War Diary of the 18th Battalion CEF
Articles, war diaries, and recognition to the Men of the "Fighting 18th"
One of the problems with history and the study of it is there can be a very subjective aspect to the analysis of the past. Information may not be accurate. Sources may be in error, and other myriad of issues can impinge on one’s understanding of history. Due to the subjective nature of history another... Continue Reading →
Percy Scanlan enlisted with the 91st Battalion at Chatham, Ontario on December 6, 1915. He was one of many eager recruits joining the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the second year of the war. Even the news of the Canadian experience at 2nd Ypres and the use of gas by the Germans did not dissuade him... Continue Reading →
Though not exhaustive there are resources related to the 18th Battalion and its experience at Vimy Ridge. War Diary of the 18th Battalion: April 1917 War Diary Summary: April 1917 April 1917 Casualties Vimy Ridge: Instructions for the Offensive The Stress of Combat: Captain Lloyd at Vimy Ridge A Letter From a Soldier Who Served... Continue Reading →
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 →
The following transcription was sourced from the Twitter feed of London First World War ( @LdnOntWW1 ). Where possible links to the soldiers mentioned in the article have been referenced. The news article appears to be written in late 1916 given the context of the dates outlined in the article and the discharge dates of... Continue Reading →
18th Battalion War Diary November 1918 Appendix 9 Narrative of Action for November 8/9 1918 Map Ref. Sheet 45 1/40,000 The night of 8th November 1918 the Battalion was billeted in ELOUGES (T/10) in close support to the 5th [Canadian] Infantry Brigade. On the 9th at dawn the 4th [Canadian] Infantry Brigade were ordered to... Continue Reading →
The Christmas of the 1915 was the second Christmas that the Battalion had experienced since it formation in the Fall of 1914. Since that Christmas in London, Ontario the Battalion had moved from Canada to England in April, 1915 where it trained and the embarked to France and thence, to Belgium for its baptism... Continue Reading →
18th CANADIAN BATTALION REPORT OF OPERATIONS - - NIGHT 0F 9/10 APRIL UNDER 4TH BDE. ORDER Situation before operations: 'B' Company was holding aline as indicated by Lieut. Lawson (since killed), with about 50 men. Map reference ST. ELOI 0.2.D21/2.8 and 'C' Company with 1 Officer, 21 men, was spread along old 'Q' line 14... Continue Reading →
These are the soldiers' pages created since November 27, 2014. Please take time to view them and remember them. Of particular interest will be 18th Battalion snipers Crookshanks and Siddle. First, these are the first identified snipers in the Battalion that I have found. There is an interesting resource written by, possibly, the father of... Continue Reading →
There are 2 inscriptions at the Zivy Crater Memorial, Thelus in the Pas de Calais region that bear witness to an interesting story. A soldier, Private George Symonds, 18th Battalion, who died on April 9, 1917 on the first day of the Vimy Battle that Canadian's memorialize every year, was not Private George Symonds at... Continue Reading →
One of the goals of this blog is to list every soldier mentioned in the 18th Battalion C.E.F. War Diary and, at the least, have a specific Soldier's Page with their Attestation Papers, a link to their Service Records (if digitized) and any other pertinent information found via the Internet. At first the focus was... Continue Reading →
Confidential War Diary Of 18th Canadian Battalion 2nd Division From 1st December to 31st December 1915 Volume 4 Place Date Hour Summary of Events and Information 1 4:30 PM Battn. Relieved 19th Battn a VIERSTRAAT- “B” . “D” Coys in trenches and “C” . “A” Coys in battalion reserve – 6 other ranks struck... Continue Reading →
As I work through the War Diary and do my Soldiers research I have found several stories belying the terrible toll the Great War had on families. Several times there have been brothers serving together such as the Nelson brothers. Today I found the Cash bothers. See their soldier pages here and here for more... Continue Reading →
Below are a series of photos I found online at New York Public Library Digital Collection. The caption refers to the unit as the 18th Br(Brigade) but according a post at C.E.F. Study Group this term was really only applicable to C.E.F. Army units serving in France and not to units stationed and training in... Continue Reading →
War Diary of the 18th Battalion CEF 