_THE 185th BATTALION (CAPE BRETON HIGHLANDERS)._
BY CAPT. ANGUS L. M‘DONALD.
[Illustration:
LIEUT.-COL. F. P. DAY.]
It is a difficult task indeed to compress a history of the 185th
Battalion into the space allotted for the purpose in this book. It is a
difficult task, because, if we exclude those Battalions that saw active
service as complete Units, the history of the 185th is longer than that
of any other Nova Scotia Battalion. It is a difficult task because,
through this long association and through the high standard of
efficiency to which the Battalion attained, there grew up between all
ranks a spirit of pride in their Unit and of affectionate regard for
each other, which may be fairly said to be almost unique, and which
deserves a monument much grander and more enduring than this sketch can
hope to raise.
The origin of the 185th may be said to be in the 85th Nova Scotia
Highland Battalion, recruited by Lieut.-Col. A. H. Borden in the autumn
of 1915. The enthusiasm with which the people of Nova Scotia hailed the
advent of the 85th Battalion engendered the more ambitious idea of a
Nova Scotia Highland Brigade, and in the months of February and March,
1916, there was conducted in Nova Scotia a recruiting campaign for the
raising of three additional Battalions, to form, with the 85th, a
complete Brigade. The remarkable success of that campaign is now part of
our Nova Scotian history.
The Island of Cape Breton was given the task of raising a Battalion, to
be known as the 185th and to be under the command of Lieut.-Col. F. P.
Day (then Major Day) of the 85th Battalion. Though Cape Breton had
already given men to the colors, in numbers far in excess of her due
proportion, nevertheless, the prospect of seeing active service with a
Unit distinctly and entirely Cape Breton, so fired the imagination of
the young men of the Island that in three weeks the Battalion was
recruited to full strength.
The system of recruiting employed was well calculated to obtain the best
results. First, the officers were selected. Some of them were Cape
Bretoners, serving with the 85th Battalion, a few came from the
Officers’ Training Corps of the Colleges, but the majority were drawn
from the 94th, the Cape Breton Militia Unit. These officers were sent
out into their own native districts to recruit men for their own
Companies or Platoons, and the assurance was given that men from the
same locality would be placed together in the same Company, Platoon, or
Section as the case might be, and under an officer from that locality.
That assurance was kept sacredly.
The motto selected for the Battalion was the same as that of the
85th—“Siol Na Fear Fearail”—“Seed of Manly Men.” That motto was highly
appropriate, for the ranks of the Battalion were in large part filled by
descendants of Highlanders—those manly men who peopled Cape Breton in
late 18th and early 19th centuries. To the Highland element in the
population of Cape Breton the 185th made its greatest appeal, for the
promise had been given that the Battalion should wear Highland garb, and
the prospect of joining a Unit which should be clad in that picturesque
and historic dress undoubtedly touched the Highland imagination. But the
other races did not lag behind. The French, Irish and English elements
were well represented, and there were not a few recruits of Italian and
Russian extraction.
“A” Company of the 185th came from the counties of Inverness, Victoria
and Richmond; “B” Company from Glace Bay and New Waterford; “C” Company
from North Sydney and Sydney Mines; and “D” Company from Sydney.
Broughton, eighteen miles from Sydney, was chosen as a mobilization
centre, and there the Battalion assembled during the first week of
April, 1916.
At Broughton, three bands, Pipe, Brass and Bugle were organized. The
citizens of Glace Bay, the Royal Cape Breton Yacht Club, the “Green
Feather” Societies of North Sydney and Sydney Mines, and Mr. Thomas
Cantley, of New Glasgow, each presented four pipes and three drums to
the Battalion. Money for the purchase of instruments for the Brass Band
was subscribed by the citizens of Sydney. For the Regimental March, the
stirring Highland air, “A Hundred Pipers,” was chosen.
Broughton did not offer a suitable ground for advanced training; and so
on May 26th, 1916, the Battalion entrained for Aldershot, N.S., where
the Highland Brigade was to spend the summer of 1916, under the command
of Lieut.-Col. A. H. Borden, who had recruited and commanded the 85th
Battalion. The other Battalions of the Brigade were the 85th, 193rd and
the 219th. During the summer the Brigade was reviewed by H.R.H. the Duke
of Connaught, Governor-General of Canada; by Sir Sam Hughes, Canadian
Minister of Militia; by Major-General Lessard, Inspector-General for
Canada. It was twice reviewed by Sir Robert Borden, Prime Minister of
Canada. On the last visit of Sir Robert Borden, he was accompanied by
Lady Borden, who presented colors to the Battalion. The colors are of
beautiful design, rich material and elegant workmanship. They were
received on behalf of the Battalion by Major Harrington and Lieutenants
Purves and Livingstone, and were blessed by Capt. Michael Gillis, Roman
Catholic Chaplain to the Battalion. (The colors were taken to England
with the Battalion and after the War were returned to Canada, deposited
in the Cape Breton County Court House at Sydney.)
