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(The point of mobilization for the 13th
Military District was Lethbridge and the
Headquarters for the District was Calgary.
The 113th Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF)
the Lethbridge Highlanders were organized
December 22, 1915, they were part of a
Canadian recruiting drive where men from the
same region could enlist and serve together.
This type of community spirit recruiting was
very popular as it drew in friends,
neighbors coworkers etc. with the promise of
serving together throughout the war.
The 113th consisted of 883 men and officers
and had it’s barracks at the exhibition
grounds in Lethbridge. The Battalion was not
issued Highland Kit (Kilts, Glengarry caps
etc.) although it’s three pipe and drum
bands were! Standard Basic Training in the
CEF lasted 14 weeks so the Battalion spent
the beginning of 1916 in training and
drilling in Lethbridge at the exhibition
grounds. Basic training in the CEF involved
rifle training, bombing or hand grenade
practice, route marches, rifle drill and
many inspections. Inspections were very
popular for the 113th as many wished to hear
their three bands.
In Late May 1916 the Battalion moved to
Sarcee Camp outside Calgary for further
training that lasted until September. During
the time spent at Sarcee the Battalion used
painted rocks to construct their Battalion
Number on nearby Signal Hill in Calgary.
This bold white stone ‘113’ is still visible
today and preserved as a park. In early
September 1916 orders came for the Battalion
to entrain for the east and by September 19
the Battalion was on its’ way. On September
26th 1916 the 113th embarked along with the
111th and 145th Battalions on the SS
Tuscania, a transport ship, the trip across
the Atlantic took ten days and upon arriving
in England the Battalion was taken to a
holding camp at Sandling near Shorncliffe.
It was at Sandling that Lt. Colonel
Pryce-Jones the commanding officer learned
that the 113th would be broken up for
replacements and would not see action as a
unit after all. One can only imagine the
disappointment of these men as they learned
the fate of the 113th, their Battalion,
after 10 months training together.
The 113th was transferred to the 17th
Reserve Battalion CEF the Nova Scotia
Highlanders affiliated with the Scottish
Seaforth Highlanders. The 17th was at
Bramshott Camp located South of London.
On October 12, 1916 most of the old 113th
proceeded to France arriving at a camp near
Le Havre France. Almost immediately 300 men
of the old 113th were assigned as
replacements to one of the most famous
Battalions in the CEF, the 16th Battalion,
The Canadian Scottish. An idea of the
casualties suffered by the 16th in the Somme
fighting of the Fall of 1916 can be
understood by this reinforcement. This would
mean that roughly 30% of the 16th were new
transfers from the 113th.) |
