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Canadian Expeditionary
Force Study Group
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| Component: |
29th Infantry Battalion |
| Active Dates: |
March 15, 1915 - September 15,
1920 |
| Theatre of Operations: |
France and
Flanders
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| Major Battles /
Battle Honours: |
Mount Sorrel;
SOMME 1916, 1918; Flers-Courcelette; Thiepval; Ancre Heights;
ARRAS 1917, 1918; VIMY 1917; Scarpe 1917, 1918; HILL 70; YPRES
1917; PASSCHENDAELE; AMIENS; Drocourt-Quéant Line; HINDENBURG
LINE; Canal du Nord; CAMBRAI 1918; Pursuit to Mons.
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| Location of War Diaries: |
 | Library and Archives Canada (WD
Link) |
| CEFSG War Diary Transcription
(in progress = IP) |
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Background:
| Stewart reports that the unit
was mobilized at Vancouver, British Columbia ("Tobin's
Tigers") with a strength of 1,090 men. The unit
served in France and Flanders with the 6th Infantry Brigade of
the 2nd Canadian Division from September 17, 1915 until the
Armistice Love concurs with the
report of Stewart and does not add additional information.
Meek notes that the unit was recruited
from Vancouver and New Westminister, British Columbia. It was active in Canada from
October 24, 1914 to May 20, 1915 and in
England from May 30, 1915 to September 17, 1915. Meek
records that the unit served in France from September 17, 1915
to April 11, 1919, returning on the Olympic on May 11, 1919.
Nicholson reports on the 29th Infantry Battalion on the following pages (see the Matrix
Nicholson Transcriptions):
| St. Eloi Craters, 142: April 1916 in
relief of the 27th Battalion and trying to recapture Craters
2 and 3 |
| Battle of the Somme, 176, 178:
September 1916 as the 29th occupies the enemy trenches
north-east of Courcelette in 10 minutes |
| Vimy Ridge 256-257: April 1917 the 29th
overran Thélus Trench, taking the south end of Hill 135 |
| Lens 293-294: August 1917 resulted in
crippling losses at Cinnabar Trench in the attack on Lens,
with all officers killed or wounded |
| Amiens 403, 411-412: August 1918 saw
fighting in Amiens and on the Rosières-Vrély Road, with
the 29th "mopping up" at the end of the battle. |
From Library and
Archives Canada: There is an abundance of text and
photographic material, both on-line and in the archives.
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The
29th Canadian Infantry Battalion was organized in
October 1914 under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel J.S.
Tobin under authorization published in General Order 36
of 15 March 1915. The battalion was mobilized at
Vancouver and recruited in Vancouver and New
Westminster.
The battalion embarked at Montreal on 20 May 1915 aboard
MISSANABIE, disembarking in England on 30 May 1915. Its
strength was 37 officers and 1104 other ranks. The
battalion arrived in France on 17 September 1915,
becoming part of the 2nd Canadian Division, 6th Canadian
Infantry Brigade. It was later reinforced by the 1st
Canadian Reserve Battalion. The battalion returned to
England on 12 April 1919, disembarked in Canada on 16
May 1919, was demobilized on 24 May 1919, and was
disbanded by General Order 149 of 15 September 1920.
The battalion supported a 28 piece brass band and a 16
piece pipe band. A banner was presented to the pipe band
by Alexander Francis, 35th Chief of Clan Mackinnon. The
battalion colours were deposited in Christ Church,
Vancouver in June 1919.
The 29th Canadian Infantry Battalion was perpetuated by
The Vancouver Regiment |
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Sub-Components:
War Diary Entries:
Primary References:
| Nicholson, G. W. L. 1962. Official
History of the Canadian Army in the First World War: Canadian
Expeditionary Force 1914-1919. Queens Printer and Controller
of Stationary, Ottawa, Canada.
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| Stewart, C. H. 1970. "Overseas" The
Lineages and Insignia of the Canadian Expeditionary Force 1914
-1919. Little & Stewart, Mission Press, Toronto, Canada.
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| Love, D. W. 1999. "A Call to Arms"
The Organization and Administration of Canada's Military in World
War One. Bunker to Bunker Books, Winnipeg & Calgary,
Canada
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| Meek, John F. 1971. "Over the Top!
The Canadian Infantry in the First World War. Privately Published,
Orangeville Ontario Canada. |
Secondary References:
Member References:
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MacLeod, John N.,
A
pictorial record and original muster roll, 29th Battalion,
Vancouver : Privately printed, 1919, 64 p.
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Clyne, Henry Randolph Notman,
Vancouver's
29th : a chronicle of the 29th in Flanders Field,
Vancouver : Privately printed, 1964, 166 p.
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Internet References:
| This Page Last
Updated On: |
Tuesday January 29, 2008 01:16:53 PM -0800
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