On October 4th the Battalion underwent successfully at the hands of
Major-General Lessard its last inspection in Canada. Preparations for
embarking for England were begun and on October 11th the 185th bade
good-bye to Aldershot and entrained for Halifax. That evening they
marched on board “His Majesty’s Transport, 2810,” the war-time
designation of the great steamship _Olympic_.
At five o’clock on the evening of October 13th the _Olympic_ steamed out
of Halifax Harbor, bearing the Nova Scotia Highland Brigade, surely the
most precious cargo that Nova Scotia ever entrusted to the mighty
Atlantic. The docks at Halifax were thronged on that day with thousands
of people from all parts of Nova Scotia who had come to say good-bye—in
many cases unfortunately a last good-bye—to relatives and friends. Nova
Scotia loves her own, sorrows over their departure from her bosom, and
watches their fortunes under foreign skies with a fond eye and an
anxious heart. I was told in London that, after any battle in which
Canadian troops had taken part, there were more enquiries at Canadian
Headquarters in London, from Nova Scotians, than from people of any
other Province of Canada. I could well believe this to have been so, for
in Nova Scotia character, friendship and loyalty to kith and kin are
outstanding characteristics.
The officers of the 185th at the time of sailing for England were as
follows:
Honorary Colonel Col. D. H. MacDougall.
Officer Commanding Lieut.-Col. Frank P. Day.
Second in Command Major J. G. Johnstone.
Adjutant Capt. R. C. Jackson.
Medical Officer Capt. J. A. Munro.
Paymaster Capt. R. MacDougall.
Quartermaster Capt. J. T. Malone.
Protestant Chaplain Capt. A. J. MacDonald.
R. C. Chaplain Capt. Michael Gillis.
Machine Gun Officer Lieut. J. A. Holland.
“A” Company—
Officer Commanding Capt. J. MacIsaac.
Second in Command Capt. A. L. Macdonald.
Lieutenants H. N. Price, John MacKenzie, J. D.
MacKenzie, E. M. Johnstone.
“B” Company—
Officer Commanding Major G. S. Harrington.
Second in Command Capt. A. J. MacInnis.
Lieutenants C. MacLeod, W. F. Carroll, J. A.
McKinnon, J. H. MacIvor.
“C” Company—
Officer Commanding Capt. W. W. Nicholson.
Second in Command Capt. Alex. MacDonald.
Lieutenants T. D. A. Purves, D. N. MacDonald,
L. G. MacCorrison.
“D” Company—
Officer Commanding Major J. W. Maddin.
Second in Command Capt. C. W. Sutherland.
Lieutenants A. M. Fraser, D. M. Wiswell, G. D.
Crowell, D. Livingstone.
The voyage from Halifax to Liverpool was made in a little over five
days. The Battalion disembarked on the morning of October 19th, the Pipe
Band playing the men down the gangway. Immediately the train was taken
to Witley Camp, which was reached after a journey of eight hours. Here
the Battalion settled down to work as part of the 12th Canadian Infantry
Training Brigade, which name replaced the old name, “Nova Scotia
Highland Brigade.”
In early December there came tidings which nearly every Canadian
Battalion that ever went to England had grown to dread. The Battalion
was called on to supply a draft of 192 men for France. The other
Battalions of the Brigade had received similar orders, the total number
of men required from the Brigade being 800. The call for these drafts
seemed to spell the disruption of the Brigade, notwithstanding promises
to the contrary in Canada. The strongest protests were made by officers
of the Brigade, but to no avail. On December 5th the drafts set out for
Southampton whence they were to embark for Havre. The 185th sent 20 men
to the 42nd (Montreal) Battalion, and 172 men to the 73rd Battalion,
also of Montreal.
Each Battalion of the Brigade had now been considerably reduced in
strength, and the Canadian authorities in England decided to amalgamate
the 219th with the 85th Battalion, and the 193rd with the 185th
Battalion. Officers and men in any one of these four Units who were not
physically fit were sent to the 17th Nova Scotia Reserve Battalion at
Bramshott. The Nova Scotia Highland Brigade was no more, and the hope in
every heart now was that the two Battalions—85th and 185th—which
constituted what was left of that Brigade, might reach France as Units.
After the amalgamation of the 193rd, the officers of the 185th were as
follows:—
Officer Commanding Lieut.-Col. F. P. Day.
Second in Command Lieut.-Col. R. J. S. Langford.
Adjutant Major J. W. MacDonald.
Medical Officer Capt. J. A. Munro.
Quartermaster Capt. F. C. Baird.
Paymaster Capt. R. MacDougall.
Assistant Adjutant Lieut. W. E. Macdonald.
Machine Gun Officer Lieut. J. A. Holland.
Musketry Officer Lieut. D. M. Wiswell.
Scout Officer Lieut. H. N. Price.
Bombing Officer Lieut. J. D. MacKenzie.
“A” Company—
Officer Commanding Capt. J. MacIsaac.
