Perpetuated Battalions

Six Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) battalions of the First World War are perpetuated by The Queen’s Own Rifles. All were commanded by QOR Officers however only the 3rd Battalion saw active service and the rest were disbanded in England to provide reinforcements to front line battalions including the 3rd.

• 3rd Battalion, Toronto Regiment, CEF
• 83rd Battalion (Queen’s Own Rifles) CEF
• 95th Battalion CEF
• 166th Battalion QOR CEF
• 198th Overseas Battalion, Canadian Buffs CEF
• 255th Battalion (QOR) CEF

Nominal Rolls

These searchable nominal rolls issued with Militia Orders in 1915, includes service number, rank, name, previous military service, name of next of kin, address of next of kin, country of birth, and date and place taken on strength.

• 3rd Bn CEF Nominal Roll (pdf 7.8 MB) Raised in Toronto and consisted primarily with soldiers from the 2nd Regiment, Queen’s Own Rifles; the 10th Regiment (later the Royal Regiment of Canada); and the Governor General’s Body Guards (GGBG) (amalgamated in 1936 with The Mississauga Horse to become The Governor General’s Horse Guards).
• 83rd Bn CEF & 1st Reinforcement Draft Nominal Roll (39.0 MG)
• 95th Bn CEF Nominal Roll (1.86 MB)
• 166th Bn CEF Nominal Roll (5.23 MB)
• 198th Bn CEF Nominal Roll (4.97 MB)
• 255th Bn CEF Nominal Roll (1.72 MB)

Letters

Below are links to twelve surviving letters sent by CSM Lawrence D. Pridham with the 166th Bn and 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles (and late of the Queen’s Own Rifles) to his uncle William Pridham. Throughout them you will find references to his brother Hal – Harold who was a lawyer out west – and to Mr and/or Mrs R.A. who were his parents in Winnipeg. A number of the letters include notes to pass on the letter to other relatives. You will also notice that many of the envelopes have been reviewed by military censors and resealed with a tape stating “OPENED BY CENSOR”. Only one letters appears to have information erased by the censor – on page 2 of 15 February 1917.

• 27 September 1916 (Base Borden)
• 30 September 1916 (Tottenham)
• 07 October 1916 (Base Borden)
• 14 January 1917 (London)
• 15 February 1917 (France)
• 27 March 1917 (France)
• 5 July 1917 (France)
• 23 September 1917 (France)
• 31 January 1918 (France)
• 1 February 1918 (most likely from France)
• 21 April 1918 (France)
• 11 July 1918 (France)

We also have four letters from Lieutenant Felton Pickering Behan, 3rd Battalion, CEF, written to his mother in Mimico.

• 19 September 1914 (Valcartier, Quebec)
• 14 October 1914 (Aboard the Tunisia enroute to England)
• 27 October 1914 (Bustard Camp, England)
• 4 March 1915 (“In the trenches”)

1917 Letter from Sergeant John Lutton to his future wife Annie Deyell

See the transcription of the 6 May 1917 letter from Major Herbert Gourlay Wickens reporting on the 2nd Battle of Ypres.

 Personal Diaries

Lawrence Pridham was also a prodigious diarist and made entries almost every day, some with his friend Doc. It appears that he then sent these home to his family, who he cautions not to share with anyone who is not family, lest he get court-martialed for providing information what would normally be censored in letters.

• Pridham Diary Vol #4 – 14 Aug 1917 to 3 Sep 1917
• Pridham Diary Vol #9 – 30 Jan 1918 to 31 Mar 1918
• Pridham Diary Vol #10 – 1 Apr 1918 to 9 Aug 1918

Elmer Garfield McKay wrote a diary on his service with the 3rd Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force.

• My Diary in France – December 1917 to December 1918

3rd Battalion, CEF War Diaries

• War Diaries 1914 (First entry October 14th)
• War Diaries 1915
• War Diaries 1916
• War Diaries 1917
• War Diaries 1918
• War Diaries 1919 (Final entry February 28)

Profiles

The following are just a sampling of Queen’s Own Rifles soldiers who served during the First World War († indicates killed in action or died of wounds or disease):

