#Lt. Col. E.S. Wigle

[k2kid]

What's In a Name?

What’s In a Name?

History and memory can be tenuous. As time passes and the source of history – the people who experienced the events – fade with each death. With each passing year after an event, be it small or world shaping, there is a loss of the source of information about the event. There are books, archives, and other concrete sources to reference, but it is that history that is personal and visceral, and to…

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LOOKING EVERY INCH A SOLDIER

LOOKING EVERY INCH A SOLDIER

The 18th Battalion was nearing the end of its training. As it was formed in the latter part of October 1914 from South-Western Ontario the soldiers were collected in London, Ontario for training. As the Battalion was about to leave for England via Halifax on the S.S. Grampian on April 18, 1915. Thus, the Battalion collected its men (some as late as the end of March) and trained them. At some…

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...and no battalion has a more glorious record than our good old 18th.

…and no battalion has a more glorious record than our good old 18th.

Detail of the 18th Battalion April 1915 Nominal Roll showing the original officers.

On April 10, 1919 two news stories about the 18th Battalion were published on page three in the Border Cities Star. One story was about the past, told of a traitor in the 18th who “surrendered” to the Germans in July 1918 while the Battalion was stationed in the Telegraph Hill area in the Arras Sector. The other…

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Blog of Note: PATRIOTS, CROOKS AND SAFETY-FIRSTERS: Colonels of the Canadian Expeditionary Force

Blog of Note: PATRIOTS, CROOKS AND SAFETY-FIRSTERS: Colonels of the Canadian Expeditionary Force

Lieutenant Colonel Ernest S. Wigle 18th (Western Ontario) Battalion Source: PATRIOTS, CROOKS AND SAFETY-FIRSTERS

Doing research on Lieutenant Colonel William Frederick Richard Hart-McHargI happened on this site. Matt Barrett is a historian, animator and caricaturist who also maintains a blog specializing in the colonels of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. The site is well laid out and organized…

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Soldiering at Fair Ground Camp: London, Ontario; 1914

Soldiering at Fair Ground Camp: London, Ontario; 1914

Then Captain Samuel Monteith Loghrin letter dated November 8th, 1914 gives some insight into the activities and responsibilities of an officer in the Canadian Army preparing for embarkation to England for further training and preparation before moving to Belgium to active service in the line.

Note the envelope. The post mark indicated the letter was received in London November 9, 1914 but it is…