The 16th Battalion served in the 3rd Canadian Brigade of the 1st Canadian Division. Since its early beginnings, the battalion had a high standard of conduct on the battlefield and was commanded by outstanding leaders. One such was Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Currie, KCMG, who rose to command the Canadian Corps during the Great War. Currie was a master tactician whose skills led the Canadians to victory at Vimy Ridge and Amiens.[3] Lieutenant-Colonel Cyrus Wesley Peck commanded the battalion for many months in the trenches.
The battalion fought on the northern flank of the 3rd Brigade during the attack on Vimy Ridge. Several German positions survived the pre-attack artillery barrage and, though the 16th achieved its objectives, it paid a heavy price with 333 killed and wounded.[5]
The Conquerors by Eric Kennington; originally titled The Victims it was renamed after objections from the battalion's commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Cy Peck.
The Canadian historian René Chartrand noted that despite the fact that black Canadians were only supposed to serve in construction units, one of the soldiers in the painting The Conquerors is a black man, suggesting that at least some black Canadians served as infantrymen in World War I.[6]
The battalion returned to England on 27 March 1919, disembarked in Canada on 4 May 1919, was demobilized on 8 May 1919, and was disbanded by General Order 149 of 15 September 1920.[3]
