1st Central Ontario Regt?

[182 CEF]

I was doing a search on the 1st Central Ontario regt. I found a few CEF Battns that are listed as being of this unit. Anyone know which Battns made up this Regt . Why were so many Battns refered to as the 1st Central Ontario Regt?

Dean Owen

Whibty Ontario

[Bill Alexander]

Hi Dean, The 1st Central Ontario Regiment was part of the "Territorial Regiment System" that was created in Canada to recruit and provide basic training for the overseas Expeditionary Force after 1917. The 1st Ontario was part of the 12 "provincial regiments" that replaced the previous recruiting system which had been based upon raising a battalion, either along some theme, or locality. (eg 199th Irish Rangers, or 248th Grey Bn). Basically the provincial regiments were depots. Each was geographically focused, and Ontario had 1st Central, 2nd Central, Eastern Ontario and Western Ontario Regiments.

This came about because of the problems with reinforcing the front line battalions. In the UK, prior to 1917, the Canadian army had set up a system of reserve battalions which were essentially depots for the front line units. The reserve battalions in the UK absorbed the overseas battalions as they arrived from Canada and prepared the soldiers for front line service. Each of the UK reserve battalions fed troops to specific battalions of the Canadian Corps. However there had been inequities creeping into the system. The existing reserve system tended to have too many units from some regions of Canada that could not recruit and man their respective front line battalions. (For example, the 102nd BC became an Ontario re-inforced unit, as did the 44th and I believe the 46th. There were other battalions that changed regional affiliation as well.) The provincial regimental system was designed to provide soldiers for the Canadian Corps. This replaced the battalion system which had become to be ineffective by 1917. (Note the enrolements in the last few numbered battalions, eg the 252nd or 248th. They were well below authorized strength in most cases.)

The 1st Central Ontario Regiment was associated with Military District 2. It included 1st Depot Battalion 1st Central Ontario Regiment and 2nd Depot Battalion 1st Central Ontario Regiment. These were associated with the 3rd and 12 Reserve Battalions in the UK. In turn these reserve battalions had absorbed / trained the 36th, 133rd, 139th, 162nd, 177th, 180th, 198th, 216th, 220th 235th Bns (3rd Reserve), and 83rd, 91st, 98th, 109th, 129th, 130th, 134th, 146th, 166th, 170th, 234th, and 255th Bn (12th Reserve). Note the 116th is included in the list of Battalions absorbed by the 12th, but this may be an error, as the 116th was part of the Canadian Corps.

As a note, the insignia worn by these "provincial regiments" were the metal shoulder titles that read like alphabet soup. For example, 1DBO/Canada or 1DBM/Canada.

Basically the 1st Central Ontario Regiment was a reinforcement unit based in Canada, and an umbrella organization which included other battalions. It fed soldiers into the system in a directed manner. Hope this helps.