The seems to be no lack of enthusiasm for the Galtonians that joined the 18th Battalion to get into the fight. Even with the advent of static trench warfare due to the mechanization of combat from the use of rapid-fire weapons and massed artillery ending in casualties that had amounted to 9,182 Canadian casualties since... Continue Reading →
A Rousing Send Off
The First World War energized and enabled Canada to express its loyalty to the Crown and the Empire. News articles, like the one below, show the enthusiasm and support the citizenry of this new country barely 50 years old. The community of Seaforth, Ontario took considerable time and effort to acknowledge the service of the... Continue Reading →
Cholera Belts for the 18th Battalion
On page 4 of the Wingham Times a short article relates: “Nearly all medical men in the West Indies advise wearing of thin woolen and not cotton underwear. Many persons wear “cholera belts” of flannel.” This garment was considered important enough that Sir Adam Beck's wife, Lady Beck, contributed enough of these belts to outfit... Continue Reading →
Untold Misery Has Been the Harvest Now: The Letters of Major George Whitford Nelson
Introduction The intent of this blog post is to expand upon a series of letters diligently transcribed by the Bruce County Archives entitled Correspondence from Lieutenant Colonel George Whitford Nelson to his sister, Mrs. William Kidd, 1914-1916, A99.058.008. This resource was found during research into this soldier and offers an invaluable insight into the feelings,... Continue Reading →
A Letter From a Soldier Who Served During the Vimy Attack: Graphic Description of Vimy Ridge
A letter from Lieutenant Stuart Cameron Kirkland published in the Aylmer Express, May 24,1917 and edited for clarity: GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF VIMY RIDGE Some of the Sights Encountered Lieut. Stuart C. Kirkland, who is now in England recovering from a wound in his arm received at the battle of Vimy Ridge, writes the following... Continue Reading →
History of the 18th Battalion CEF, "The Fighting Eighteenth" 