4TH CANADIAN INFANTRY BRIGADE NARRATIVE OF OPERATIONS. SOUTH OF SCARPE 26TH, 27TH, AND 28TH AUGUST, 1918.[i] CONFERENCE, DIVISIONAL H.Q. 23RD AUGUST. During the afternoon the G.O.C.[ii] and Brigade Major attended a conference at Divisional Headquarters, ETRUN where proposed operations for the advance South of the SCARPE were outlined. BRIDGE CONFERENCE, BERNEVILLE, 23RD AUGUST. During the... Continue Reading →
“The parapet was blown flat in two places…”
Private (later Lieutenant) Wesley Strang Caldwell[i] was yet to earn the Military Medal for his actions at Courcelette, the Somme, when this letter was published in the Huron Expositor on March 10, 1916. He was 20-years old, just shy of his 21st birthday by 40 days. He was a combat veteran claiming to have served... Continue Reading →
A Splendid Officer: Captain E.H. Shuttleworth
18th Battalion Association[i] Windsor and Detroit Branch *MEMORIES[ii]* I would like to pay a special tribute to Capt. Dick Shuttleworth, another of our splendid officers who never forgot the men who served with him in France and Belgium, many under his own command. When some of our members go to Westminster, they often call and... Continue Reading →
The Best Rest in Many Moons: A Letter by Major Sale
Major Sale was an active and influential member of the Goderich, Ontario community as a dentist. He was active in the Canadian Militia with the 33rd Regiment and joined the 18th Battalion as a captain shortly after its inception in October 1914. He served his Battalion diligently and was earned a promotion to major in... Continue Reading →
Rifle Grenades Revisited
In a post entitled "The narrow escapes that some fellows have are nothing short of marvellous": A Letter from the Front the, then, Private Caldwell relates in some detail a battle between the 18th Battalion, C.E.F. and it opposite German numbers: "Our last term in the front line was rather exciting. Our bomb throwers had been... Continue Reading →
SMLE Rifle Grenade Launcher
A recent post at the Canadian Expeditionary Forces bulletin board offered a link to a video about a Lee-Enfield SMLE configured for firing rifle-grenades. It has a grenade discharger cup and video gives an overview of this tool of battle. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT1DyyCxf9Q
War Diary of the 18th Battalion: January 1917
CONFIDENTIAL WAR DIARY OF18th Canadian Battalion - 2nd Canadian Division From 1st January to 31st January 1917 Volume 17 PlaceDateHourSummary of Events and InformationMAROC1 Battalion in Brigade support in CALONNE II sector. CAPT. R.H. McCRIMMON returned to duty with Battalion from Command duty. 5 o.r.s wounded while on working part. 2 o.r.s sick admitted to hospital. 2 Positions... Continue Reading →