Old Enough to Fight: Canada's Boy Soldiers in the First World War

463 Pages·2015·25 MB·English

by  Dan Black

Old Enough to Fight
Canada’s Boy Soldiers in the First World War
Dan Black and John Boileau
Foreword by Roméo Dallaire
James Lorimer & Company Ltd., Publishers
Toronto
In memory of the boy soldiers who fought and died for Canada.
“No young man believes he shall ever die.”
— William Hazlitt (English literary critic and essayist, 1778-1830)
List of Maps
See map section at the end of the book
Map I: The Colonial Wars, 1604–1902
Map II: Ypres Salient, 1914–18
Map III: Second Battle of Ypres Gas Attack, 24 April 1915
Map IV: Festubert, 15–31 May 1915
Map V: The Battle of Mount Sorrel, 2–13 June 1916
Map VI: The Somme Battles: Courcelette,
15 September 1916
Map VII: The Somme Battles: Thiepval Ridge,
26 September 1916
Map VIII: The Somme Battles: Ancre Heights,
1 October 1916
Map IX: Vimy Ridge, 9–12 April 1917
Map X: Hill 70 and Lens, 15–25 August 1917
Map XI: Passchendaele, 26 October–10 November 1917
Map XII: Spring Offensives, March–July 1918
Map XIII: Amiens, 8–18 August 1918
Map XIV: Arras, 26 August–5 September 1918
Map XV: Canal du Nord and Cambrai,
27 September–11 October 1918
Map XVI: The Final Advance: Cambrai to Mons,
12 October–11 November 1918
Canadian Corps Infantry Divisions, Brigades,
and Battalions
1st Canadian Division 1st Brigade
1st (Western Ontario) Battalion
2nd (Eastern Ontario) Battalion
3rd (Toronto Regiment) Battalion
4th (Central Ontario) Battalion
2nd Brigade
5th (Western Cavalry) Battalion
7th (1st British Columbia) Battalion 8th (90th Winnipeg Rifles) Battalion 10th
(Calgary-Winnipeg) Battalion 3rd Brigade
13th (Royal Highlanders of Canada) Battalion 14th (Royal Montreal Regiment)
Battalion 15th (48th Highlanders of Canada) Battalion 16th (Canadian Scottish)
Battalion
2nd Canadian Division 4th Brigade
18th (Western Ontario) Battalion
19th (Central Ontario) Battalion
20th (Central Ontario) Battalion
21st (Eastern Ontario) Battalion
5th Brigade
22nd (French Canadian) Battalion
24th (Victoria Rifles of Canada) Battalion 25th (Nova Scotia Rifles) Battalion
26th (New Brunswick) Battalion
6th Brigade
27th (City of Winnipeg) Battalion 28th (Northwest) Battalion
29th (Vancouver) Battalion
31st (Alberta) Battalion

3rd Canadian Division 7th Brigade
Royal Canadian Regiment
Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry 42nd (Royal Highlanders of Canada)
Battalion 49th (Edmonton Regiment) Battalion 8th Brigade
1st (Saskatchewan) Battalion Canadian Mounted Rifles 2nd (British Columbia)
Battalion Canadian Mounted Rifles 4th (Central Ontario) Battalion Canadian
Mounted Rifles 5th (Quebec) Battalion Canadian Mounted Rifles 9th Brigade
43rd (Cameron Highlanders of Canada) Battalion 52nd (New Ontario) Battalion
58th (Central Ontario) Battalion
60th (Victoria Rifles of Canada) Battalion (replaced by 116th (Ontario County)
Battalion April 1917)
4th Canadian Division 10th Brigade
44th (Manitoba) Battalion (redesignated “New Brunswick” August 1918) 46th
(South Saskatchewan) Battalion 47th (British Columbia) Battalion (redesignated
“Western Ontario” February 1918) 50th (Calgary) Battalion
11th Brigade
54th (Kootenay) Battalion (redesignated “Central Ontario” August 1917) 75th
(Mississauga) Battalion
87th (Canadian Grenadier Guards) Battalion 102nd (North British Columbians)
Battalion (redesignated “Central Ontario” August 1917) 12th Brigade
38th (Ottawa) Battalion
72nd (Seaforth Highlanders of Canada) Battalion 73rd (Royal Highlanders of
Canada) Battalion (replaced by 85th (Nova Scotia Highlanders)
Battalion April 1917) 78th (Winnipeg Grenadiers) Battalion
The Boy Soldiers
Several boy soldiers in this book appear in more than one chapter. This list
serves as a quick reference for recalling basic details about their service.
Brown, Archie — 78th (Winnipeg Grenadiers) Battalion; normal school student
from Macdonald, Manitoba; enrolled age sixteen.
Brown, Gordon — 46th (South Saskatchewan) Battalion; farmhand from
Redvers, Saskatchewan; enrolled age seventeen.
Cadenhead, John — 102nd (North British Columbians) Battalion; student from
Vancouver; enrolled age sixteen.
Claydon, Fred — 43rd (Cameron Highlanders of Canada) Battalion; farm
labourer from Elkhorn, Manitoba; enrolled age sixteen.
Henley, Roy — 42nd (Royal Highlanders of Canada) Battalion; farmhand from
Alliston, Ontario; enrolled twice — ages thirteen and fifteen.
King, Walter — 5th (Western Cavalry) Battalion; schoolteacher from
Wainwright, Alberta; enrolled age seventeen.
Lawson, Gordon — Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry; farmer from
Winnipeg; enrolled age seventeen.
Low, David — 43rd (Cameron Highlanders of Canada) Battalion; clerk from
Winnipeg; enrolled age sixteen.
MacArthur, J. H. — 7th (1st British Columbia) Battalion; occupation