224th Battalion, CEF

A man with a saw cutting a log in the foreground. In the background are two horses pulling a sleigh with logs on it and uncut trees further in the background. The poster states “bushmen and sawmill hands wanted join the 224th Canadian Forestry Battalion. Alexander McDougall Lt. Col. [Lieutenant Colonel]. Headquarters 43 Bank St. [Street], Ottawa.” — “Bushmen and sawmill hands wanted” war poster created in [1915] from the Archives of Ontario poster collection.

The 224th Battalion, CEF was a unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. ,':)

History

Based in Ottawa, Ontario, the unit began recruiting in early 1916 in that city and surrounding district. The battalion was created to recruit men with forestry skills. They were going to serve France and Britain. A six-week recruitment took place and over 1,600 men joined the battalion. They did tasks such as site clearing, building railroad components, and collecting lumber for building purposes.^[1] After sailing to England in May 1916, the battalion became the 224th Forestry Battalion. The 224th Battalion, CEF had one Officer Commanding: Lieut-Col. A McDougall.

References

Footnotes

^ "Bushmen and Sawmill Hands Wanted. Join the 224th Canadian Forestry Battalion". World Digital Library. 1915. Retrieved 2013-08-03.

Sources

Meek, John F. Over the Top! The Canadian Infantry in the First World War. Orangeville, Ont.: The Author, 1971.

[WDL-1] "Bushmen and Sawmill Hands Wanted. Join the 224th Canadian Forestry Battalion". World Digital Library. 1915. Retrieved 2013-08-03.

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