Second in Command Capt. A. L. Macdonald.
Lieutenants John MacKenzie, E. M. Johnstone, T.
E. Logan, C. J. Markham.
“B” Company—
Officer Commanding Major J. P. LeGallais.
Second in Command Capt. F. B. Schurman.
Lieutenants J. A. McKinnon, J. H. MacIvor, J.
Soy, P. T. Andrews, H. A.
Dickson, A. D. Baxter.
“C” Company—
Officer Commanding Capt. W. W. Nicholson.
Second in Command Capt. Alex. Macdonald.
Lieutenants D. J. MacGillivray, H. F. Orman, L.
G. MacCorrison, H. D. Cunningham,
D. Livingstone.
“D” Company—
Officer Commanding Capt. R. C. Jackson.
Second in Command Capt. C. W. Sutherland.
Lieutenants A. M. Fraser, J. O. MacLeod, J. J.
Murray, G. D. Crowell, H. C.
Lowther.
About this time the Battalion received permission to use as its official
name, “185th Canadian Infantry Battalion (Cape Breton Highlanders),”
instead of “185th Canadian Infantry Battalion,” as before.
In the spring of 1917, the 5th Canadian Division was organized at Witley
Camp, under the command of Major-General Garnet Hughes, who had already
won high distinction in France. The 185th was given a place in that
Division. The Division was assured that it would be sent to France, and
in that hope it set to work with such earnestness that in the summer of
1917 it was regarded as one of the most efficient Divisions that had
ever trained in England. The 185th by hard and persevering work had won
the reputation of being unexcelled, and by many unbiased observers it
was regarded as unequalled, in the whole Division. Certainly, the
Battalion was often specially complimented by Inspecting Officers and
was often singled out for particular honor. At the great Dominion Day
Parade in London, in 1917, the Guard of Honor for the Colors was drawn
from the 185th. Again and again its teams won from other Battalion teams
in competitions in Musketry, Bayonet Fighting, Physical Training, Drill
and Machine Gun Work.
From the first the men had looked forward eagerly to the day when kilts
would be issued to the Battalion. Their wish was realized in August,
1917, when kilts of the Argyll and Sutherland tartan were authorized to
be worn, and sufficient kilts were sent to the Quartermaster to clothe
the whole Battalion.
Reference has been made already to the promise given to the 5th Division
that it would go to France intact. That promise was repeated several
times, and the hope that it would be kept was the only ground on which
men could be induced to remain contentedly in England. But no phrase has
done better service during the War than the phrase “military
exigencies,” and it was invoked once again to justify the disbanding of
the 5th Division in February, 1918.
Coincident with the breakup of the Division came the order to the 185th
to furnish a draft of two officers and one hundred men to each of the
three Nova Scotian Battalions in France—the 25th, 85th and R.C.R. All
the men at once volunteered. Sergeants reverted to the rank of private
in order to get to France more quickly; Colonels reverted and became
Majors; Majors became Captains and Captains Subalterns. The drafts for
France were finally selected, and the rest of the Battalion was ordered
to be sent to Bramshott, to be absorbed by the 17th Reserve. On February
23rd the Battalion paraded for the last time, the drafts for France
stood fast, the draft for Bramshott swung out on the London-Portsmouth
Road, the pipers played their last march, and the 185th passed out of
existence as an Overseas Unit forever.
It is idle now to lament its unhappy fate, or to deplore the peculiar
policy that was pursued toward it and other Battalions of the 5th
Division, but Cape Bretoners everywhere will always have difficulty in
restraining a regretful sigh over the lot of their own and only
Battalion. Let it always be remembered, however, that through no fault
of its own did the 185th fail to reach France as a Unit. It kept faith
with the people of Cape Breton, and it established a standard which any
Battalion might be proud to emulate.
But though there never fell to this Battalion the supreme honor of
battle or the glory of triumph, its individual members went forth to
war, stronger in training, in discipline, in comradeship and in spirit
from their association with the Cape Breton Highlanders. Every officer
of the Battalion saw service in some theatre of war, and five of them
now sleep on the field of honor—Lieutenants Fraser, Holland, MacIvor,
Livingstone and J. O. MacLeod. Nearly every other officer of the
Battalion has been wounded, and several have been decorated for bravery.
Of the men it is enough to say that incomplete returns show that 136 of
them fell in action. On their graves may the turf lie lightly. Truer
hearts or more gallant spirits never fought for any cause, and to them
we may be sure that every Cape Breton tongue will apply with heartfelt
sincerity the words that have been chosen for the crosses that will mark
the graves of British soldiers buried in France—“Their Name Liveth
Forevermore.”
[Illustration:
LIEUT. A. FRASER
(killed in action).]
[Illustration:
LIEUT. J. H. M‘IVOR
(killed in action).]
[Illustration:
LIEUT. D. LIVINGSTONE
(killed in action).]
[Illustration:
CAPT. JOHN T. MALONE
(died on active service).]