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The 253rd
Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force was a unit
raised for service in the First World War.
History
The 253rd Battalion, CEF was
raised in Kingston, Ontario, from university students raised
by The Kingston Regiment (The Princess of Wales' Own).1 The unit recruited in
Military District 3 (Hastings County).2
Stewart lists the unit's sub-designation as "Queen's
University Highland Battalion" and an affiliation with the
21st and 59th Battalions, which were also perpetuated by The
Princess of Wales' Own Regiment.3
Stewart lists a pipe band that
was used for recruiting in Ottawa and Kingston only,
consisting of seven pipers and five drummers, wearing khaki
balmorals and government tartan kilt and bag covers.4 |
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253rd
Battalion, CEF |
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Raised:
1916
Strength: 461
Service: Absorbed by the 5th Reserve
Battalion to provide reinforcements for the Canadian
Corps in the field.
Disbanded: 1920
Perpetuated by: The Princess of Wales' Own
Regiment |
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Battle Honours
General Order No. 123 of 1929 granted a
single battle honour to the 253rd Battalion, CEF:
The Great War, 1917
Notes
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The Regiments and Corps of the
Canadian Army (Army Historical Section, Queen's Printer,
1964) p.144 Love refers to this unit as the 14th Princes of
Wales' Own Regiment, which does not match other references such
as Charles Stewart's Concise Lineages of the Canadian Army
which lists the unit's name at this time as 14th
Regiment (The Princess of Wale's Own Rifles) (sic). Love is no
doubt incorrect about the gender but may be correct in including
the number. The designation does not change in Love's revised
book by Service Publications A Nation in Making
(Volume I, p. 92)
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Love, p.140
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Stewart, Overseas, p.107
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Ibid, p.107
References
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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
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Stewart, Charles
H. Overseas: The Lineages and Insignia of the Canadian
Expeditionary Force 1914-1919 (Little & Stewart,
Toronto, ON, 1970)
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