43rd Battalion (Cameron Highlanders of Canada), CEF

The distinguishing patch of the 43rd Battalion (Cameron Highlanders of Canada), CEF.

Both Reginald and Frederick Wild killed in action on 21 augustus 1916 are remembered with Special Memorials at the Railway Dugouts Burial Ground (Transport Farm) in Zillebeke, Belgium

The 43rd Battalion (Cameron Highlanders of Canada), CEF, was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the Great War. The 43rd Battalion was authorized on 7 November 1914 and embarked for Britain on 1 June 1915. It disembarked in France on 22 February 1916, where it fought as part of the 9th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Canadian Division in France and Flanders until the end of the war. The battalion was disbanded on 30 August 1920.^[1]

The 43rd Battalion recruited in and was mobilized at Winnipeg, Manitoba.^[2]

The 43rd Battalion had five officers commanding:

• Lt-Col. R. McD. Thomson, 1 June 1915 – 8 October 1916
• Lt.-Col. W. Grassie, DSO, 9 October 1916 – 4 November 1917
• Lt.-Col. W.K. Chandler, 4 November 1917 – 23 December 1917
• Lt-Col. H.M. Urquart, DSO, MC, 23 December 1917 – 16 August 1918
• Lt.-Col. W.K. Chandler, DSO, 16 August 1918-Demobilization^[3]

One member of the 43rd Battalion was awarded the Victoria Cross. Lieutenant Robert Shankland was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions at Passchendaele on 26 October 1917. He had previously been awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal as a sergeant for his actions at Sanctuary Wood in 1916.^[4]

The 43rd Battalion was awarded the following battle honours:

• MOUNT SORREL
• SOMME, 1916
• Flers-Courcelette
• Ancre Heights
• ARRAS, 1917, '18
• Vimy, 1917
• HILL 70
• Ypres 1917
• Passchendaele
• AMIENS
• Scarpe 1918
• Drocourt-Quéant
• HINDENBURG LINE
• Canal du Nord
• PURSUIT TO MONS
• FRANCE AND FLANDERS, 1916-18^[5]

The 43rd Battalion (Cameron Highlanders of Canada), CEF, is perpetuated by The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada.^[6]

References

1. Canadian Forces Publication A-DH-267-003 Insignia and Lineages of the Canadian Forces. Volume 3: Combat Arms Regiments.
2. Meek, John F. Over the Top! The Canadian Infantry in the First World War. Orangeville, Ont.: The Author, 1971. ISBN 0906158109
3. Meek, John F. Over the Top! The Canadian Infantry in the First World War. Orangeville, Ont.: The Author, 1971. ISBN 0906158109
4. Meek, John F. Over the Top! The Canadian Infantry in the First World War. Orangeville, Ont.: The Author, 1971. ISBN 0906158109
5. Meek, John F. Over the Top! The Canadian Infantry in the First World War. Orangeville, Ont.: The Author, 1971. ISBN 0906158109
6. Canadian Forces Publication A-DH-267-003 Insignia and Lineages of the Canadian Forces. Volume 3: Combat Arms Regiments.

Sources

• Canadian Expeditionary Force 1914-1919 by Col. G.W.L. Nicholson, CD, Queen's Printer, Ottawa, Ontario, 1962