173rd Batt, Highlanders, CEF

[Brian Ludgate]

My grandfather Alwyn Sidney Ludgate enlisted into the CEF in Hamilton, Ont. in May 1916 (690901). I know he was training at Camp Borden, Ont. in August 1916 and I understand that the Batt. sailed to England in Nov. 1916 and was absorbed into the 2nd Canadian Reserve Batt. in Jan. 1917 (Sandling?).

How can I discover which vessel transported the 173rd to UK and find details of his subsequent war service?

Thanks in anticipation.

[ATNOMIS]

[Ken S.]

My grandfather Alwyn Sidney Ludgate enlisted into the CEF in Hamilton, Ont. in May 1916 (690901). I know he was training at Camp Borden, Ont. in August 1916 and I understand that the Batt. sailed to England in Nov. 1916 and was absorbed into the 2nd Canadian Reserve Batt. in Jan. 1917 (Sandling?).

How can I discover which vessel transported the 173rd to UK and find details of his subsequent war service?

Thanks in anticipation.

Brian,

I do a little bit of research relating to Hamilton and the Great War, and am in the process of compiling rolls of units with a connection to Hamilton (as well as all units CEF), and the roll of the 173rd can be viewed here:

http://hamiltongreatwar.org/cef/173nr.html

It notes the embarkation date and ship which is derived from an embarkation list published during the war by the Militia.

Off hand I can't recall when the battalion arrived in England. It arrived at Bramshott on January 17, 1917 where it became part of the 2nd Reserve Battalion (along with the 120th, also from Hamilton), 6th Reserve Brigade.

6th Reserve Brigade War Diary

Alwyn's attestation papers can be viewed here: Soldiers of the First World War

Also click on "Search Help" for assistance on how to order his service records.

If he was wounded there should be a write up about it in the Hamilton Spectator's casualty list.

[Brian Ludgate]

Hi Ken S.

Thanks for that. I did have a copy of the Attestation Certificate but did not know about the SS Olympic.

I find the War Diaries don't really confirm what happened next, so I guess I'll have to go for the service record.

For you info, Alwyn survived WW1 and remained in UK between the wars. Despite being aged 50 in 1939, he again joined the Canadian Army for WW2 and ended that war with the rank of CQMS. This time he chose to be demobilised in Canada. He lived and worked on Vancouver Island and died at Chase River, Nanaimo in 1958 aged 69/70.

Thanks again, and I would be very interested in any future information you may uncover on the 173rd.

Brian

[Ken S.]

Brian,

I will see what else I can find and pass it along.

One thing that I do have on hand is really just incidental. The "E4898" on the top corner of his attestation paper was a reference number for when he enlisted with what was referred to as a Depot Regiment, which were simply pre-war Militia units. When the system was first used in the summer of 1915 in Hamilton, it was intended that the Depot Regiments would introduce the recruit to military life and provide some basic training. In some cases this went on for several months, but by the time Alwyn enlisted it seemed to be more of a formality and the recruit was usually transferred to the battalion the same day, as was the case with him. The "E" refers to "E Company" which was the 91st Canadian Highlanders Regiment (now the A&S Highlanders of Canada, and still located in Hamilton).

The likelihood is that he joined the 116th Battalion, and if that does turn out to be the case, this link may be of interest; the war diary for that battalion is not at LAC, rather has been transcribed and is available as a pdf file.

http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/i...howtopic=130247

If it's okay, I would like to add the brief bio that you provided about Alwyn.

Ken

[Al C]

Brian,

The Olympic carrrying the 173rd as well as the 147th, 158th, 180th, 194th, 222nd and a Signals draft disembarked at Liverpool Nov 20, 1916 or Nov 21, 1916 records vary from unit to unit. Likely arrived late on the 20th with some not disembarking until after midnight. The record I found for the 173rd said the 20th.

Hope this helps

Al

[Brian Ludgate]

Thanks Ken

Certainly use anything I have included on Alwyn. He fathered 5 sons (1 Killed in WW2 RAMC) and his actual d.o.d was 3rd Nov 1958.

Brian

[Brian Ludgate]

Hi Al C

Thanks for that info. I was all news to me.

Do you mind if I ask the source of this detail?

Brian

[Al C]

Brian,

The disembarkation date for the 173rd came from the Administrative Histories, C.E.F. Battalions 1-260, Canada, Department of National Defence, Directory of History. These histories are the published versions of questionnaires completed in March and April 1917 for the CWRO by surviving senior officers of each battalion.

These histories have proven to be reliable when cross checked against individual soldiers files, war diaries of units, war diaries of the OC troops on board various troopships, letters of from soldiers, published unit histories, etc.

I have been building a spreadsheet containing the sailing information on every CEF unit that left Canada for England for the last few years, you will find the most recent version here http://www.cefresearch.com/matrix/Utilitie...hips/index.html

If you obtain your grandfathers service file and find information different from that in my previous post I would appreciate a heads up.

Al

[Brian Ludgate]

Thanks Al

I am applying for the service record and will let you know of any variances or other info it may show up.

Brian