Rembrance

On the sacrifices of a few for the good of many.

Regimental #633290

Howard Fawcett, grandfather on my mom’s side fought with the 2nd Canadian Battalion enlisting on January 24th, 1916 and sailed out of Halifax on October 25th on the S.S. Mauretania as a member of the 154th (S.D&G Highlanders) Battalion.

On June 30th, 1917 he was transferred to the 2nd Canadian Battalion and subsequently took part in the Battle for Hill 70 and fought at Passchendaele where he was wounded on October 11th by shrapnel in the right thigh and a gun shot wound to his left hand.

Promoted to Corporal on November 11/11/18.

The 2nd Battalion (Eastern Ontario Regiment), Canadian Expeditionary Force was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Army created in response to the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914. The battalion comprised local militia in many regions of Ontario (and even from Quebec City). Men came from as far away as Sault Ste. Marie to join in Canada’s military endeavour. Local militia gathered at Valcartier, in August 1914 and became part of the 2nd Battalion.

The original officers were drawn from the various regiments that recruited for the battalion, including the Governor General’s Foot Guards of Ottawa, the 16th Prince Edward Regiment, the 40th Northumberland Regiment, the 41st Brockville Rifles, and the 42nd Regiment (Lanark and Renfrew), among others.

Their first battle was the Second Battle of Ypres, in April 1915. When the battalion pulled out of the battle, on 29 April, the final count included 6 officers and 68 other ranks killed, 4 officers and 158 other ranks wounded, and 5 officers and 302 other ranks missing, for a combined loss of 543 men.

The 2nd Battalion also fought at the battles of Ypres, St. Julien, Festubert, Pozières, Vimy (1917), Arleux, Hill 70, Passchendaele, Amiens, and Canal du Nord, to name only a few. By the end of the war, 242 officers and 5,084 other ranks had fought with the battalion. Of those, 52 officers and 1,227 other ranks were killed in action, accidentally killed, or died of their injuries.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia