The 21st Battalion (Eastern Ontario), CEF was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force in the Great War. The Battalion was authorized on 7 November 1914 and embarked for Britain on 6 May 1915. It disembarked in France on 15 September 1915, where it fought as part of the 4th Infantry Brigade, 2nd Canadian Division in France and Flanders. The battalion was disbanded on 30 August 1920. [1]
The 21st Battalion recruited in Eastern Ontario and was mobilized at Kingston, Ontario. [2]
The 21st Battalion had five Officers Commanding:
- Lt.-Col. W.St.P. Hughes, 6 May 1915-18 July 1916
- Lt.-Col. E.W. Jones, DSO, 18 July 1916-7 January 1917
- Lt.-Col. T.F. Elmitt, 7 January 1917-1 July 1917
- Lt.-Col. E.W. Jones, DSO, 1 July 1917-8 August 1918
- Lt.-Col. H.E. Pense, DSO, 8 August 1918-Demobilization
The 21st Battalion was awarded the following battle honours:
- MOUNT SORREL
- SOMME, 1916, ’18
- Flers-Courcelette
- Thiepval
- Ancre Heights
- ARRAS, 1917, '18
- Vimy, 1917
- HILL 70
- Ypres 1917
- Passchendaele
- AMIENS
- Scarpe, 1918
- Drocourt-Quéant
- HINDENBURG LINE
- Canal du Nord
- Cambrai, 1918
- PURSUIT TO MONS
- FRANCE AND FLANDERS, 1915-18
The 21st Battalion (Eastern Ontario), CEF, is perpetuated by The Princess of Wales' Own Regiment .
References
- ^ Canadian Forces Publication A-DH-267-003 Insignia and Lineages of the Canadian Forces. Volume 3: Combat Arms Regiments.
- ^ Meek, John F. Over the Top! The Canadian Infantry in the First World War. Orangeville, Ont.: The Author, 1971. ISBN 0906158109
- ^ Meek, John F. Over the Top! The Canadian Infantry in the First World War. Orangeville, Ont.: The Author, 1971. ISBN 0906158109
- ^ Meek, John F. Over the Top! The Canadian Infantry in the First World War. Orangeville, Ont.: The Author, 1971. ISBN 0906158109
Sources
Canadian Expeditionary Force 1914-1919 by Col. G.W.L. Nicholson, CD, Queen's Printer, Ottawa, Ontario, 1962