Page7 On Friday August 14th the detail of the Artillery Division of Canada's Expeditionary Force was announced ... to consist of Three Brigades of eighteen 18 Pdr Guns each ... In addition... a Divisional Ammunition Column of 15 Officers, 553 men, and 709 Horses" with Saint John furnishing one of the four sections.
Volunteers continued to come forward for Overseas Service and on the 20th of August, Lieut-Col. Armstrong received orders to recruit for Foreign Service up to 284 Officers and men.
The next contribution for Overseas service from the depot on Partridge Island was a draft of 62 men who left Saint John on the evening of December 4, 1914 for Halifax to join the heavy Battery being mobilized there. ...a Second Divisional Ammunition Column was to be formed under the command of Lieut-Colonel W.H.Harrison and that the 3rd. Regiment would furnish Headquarters group and the 1st. Section.... There was a total of two hundred and thirty-two all ranks recruited from the 3rd.
 |
 |
|
|
Under leaden skies, with no natural cover Friend and Foe
continually bombarded one another during the last months of the
year.(1917) ... casualities in the Artillery were higher in percentage than
those suffered by other Arms, and would have been higher had it not been for
the soggy ground which absorbed the burst of shells and restricted the flight
of splinters. There was no point of vantage on our side for observation of fire
and the shooting was generally carried out by map references, being effective
only so far that precautions were taken to land the shell in enemy territory.
An interesting news item appeared in the Press about this time, to the
effect that Lieut-Col. F.C. Magee, D.S.O. had earned the thanks of the War
Office for an invention of the greatest value in Range Finding, and he was
hailed as the "Greatest Artillery Expert in Great Britain".
The Press report added "Saint John should be proud to claim such an
Officer for he is without a Peer in this particular branch of the Service in
the British Army."
At the time the Armistice was signed, there were
fourteen Siege and Heavy Batteries in France and seven of these were commanded
by Saint John men. The list includes, besides Lieut-Colonel F.C.Magee, who was
in charge of the Second Brigade;-
| 1st Heavy Siege Battery | Major C.F. Inches, D.S.O., M.C. |
| 1st Siege Battery | Major H.W. Dobbie, D.S.O. |
| 4th Siege Battery | Major L.W. Barker, D.S.O. |
| 5th Siege Battery | Major N. P. McLeod, M.C. |
| 7th Siege Battery | Major T. E. Ryder, D.S.O., M.C. |
| 8th Siege Battery | Major R.A. Ring |
| 12th Siege Battery | Major C. MacKay, M.C. |
In addition to these, the two new Heavy Batteries,- the 3rd. and 4th., which had been organized in England, and were about ready for service at the Front, were both commanded by Saint John men; Major L. T. Allen, and Major W. Vassie, M.C., respectively.
| Although the Great War ended in 1918, it was not until 1919 that transportation was provided to return the Canadian forces home. |  |
14 More
All pages © Heritage Resources Saint John and New Brunswick Community College - Saint John
