Help Was Needed…
We asked for assistance in transcribing digitized copies of the 3rd Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Forces War Diaries for posting on this site. The “3rd Battalion, The Toronto Regiment”, is perpetuated jointly by the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada and what eventually became the Royal Regiment of Canada. Transcribing the diaries now allows us to easily search them and link to specific names and events in the battalion’s history.
A big thanks to all those who volunteered:
- Captain Rita Arendz
- Catherine Caughell
- Shawn Mingo
- Private Michael McLean
- Tanya Probert
- Kathleen Watt
- Meg Dallett
- Katy Shaw-Kiso
- Meggan Green
- Emily White
- Elizabeth Harless
- Chauncey M. J.
- Emily Hamilton
- Leah-Ann Logel
- Hilary Lister
- Briar Sutherland
- Sarah McGall
- Bethany Kearsley
- Megan White
- Zoe Reilly-Ansons
- Alison Dingledine
- Ruth Marie O’Connell
- Caylanne Lyall
- Filomena Pingiaro
- Ceci Leung
- Geraldine R.
You can see completed transcriptions on these pages:
- War Diaries 1914
- War Diaries 1915
- War Diaries 1916
- War Diaries 1917
- War Diaries 1918
- War Diaries 1919
Originals:
- Library and Archives Canada – May 1915 to March 1917
- Library and Archives Canada – June 1917 to February 1919
The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada Regimental Museum and Archive 
Hi, I am the great-nephew of William Sharrocks who was killed on 23rd Jan 1917 while servicing in the 3rd battalion, the Toronto regiment. The original link to the diary is broken. Do you have any pictures of william? i have one of him which I give a jpeg. Where was his unit, i mean on the map when he got killed?
best wishes
Darren
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We don’t have any photos in which he has named. Not sure what issue you were having with the link but here it is again:
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Thank you very much for this work. I am researching training in a British Infantry Division and it is excellent to have these diaries available for comparison. I have so far transcribed the equivalent of about eight diaries 1915-1918 and know how time-consuming it can be. Thanks
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This would be my Great Uncle Ralph Howarth’s Battalion, as he signed his Attestation Papers on December 18, 1915. Do you have pictures of the men? Uniform pictures? Anything would be of great value to me. Thank you in advance for any help you can give me. -Tami
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Thank you so much for creating this website and transcribing all the diary pages. My great Uncle Ralph Howarth enlisted with the CEF 1st Division, 3rd Battalion on Decemeber 18, 1915. He was killed in action on August 9, 1918 by German machine gun bullets to the leg during the Battle of Amiens. He is buried in Rouvroy, France. I have spent the last month learning about him through ancestry.com but learned much more about him because of your website. This means so much to me. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you. -Tami
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I really enjoy having access to these diaries … I am using them to explain a little about the First World War to my fourth Grade daughter. A cousin of my grandfather fought with the 3rd Battalion and I can connect his death with a raid on enemy trenches detailed in these archives.
sincerely
Graeme Thompson, in Guatemala
PS another great-uncle fought in the QOR in the Second war…
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Folks,
Thanks for transcribing the 3rd Bn war diaries. In August 1913, my grandfather, John Denning Wallace, immigrated from Paisley, Scotland to Kearny, New Jersey. In April 1918, he crossed the border and joined the Toronto Regiment to fight with the CEF in WW1. He served with the 3rd Bn on the front lines near Arras, France, from November 1917 until July 15, 1918, when he sustained a gunshot wound in the left arm. In February 1919, he was medically discharged for the “GSW left arm” and for “trench exposure.” A few years later, he died from the trench exposure at age 30. On review of my grandfather’s CEF discharge certificate and military records, they did not reveal how he sustaineded his combat wound, and for many years I often wondered. Thankfully, the 3rd Bn war diaries provided me with some background. The 3rd Bn war diaries for July 14-16 1918, and the 3rd Bn end of month casualty report for July 1918, reveal that my grandfather, “Wallace, J.D.”, and three other 3rd Bn soldiers were wounded by machine gun fire whilst “laying wire ” near Post 7 in the Fampough sector near Arras. The next day, one had died from his wounds. Now I know. Thanks.
Wayne S. Wallace, LTC, U.S. Army
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My grandfather’s diary was donated to the West Point (USMA) Library by my father, BG (USA ret) Roy K. Flint. My grandfather was Private Ivan I. Flint. I don’t know if you are still collecting transcriptions of diaries.
Lisa Flint Yarn
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We also have a dispatch requesting help during a heavy bombardment. I am not sure what battle this was.
Lisa Flint Yarn
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Sorry to keep adding comments, but I forgot to mention that I have many photographs of the battalion that are in good condition.
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Hi Lisa – sorry for the very late reply to this – we would love to get copies of the dispatch and the photos if you would like to donate them – of if you prefer to hang on to them, it would be great to get scans of them if that is possible.
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Thank you for posting this information. I am the granddaughter of Marjorie Flint, sister of Private Harold Roy Flint. I will check the West Point (USMA) Library to see if this diary has been digitized as I would be very interested in reading it.
Valerie Moore
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Thanks Valerie – we would really appreciate a copy of the diary if its possible to get one.
John
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Hi Valerie,
Harold Roy Flint was my grandfather Ivan’s cousin and best friend. I have several photos of them. In my grandfather’s diary, there is only one sentence on a certain page, “Roy died today.” My father was named Roy after him. I also have a photo of my son at Harold Roy Flint’s grave two summers ago.
Lisa Flint Yarn
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