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The 260th
Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force was a unit
raised for service in the First World War.
History
The
260th
Canadian Infantry Battalion mobilized in Victoria, British
Columbia drawing
troops (including conscripts) from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba,
Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.1
The battalion was one of two
Canadian infantry battalions sent to Siberia and northern
Russia as a component of the 16th Canadian Brigade Group,
whose mandate was to protect lines of communication during
the Russian Revolution.
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260th
Battalion, CEF |
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Organized: 1
November 1918 (G.O. 128/1918)
Service: Component of the Canadian
Expeditionary Force (Siberia)
Strength: 984 other ranks
Disbanded: 15 November 1920 (G.O. 215/1920)
Perpetuated by: Princess
Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry |
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The 260th Battalion was mobilized and
organized in September 1918, under commanding officer
Lieutenant-Colonel F.C. Jamieson. Official authorization for the
unit came on 1
November 1918, as the '260th Battalion, Canadian Rifles, CEF
(Siberia)'. The unit was authorized both by General Order 128 (1
November 1918) and by CEF Routine Order 1084, dated 20 September
1918. The unit embarked at Victoria aboard S.S. Protesilaus on 26 December 1918,
and sailed to Vladivostok where it disembarked on 15 January 1919.2
The unit
served with the 16th Infantry Brigade as part of the Allied Forces
in eastern Russia until 9 May 1919, when it returned to Canada. The unit officially disbanded on
15 November 1920.
The battalion was not perpetuated during
the Otter Committee reorganizations. In more recent years, an effort
to perpetuate the CSEF led to grants of perpetuation to existing
units of the Regular Force. Princess Patricia's Canadian Light
Infantry
was named the official perpetuating unit of the Battalion on
3 November 1997.3
Insignia
A contemporary
newspaper account described the insignia of the C.E.F. (Siberia) as follows:
The infantry units of
this force will be known as the 259th and 260th Battalions,
Canadian Rifles, C.E.F., Siberia. The cap badge in the case of
officers will be an oxidized silver bugle with maple leaf
enclosed, the whole backed by a red cloth badge. The collar
badge will be an oxidized silver letter "C", with the numerals
"259th" or "260th as the case may be, underneath. Rank badges of
oxidized silver "Canada" badges will also be worn on the
shoulders and the buttons will be of the black rifle pattern.4
Metal cap and collar badges were also
worn on service dress. Distinctive cap and collar badges were
approved on 17 September 1918.5
 The
C.E.F. (Siberia) used a system of battle patches identical to that worn by
the C.E.F. in France and Flanders. The force as a whole was
distinguished by a maroon coloured rectangle, 3 inches wide by 2
inches tall, worn on each upper arm. The exact shade was known as
"garnet" and was the same battle patch worn by the 5th Canadian
Division in the United Kingdom. The 260th Battalion was further
distinguished by a red semi-circle worn above the rectangle, the red
indicating the 16th Brigade, and the semi-circle indicating the
second senior
battalion in the brigade.6
Notes
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Love, p.140
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Guide to Sources, p. 689
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(NDHQ Memorandum 1065-1 (DHH), 30
October 1997). See also Annex 1B to A-AD-267-000/AF-003,
viewable online at Directorate of History and Heritage
list of lineages.
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September 28, 1918 edition of the Edmonton Morning Bulletin via
CEF Matrix
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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.82
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Law, Clive M. Distinguishing
Patches (2nd Ed.) (Service Publications Ltd., Ottawa,
ON, 2008) ISBN 978-894581-50-9 p.10
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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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:
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War diary, 19 Sept. 1918 - 30 April
1919
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Audit reports
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Inspection reports, clothing and
equipment
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Recruiting and mobilization places
in Canada
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Demobilization
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