|
|
|
The 9th
Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force was a unit
raised for service in the First World War.
History
The battalion organized at Valcartier Camp in accordance
with Camp Order 241 of 2 September 1914 (copy in RG 24, vol.
1258, file HQ 593-2-1, pt. 1). The unit was composed of
recruits from Edmonton and was commanded by
Lieutenant-Colonel S.M. Rogers. He was succeeded by
Lieutenant-Colonel E.E.W. Moore on 8 May 1915, and
then Lieutenant-Colonel E.B. Clegg on 25 April 1916.
The unit
embarked for overseas at Quebec City, Quebec on 1 October
1914 on S.S. Zeeland and arrived in England on 18
October 1914 with a strength of 49 officers and 1118 other
ranks. Band instruments were loaned to the unit by the 101st
Edmonton Fusiliers of the Canadian Militia.
On 17 January
1915, the 9th Battalion, along with the 6th, 11th and 12th
were formed into a Canadian Training Depot.
On 29 April
1915 the unit became a Reserve Battalion. On 7 July 1916,
the 56th, 63rd and 66th Battalions were absorbed, along with
part of the 82nd Battalion.
In January
1917 the battalion was reorganized as the 9th Canadian
Reserve Battalion, and they were absorbed by the 21st
Canadian Reserve Battalion on 15 October 1917. |
|
9th
Battalion, CEF |
|
 |
|
Authorized:
2 September 1914
Initial Strength: 1,095
Service: Provided reinforcements for Canadian
Corps units.
Disbanded: eff 15 September 1917
Perpetuated by: The Edmonton Fusiliers |
|
The unit was
disbanded by the authority of Privy Council Order 2545 of 15
September 1917, and perpetuation was granted to The Edmonton
Fusiliers.1
Insignia
In 1914, there had been little time to
adopt distinctive unit badges for the hastily assembled battalions
of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. As many battalions were drawn
from men from several of the pre-war Militia regiments, there was a
desire to avoid using existing badges and forming associations with
those existing units, in favour of creating new identities - the
General Officer Commanding the 1st Canadian Contingent (later 1st
Canadian Division) is quoted as saying sometime in October or
November of 1914 "there must be distinctive badges for each unit."2
Until unit badges were approved and issued, a mixture of
pre-war Militia badges and maple-leaf pattern General Service badges
were seen.
Metal cap and collar badges were also
worn on service dress.
Battle Honours
|
Ypres 1915, 17
Mount Sorrel
Arras 1917, '18
Amiens |
Festubert, 1915
Somme, 1916
Hill 70
Hindenburg Line |
|
Pursuit to Mons |
Notes
-
Stewart, p.5 and Guide to
Sources p.59. Stewart lists the 19th Alberta Dragoons as
the perpetuating unit, but the Edmonton Fusiliers originally
received the perpetuation before they were amalgamated with the
19th Alberta Dragoons in 1946. Love, p.274, correctly
identifies, as does the Guide, that it was the Edmonton
Fusiliers that originally received the perpetuation, even if
those sources do not spell out for the reader that the
perpetuation passed to the 19th Alberta Dragoons upon
amalgamation in 1946.
-
Harper, Joseph A Source of
Pride: Regimental Badges and Titles in the Canadian
Expeditionary Force 1914-1919 (Service Publications,
Ottawa, ON, 1999) ISBN 0-9699845-8-8 p.5
References
-
Love, David W.
A Call to Arms: The Organization and Administration of
Canada's Military in World War One (Bunker to Bunker
Books, Calgary, AB, 1999) ISBN 1894255-03-8
-
Stewart, Charles
H. Overseas: The Lineages and Insignia of the Canadian
Expeditionary Force 1914-1919 (Little & Stewart,
Toronto, ON, 1970)
-
Guide to Sources Relating to
Units of the Canadian Expeditionary Force Infantry Battalions (Library
and Archives Canada, Ottawa, ON, 2012)
Archival Holdings
The following holdings at Library and
Archives Canada may be useful for further research on this unit:
-
War diary, 14 Oct. 1914 - 31 Jan.
1915
-
History
-
Badges
-
Demobilization
-
Battle honours
-
Inspection
-
Records of personnel
-
Accounts
-
Master parades
-
Nominal rolls of men for transfer to
Canada
-
Report on battalion
-
Badges
-
RG 9, III-D-1, vol. 4691, folder
49, file 2
-
Historical record
-
RG 9, III-D-1, vol. 4691, folder
49, file 2
-
Honours and awards
-
RG 9, III-D-1, vol. 4691, folder
49, file 3
-
Photographs
-
RG 9, III-D-1, vol. 4691, folder
49, file 4
-
Nominal roll on embarkation, 1914
-
Account for messing, Young and Son
-
Daily Orders
|
