading →
Digitized Service Record Links Added
The following 18th Battalion soldiers have digitized service records available online in PDF format and their pages have been updated accordingly: Drummond, Charles: Service no. 124363 Dryden, Walter Davidson: Service no. 730635 Dudley, William Howard: Service no. 404827 Duke, Henry Gilbert: Service no. 3130431 Duncan, Robert: Service no. 163816 Dunlop, James Alvin: Service no. 880598... Continue Reading →
Service Summary for Private John Taylor Dewar Regimental No. 730016
Born Leith, Scotland October 28, 1897. Immigrates to Canada and family is living at 14 Norfolk Avenue, Galt, Ontario. Galt is later to become the amalgamated City of Cambridge (1974). At the age of 18 joins the 111th Battalion attesting on November 11th, 1915 in Galt, Ontario. He is 5’ 4.5” tall. Weighs 112 pounds... Continue Reading →
Soldiers Added Since July 1, 2015
Reg. No. Rank Last Name First Name 123480 Sergeant Bate Charles Lieutenant Bates Bernard John Lieutenant Bawden Henry Norman 189580 Private Beddle Roy Craig 823109 Belcher Russell William 189487 Corporal Bishop Matthew 880036 Private BLACKBURN ALFRED JOHN 54343 Lance Corporal Blanford James 880568 Private BONE Frank Captain Brackin Garnet 880009 Private BRAGG John 3130123 Private... Continue Reading →
The Coles Brothers
The genealogy is not a primary interest of this blog mostly because one could simply get mired in the genealogical details of each soldier. But brothers serving together are a subject of great interest in the blog's research. The slow, painfully slow, digitization of the Library and Archives of Canada records of the soldiers of... Continue Reading →
Service Records Available for the Dewar Brothers
Checked the LAC web site today and they have digitized and uploaded the service records for William Robb Dewar, 53902, 18th Battalion and John Taylor Dewar, 730016, 4th Battalion. These documents are in PDF format. Click here for William Robb Dewar, 53902, 18th Battalion. Click here for John Taylor Dewar, 730016 4th Battalion. For assistance... Continue Reading →
Summary of Service of Sergeant James Quaey Nelson, reg. no. 53947
You can't do history alone. A relative of Sergeant Nelson contacted this blog in response to a soldier's page created recently and this dialogue has enhanced my understanding of this member of the 18th Battalion. Thanks to Dennis Nelson for forwarding this information. Below is a service summary he created and I have edited it... Continue Reading →
War Diary of the 18th Battalion: August 1916
CONFIDENTIAL WAR DIARY OF 18th Canadian Battalion – 2nd Canadian Division From 1st August to 31st August 1916 Volume 12 With appendices 1 [1] Corrected from CRYOTA to CHRYSTAL. Original transcription was incorrect. Place Date Hour Summary of Events and Information ALBERTA CAMP 1 Battalion in reserve at ALBERTA CAMP. Pay and Bath parades. 20... Continue Reading →
August 1916: The Butcher’s Bill
August 1916 appears to be a relatively quiet month for the 18th Battalion. Appears. On August 8th Lieutenant Brown, during a grenade demonstration and training session was accidentally killed when a grenade he was holding exploded. 14 other men where wounded during this incident. It could have been much worse. With only 3 men killed,... Continue Reading →
Sergeant James Quaey Nelson and a Possible Connection with My Grandfather
A recent blog comment allowed this blog to find out about a member of the 18th Battalion. Sergeant Jame Quaey Nelson shared a lot of similar background biographical information just like my Grandfather and Great Uncle. All were born in the "old country" of Scotland and recent immigrants. Sergeant Nelson was 3 years older than... Continue Reading →
The Cost of War
Since the beginning of July approximately 40 Soldiers Pages have been added to the blog. One trend of note is the number of 18th Battalion soldiers that served and were wounded. Canada suffered 138,000 battle casualties. This means 32% of the soldiers that served for Canada in the Canadian Army suffered a wound directly related... Continue Reading →
Service History Summary of the Broadbent Brothers
Summary of the service history of the Broadbent brothers who served with the Canadian Expeditionary Forces in World War 1. Three brothers, Arthur, Charles, and Ephriam all served with the 18th Battalion. William served with the 47th and the 44th Battalion. Arthur Windsor Broadbent Charles Wesley Broadbent Ephriam Edward Broadbent William David Broadbent Service No.... Continue Reading →
The Broadbent Family from Mitchell Bay, Ontario
Note: this post has been corrected to reflect update information brought to my attention. All the men below where brothers and William David was incorrectly identified as their father. Their father was Abraham Broadbent and Mary Jane Broadbent nee Bump. The Broadbent family from Mitchell Bay, Ontario sent 4 family members to war. All of... Continue Reading →
Letter About Vimy: “Of course he was dead so I suppose it didn’t inconvenience him any.”
Stuart Cameron Kirkland was a 33 year old barrister who joined the 91st Battalion at St. Thomas on April 26, 1916. Less then a year later, assigned to the 18th Battalion, he was to participate in the attack on Vimy Ridge where he was wounded. Eventually invalided back to Canada were he served on a... Continue Reading →
“Despite even greater disappointments and tragedies…”: Letters home from Captain Jame Roy Grey
Letters to and from the Front give us a fascinating glimpse of the lives of the people that participated directly and indirectly with World War 1. Below is a letter from James Roy Gray that offers some insight into the experiences of a solider of the 18th Battalion and later as a member of the... Continue Reading →
War Diary of the 18th Battalion: July 1916
CONFIDENTIAL WAR DIARY OF 18th Canadian Battalion - 2nd Canadian Division From 1st July to 31st July 1916 Volume II With appendices 1 - 4 Place Date Hour Summary of Events and Information Front Line 1 Battalion in trenches at BLUFF INTERNATIONAL TRENCH, BEAN and POLLOCK. 2 o.r.s. Wounded, 2o.r.s.sick, admitted to hospital 2 Position... Continue Reading →
