The 21st Battalion (Eastern Ontario), CEF was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force in the Great War.
History The battalion was authorized on 7 November 1914 and embarked for Britain on 6 May 1915. It disembarked in France on 15 September 1915, where it fought as part of the 4th Canadian Brigade, 2nd Canadian Division in France and Flanders. The battalion was disbanded on 30 August 1920.Canadian Forces Publication A-DH-267-003 Insignia and Lineages of the Canadian Forces. Volume 3: Combat Arms Regiments.
The 21st Battalion recruited in Eastern Ontario and was mobilized at Kingston, Ontario.Meek, John F. Over the Top! The Canadian Infantry in the First World War. Orangeville, Ont.: The Author, 1971.
Officers Commanding The 21st Battalion had five Officers Commanding: Lt.-Col. William St Pierre Hughes, 6 May 1915 – 18 July 1916 Lt.-Col. E.W. Jones, DSO, 18 July 1916 – 7 January 1917 Lt.-Col. Thomas F. Elmitt, 7 January 1917 – 1 July 1917 Lt.-Col. Elmer Watson Jones, DSO, 1 July 1917 – 8 August 1918 Lt.-Col. H.E. Pense, DSO, 8 August 1918-Demobilization
The Ottawa Branch of the 21st Battalion Association erected a memorial plaque at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church (Ottawa) which is dedicated to Brigadier General William St Pierre Hughes, DSO, VD, first Commanding Officer of the battalion.
Perpetuation The 21st Battalion (Eastern Ontario), CEF, is perpetuated by The Princess of Wales' Own Regiment.Canadian Forces Publication A-DH-267-003 Insignia and Lineages of the Canadian Forces. Volume 3: Combat Arms Regiments.
Battle honours The 21st Battalion was awarded the following battle honours:
Mont Sorrel Somme, 1916 & 1918 Flers-Courcelette Thiepval Ancre Heights Arras, 1917 & 1918 Vimy Ridge, 1917 Hill 70 Passchendaele Amiens Scarpe, 1918 Drocourt-Quéant Hindenburg Line Canal du Nord Cambrai, 1918 Pursuit to Mons France & Flanders, 1915-18
Media Capt. Herbert W. McBride, who served with the 21st Battalion, wrote two books about his experiences as a member of the unit during the Great War as a sniper and machine gunner: "A Rifleman Went To War" and "The Emma Gees."McBride, Herbert W., A Rifleman Went to War, Plantersville, SC: Small Arms Technical Publishing Co. (1935)
Notable members
Frank McGee
See also List of infantry battalions in the Canadian Expeditionary Force
References
Sources Canadian Expeditionary Force 1914-1919 by Col. G.W.L. Nicholson, CD, Queen's Printer, Ottawa, Ontario, 1962 A Rifleman Went To War, by Capt. Herbert W. McBride, MM, Small Arms Technical Publishing Company 1935, The Emma Gees, by Capt. Herbert W. McBride, MM, The Bobbs-Merrill Company Publishers, 1918, ISBN
External links
http://21stbattalion.ca