The 54th Battalion (Kootenay), CEF, was an infantry battalion of the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF; French: ''Corps expéditionnaire canadien'') was the expeditionary warfare, expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed on August 15, 1914, following United Kingdom declarat ...

during the

Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

History

The 54th Battalion was authorized on 7 November 1914, embarked for Britain on 22 November 1915 and disembarked in France on 14 August 1916. It fought as part of the 11th Infantry Brigade,

4th Canadian Division The 4th Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army. It is currently responsible for Canadian Army operations in the Canadian province of Ontario and is headquartered at Denison Armoury in Toronto. The division was first created as ...

in France and Flanders until the end of the war. The battalion was disbanded on 30 August 1920. The 54th Battalion recruited in Southern British Columbia and was mobilized at Nelson, B.C. The 54th Battalion had three Officers Commanding: *Lt-Col A.G.H. Kemball, CB, DSO 22 November 1915 – 1 March 1917 *Lt.-Col. V.V. Harvey, DSO, 2 March 1917 – 24 August 1917 *Lt.-Col. A.B. Carey, CMG, DSO, 24 August 1917-Demobilization

Battle honours

The 54th Battalion was awarded the following battle honours: *

SOMME, 1916 The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

* Ancre Heights * Ancre, 1916 *

ARRAS, 1917 The Battle of Arras, also known as the Second Battle of Arras, was a British offensive on the Western Front during the First World War. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British troops attacked German defences near the French city of Arras on the We ...

, '18 * Vimy, 1917 *

HILL 70 The Battle of Hill 70 took place in the First World War between the Canadian Corps and attached units against 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-Ca ...

Ypres 1917 Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...

* Passchendaele *

AMIENS Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...

* Scarpe, 1918 * Drocourt-Quéant *

HINDENBURG LINE The Hindenburg Line (, Siegfried Position) was a German Defense line, defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in France during the First World War. The line ran from Arras to ...

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 in Pont-l'Évêque to the Sensée Canal in Arleux. The French government, in partnership with coal-min ...

VALENCIENNES Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...

SAMBRE The Sambre () is a river in northern France and in Wallonia, Belgium. It is a left-bank tributary of the Meuse, which it joins in the Wallonian capital Namur. The source of the Sambre is near Le Nouvion-en-Thiérache, in the Aisne department. ...

* FRANCE AND FLANDERS, 1916-18

Perpetuation

The 54th Battalion (Kootenay), CEF, is perpetuated by The 24th Field Artillery Regiment, RCA, currently on the

Supplementary Order of Battle In the Canadian Army, a regiment is placed on the Supplementary Order of Battle when the need for the regiment's existence is no longer relevant. When placed on the Supplementary Order of Battle, a regiment is considered "virtually disbanded", and ...

.Canadian Forces Publication A-DH-267-003 Insignia and Lineages of the Canadian Forces. Volume 3: Combat Arms Regiments.

Notable people

Harry Letson Major General Harry Farnham Germain Letson, CB, CBE, MC, ED, CD (September 26, 1896 – April 10, 1992) was an engineer, educator and Canadian Army officer who served in both World War I and World War II. Early life Letson was born in Vanco ...

, Canadian Army Adjutant General in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

References

{{reflist, 30em

Sources