The 20th Battalion (Central Ontario), CEF was a unit of the First World War

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) was the expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry division ...

Service history

The battalion was composed of volunteers from militia units in central

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. Much of the unit was drawn from the 12th York Regiment, the Rangers, with men coming from ten other militia regiments – of which four still exist. The unit fought in France and Flanders as part of the 4th Canadian Brigade, 2nd Canadian Division. Notable actions include the Somme,

Vimy Ridge The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions of ...

Hill 70 The Battle of Hill 70 took place in the First World War between the Canadian Corps and five divisions of the German 6th Army. The battle took place along the Western Front on the outskirts of Lens in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France b ...

, Passchendaele,

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

, the advance along the Scarpe,

Canal du Nord The Canal du Nord (, literally ''Canal of the North'') is a long canal in northern France. The canal connects the Canal latéral à l'Oise at Pont-l'Évêque to the Sensée Canal at Arleux. The French government, in partnership with coal-min ...

, Canal de le Escault and the advance to Mons in the Last Hundred Days. The battalion was disbanded in 1920.

Casualties

4,310 officers and men served in the 20th Battalion during the war altogether. Of them, 843 (19.6%) were killed in action or died of wounds—often having been wounded earlier. Another 1,855 (43%) were wounded, often repeatedly. 91 died of disease or accidentally. Ottawa stopped counting the deaths to old injuries, mental trauma and exposure to gas as war deaths in 1922 while the nominal roll of the 20th (privately held after the battalion disbanded) attributed these to the war until 1928. Only 22 were ever taken prisoner—nine of them in one incident when a stretcher party went astray at Passchendaele. There was also one deserter who crossed to the German lines in 1916; his name and fate are not recorded.

Awards and honours

A total of 398 decorations and awards were made to soldiers of the 20th Battalion, including two awards of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

: * Sgt Frederick Hobson was posthumously awarded the VC for actions on 18 August 1917, near Lens, France at the Battle of Hill 70. * Lt

Wallace Lloyd Algie Wallace Lloyd Algie, (10 June 1891 – 11 October 1918) was a Canadian Expeditionary Force officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonweal ...

was posthumously awarded the VC for actions on 11 October 1918, near Iwuy, France. In addition, ten officers earned the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

(one did so twice), while 45 officers received the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

, and four a second award of the MC. Among the enlisted men, 24 received the

Distinguished Conduct Medal The Distinguished Conduct Medal was a decoration established in 1854 by Queen Victoria for gallantry in the field by other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military decoration, ranki ...

and 231 awards of the

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...

, including 14 receiving it twice.

Perpetuations

The perpetuation of the 20th Battalion was initially assigned in 1920 to 1st Battalion (20th Battalion, CEF),

The Peel Regiment The Peel and Dufferin Regiment was an infantry regiment of the Non-Permanent Active Militia of the Canadian Militia (now the Canadian Army). First organized in 1866 as the 36th Peel Battalion of Infantry, the regiment was reorganized in 1900 as t ...

. A year later in 1921, the perpetuation was reassigned to 1st Battalion (20th Battalion, CEF),

The West Toronto Regiment The Queen's Rangers (1st American Regiment) was an infantry regiment of the Non-Permanent Active Militia of the Canadian Militia (now the Canadian Army). First organized in 1921 as The West Toronto Regiment, the regiment was reorganized in 1925 ...

. The perpetuation has been handed down through the following units: * 1920–1921: 1st Battalion (20th Battalion, CEF), The Peel Regiment * 1921–1925: 1st Battalion (20th Battalion, CEF), The West Toronto Regiment * 1925–1927: 1st Battalion (20th Battalion, CEF), The Queen's Rangers * 1927–1936: 1st Battalion (20th Battalion, CEF), The Queen's Rangers, 1st American Regiment * 1936–1942: The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (Machine Gun) * 1942–1947: The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) * 1947–1949: 25th Armoured Regiment (Queen's York Rangers), RCAC * 1949–1958: The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (25th Armoured Regiment) * 1958–1985: The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (RCAC) * 1985–2004: The Queen's York Rangers (RCAC) * 2004–present:

The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (RCAC) la, celer et audax, lit=swift and bold , colors = Green and amethyst blue , identification_symbol = , identification_symbol_label = , march = "Braganza" , notable_commanders ...

Battle honours

* Mount Sorrel *

Somme, 1916 The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

, 18 * Flers-Courcelette *

Thiepval Thiepval (; pcd, Tièbvo) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Thiepval is located north of Albert at the crossroads of the D73 and D151 and approximately northeast of Amiens. Population First World ...

Ancre Heights The Ancre (; ) is a river of Picardy, France. Rising at Miraumont, a hamlet near the town of Albert, it flows into the Somme at Corbie. It is long. For most of its length it flows through the department of Somme. For a short stretch near P ...

Arras 1917 Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of t ...

, '18 *

Vimy 1917 Vimy ( or ; ; Dutch: ''Wimi'') is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Located east of Vimy is the Canadian National Vimy Memorial dedicated to the Battle of Vimy Ridge and the Canadian soldiers ...

Arleux Arleux () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Geography The river Sensée joins the Canal du Nord at Arleux. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes o ...

* Scarpe, 1917, '18 *

Ypres, 1917 The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by t ...

* Passchendaele *

Hindenburg Line The Hindenburg Line (German: , Siegfried Position) was a German defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front during the First World War. The line ran from Arras to Laffaux, near Soissons on the Aisne. In 191 ...

Cambrai, 1918 The Battle of Cambrai, 1918 (also known as the Second Battle of Cambrai) was a battle between troops of the British First, Third and Fourth Armies and German Empire forces during the Hundred Days Offensive of the First World War. The battle ...

Pursuit to Mons Pursuit may refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''Pursuit'' (1935 film), a 1935 American action film * ''Pursuit'' (1972 American film), a made-for-TV film directed by Michael Crichton * ''Pursuit'' (1972 Hong Kong film), a Shaw Brot ...

France and Flanders 1915-18 The Western Front was one of the main Theatre (warfare), theatres of war during the First World War. Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the German Army (German Empire), German Army opened the Western Front by invading Luxembourg and B ...

References

* * {{cite web , url=http://www.20thbattalion.com , title=Website of the 20th Battalion , work=20thbattalion.com , access-date=2018-09-24 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512223527/http://www.20thbattalion.com/ , archive-date=2008-05-12 , url-status=dead 020 1914 establishments in Ontario Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment)