History

The 19th Battalion, CEF, or Canadian Expeditionary Force

Canadian Expeditionary Force

The Canadian Expeditionary Force was the designation of the field force created by Canada for service overseas in the First World War. Units of the C.E.F. were divided into field formation in France, where they were organized first into separate divisions and later joined together into a single...

, was originally raised at Exhibition Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 on 6 November 1914.

As part of the 4th Infantry Brigade, 2nd Canadian Division

2nd Canadian Division

The 2nd Canadian Division was an infantry formation that saw service in the First World War. A 2nd Canadian Infantry Division was raised for the Second World War.-History:...

, the 19th went from its station in Toronto, Canada, to West Sandling Camp, Shorncliffe, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, 23 May 1915 and then to France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 on 14 September 1915 in support of the Allies in the First World War

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, where it served from 1915 to 1919.

Battle of Thiepval

The 19th moved out at 6:45 p.m. on the 25 September 1916, following the 20th, 18th, and 21st Canadian battalions on the Albert-Bapaume road toward Courcelette. They were instructed to be at the ready for any movement as they staged themselves at the road with G.F. Morrison commanding. On the 26th, the 19th was instructed to move to Sausage Valley and be ready, and they arrived on the 27th. On the 28th, the 19th was instructed to push forward towards Le Sars where the enemy line was. On the 29th, heavy artillery fire rained down on their position, resulting in heavy casualties. Reports came in that the British had taken the Destremont farm southwest of Le Sars while snipers fired on their position. With a fair amount of shelling coming from Pys, orders came from Rennie to push forward. In his diary of the action at Thiepval, Private John Mould of the 19th expressed the intensity of the advance:

Unmerciful shells were sent over in dozens and within a very short time the ground all around us looked to all appearance like a newly ploughed field. How we escaped without being cut up is one of the things I am not able to explain. I had a very close call myself during this bombardment, a shell bursting within 2 yards of where I was digging. I never knew a thing for a few minutes, the force of the explosion sending me quite silly. It was an awful experience and one which I hoped would not happen again. After about 5 hours of this terrible anxiety, things became much quieter so we were able to proceed with our work of digging more quicker than before. Keeping hard at it during the night, we had by the morning completed 3 lines of trenches and also consolidated them good enough to protect the Battalion from machine gun fire and shrapnel.

On 15 October 1916, Major General R.E.W. Turner, V.C.

Victoria Cross

The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....

, K.C.B.

Order of the Bath

The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...

, K.C.M.G.

Order of St Michael and St George

The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....

, D.S.O.

Distinguished Service Order

The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...

, commander of the 2nd Canadian Division, decorated the men who were honoured for their recent service in battle.

Battle of Le Transloy

The 19th, without its D-Company, who had joined the 20th Battalion, joined with the 18th and 20th Canadian Infantry Battalions, the 4th and 5th Canadian Infantry Brigades, and the 23rd British Division on 1 October 1916 in a concentrated attack of the German lines near Le Transloy

Le Transloy

Le Transloy is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Le Transloy is situated south of Arras, at the junction of the N17 and the D19 roads.-Population:-Places of interest:...

. On 3 October, D-Company rejoined the 19th, and were relieved by the 21st Canadian Infantry Battalion. Total losses were 13 killed, 87 wounded, 29 sick, and 3 missing.

1917 World War Service

• Vimy Ridge
  Battle of Vimy Ridge
  The Battle of Vimy Ridge was a military engagement fought primarily as part of the Battle of Arras, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the Canadian Corps, of four divisions, against three divisions of the German Sixth Army...
  
  
• Hill 70
• Passchendaele

1918 World War Service

• First Battle of the Somme (1918)
• Battle of Amiens
• Second Battle of the Somme (1918)
  Second Battle of the Somme (1918)
  During the First World War, the Second Battle of the Somme of 1918 was fought on the Western Front from the end of the summer, in the basin of the Somme River...
  
  
• Drocourt-Quéant
  Drocourt-Quéant
  The Drocourt-Quéant Line was a set of mutually supporting defensive lines constructed by Germany between the French cities of Drocourt and Quéant during World War I...
  
  
• Battle of the Hindenburg Line
  Battle of the Hindenburg Line
  The Battle of St Quentin Canal was a pivotal battle of World War I that began on 29 September 1918 and involved British, Australian and American forces in the spearhead attack and as a single combined force against the German Siegfried Stellung of the Hindenburg Line...
  
  
• Canal du Nord
  Canal du Nord
  The Canal du Nord is a long canal in northern France. The canal connects the Canal latéral à l'Oise at Pont-l'Évêque to the Sensée Canal at Arleux. The French government, in partnership with coal-mining companies in the Nord and Pas-de-Calais departments, developed the canal to help French coal...
  
  
• Pursuit to Mons

The 19th (Central Ontario) Battalion CEF is perpetuated by The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's)

The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's)

The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada , or A & SH of C, is a Primary Reserve Highland infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces, based at John W...

, which provided for the 19th all of its commanders.