1. Adamson, Sydney Lambert (DCM, 3rd & 255th Bns)
2. Alexander, Gordon R. (also WWII, RSM)
3. Alexander, Percy Norman (3rd Bn, QOR Battalion Commanding Officer)
4. Allan, William Donald (Commanding Officer 3rd Bn CEF) †
5. Austin, James Percival
6. Barker, Rybert Kent
7. Barnard, William Thomas (also WWII, Commanding Officer)
8. Barron, Colin Fraser (Victoria Cross, also WWII)
9. Bate, Joseph Henry (RSM 2nd Bn)
10. Bateup, Ernest †
11. Behan, Felton Pickering (WWI)
12. Bell, William Douglas (WWI) †
13. Berry Walter Wimble (Australian Imperial Force)
14. Blake-Forster, Alfred Blake (RSM 3rd Bn)
15. Blanchard, George Percy (RSM 3rd Bn)
16. Bolte, Felix Olivier (35th Bn/5th CMR/3rd Bn) †
17. Broughall, Deric (3rd Bn) †
18. Buckley, Cecil Albert (83rd Bn, 4 CMR) †
19. Cameron, Donald (RSM 83rd Bn)
20. Clark, Ernest (255th, 3rd Bn) †
21. Cockburn, George Angus †
22. Cooper, Charles Edwin  (RSM 3rd Bn) †
23. Cooper, Henry Sloane
24. Crighton, Maurice (3rd Bn, son RSM George Creighton)†
25. Crowther, William Beverly†
26. Curry, Walter Eyre †
27. Eakins, George R. (South Africa, 198th Bn RSM)
28. Ellis, George Clemens †
29. Forwood, Thomas Watt
30. Fotheringham, John Taylor
31. George, Hugh M (Sgt-Maj)
32. Gibson, Ralph B. (Also WWII, Battalion Commanding Officer)
33. Good, Harry Cyril (RSM 3rd Bn)
34. Grant, Oswald Weatherald †
35. Green, Herbert James †
36. Haider, Leslie Frank †
37. Harvey, Allen Davenport (3rd Bn)  †
38. Hayes, Henry Stuart †
39. Haywood, Alfred Kimball (3rd Bn Medical Officer)
40. Herman, Arthur C. †
41. Hewitt, William Hamilton (35th and 20th Bns)
42. Hopkins, Ernest Eames †
43. Houston, Arthur Stewart
44. Ingles, George Leycester †
45. Jackson, Oswald Goulding (169th Bn, 116th Bn) †
46. Johnson, Stanley Frederick †
47. Johnston, Baptist Leonard (Also POW, Battalion Commanding Officer, Colonel of the Regiment)
48. Kelleher, Henry (3rd Bn) †
49. Kennedy, John D. (RSM)
50. Kerr, George Fraser (Victoria Cross)
51. Kirkpatrick, Arthur James Ernest (Also POW, Commanding Officer)
52. Langmuir, John William (CEF & RFC, Commanding Officer)
53. Le Vesconte, Robert Cleugh (166th Bn CEF, Acting Commanding Officer)
54. Lewis, Allen Lewis
55. Lewis, Samuel †
56. Lindsey, Charles Bethune (Also WWII)
57. Lutton, John (198th Bn)
58. Lyne-Evans, Josiah (Adjutant 3rd Bn, Adjutant 12th Bn, RCR)
59. MacDonald, Alexander Edward (Medical Officer 3rd Bn and QOR)
60. Macdonell, Ian McLean (Also Commanding Officer)
61. MacDowell, Thain Wendell (VC)
62. MacKendrick, Harry Crane (111th Bn, 4CMR)
63. MacKenzie, George Lawrence Bisset (3rd Bn) †
64. Mackintosh, Walter Hugh Victor (19th Bn, QOR RSM 1922-25) 
65. Mason, Douglas Herbert Campbell
66. Massey, Vincent
67. May, William Henry (3rd Bn) †
68. McCrae, John (also South African War) †
69. McDonell, James A. E. (WWI) †
70. McKay, Elmer Garfield (Signaler with 3rd Bn)
71. Medland, Frederick Ross †
72. Mercer, Malcolm Smith (Also Northwest Canada, Commanding Officer) †
73. Michell, William Charles (Also Battalion Commanding Officer)
74. Mitchell, William George (Commanding Officer 166th Battalion)
75. Moore, Robert Edward Elgin (Sergeant Master Tailor with 83rd Bn)
76. Moss, Charles Alexander (WWI) †
77. Muntz, Herbert Gerard †
78. Nobbs, Henry Gilbert (POW)
79. Nolan, David (RSM 3rd Bn CEF)
80. Otter, William Dillon (Also Fenian Raids, Northwest Rebellion, South African War, Permanent Force, Commanding Officer)
81. Parsons, Harold Stuart (58th Bn & RFC, also Battalion Commanding Officer)
82. Pellatt, Reginald (Also Commanding Officer)
83. Platt, Henry Errol Beauchamp (3rd Bn) †
84. Pridham, Lawrence Ducharme (166th Bn & 4CMR) †
85. Purvis, William James (74th Bn)
86. Rennie, Robert (QOR & 3rd Battalion Commanding Officer)
87. Reeves, Albert Robert  (RSM 166th Bn)
88. Royce, George Cooper (255th Battalion Commanding Officer)
89. Rogers, Joseph Bartlett (3rd Battalion Commanding Officer)
90. Ryerson, George Ansel Sterling (Also Fenian Raids 1870, Northwest Canada, South African War)
91. Ryerson, George Crowther (3rd Bn) †
92. Sampson, Gordon Alexander (81st Bn Adjutant, 60th Bn)
93. Sandford, Richard (92nd Bn) †
94. Scrutton, Edward Samuel (RSM 95th Bn)
95. Serjent, Henry (RSM, 255th Bn)
96. Streight, John Everett Lyle (South Africa, 3rd Bn)
97. Smith, Harry Eden
98. Smith, James Herbert “Herb” (3rd Battalion)
99. Thorn, J. O. (Also North West Canada, Sergeant Major, 166th Bn CEF)
100. Townsend, Alan Jarvis Hamilton (3rd & 4th Bn) †
101. Turquand, Aubrey de Vere Arnold (3rd Bn) †
102. Unwin, Harry Wallace (35th Bn, 20th Bn, 1st Bn) †
103. Van der Smissen, William Victor Henry, son of Van der Smissen, W. H. †
104. Walwyn, William Edwin McLean (198th Bn, 102nd Bn, MC)
105. Wansbrough, Cuthbert Cole (later Battalion Commanding Officer)
106. Wickens, Herbert Gourlay †
107. Willard, William Hartley (83rd Bn) †
108. Williams, Frederick (RSM 3rd Bn)
109. Wood, Frank Herbert (Also POW, Battalion Commanding Officer)
110. Wright, Charles Seymour (Royal Engineers)
111. Wright, John Alfred (123rd Bn) †