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The 246th
Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force was a unit
raised for service in the First World War.
History
The battalion was organized in
August 1916 under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel N.H.
Parsons.1 The unit mobilized at Halifax and
recruited in Nova Scotia, and formed both brass and pipe
bands. The 78th Regiment, Pictou Highlanders provided
a number of men for the battalion.2 The unit was
referred to as "Nova Scotia Highlanders" in the press.
In April 1917 Reverend C.W.
Corey, a former provincial grand chaplain, was attached to
the 246th Battalion.3 Soldiers of the regiment
were used to reinforce units in the field. Among them was
Private Duncan Lorne Dewar who went to the 85th Battalion
and was killed on 26 July 1918 after serving in several
engagements.4
The battalion was perpetuated by
The Pictou Highlanders in the postwar reorganization of the
Militia by the Otter Commission.5 |
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246th
Battalion, CEF |
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Raised:
August 1916 (GO 11/1917)
Strength: 16 officers, 320 other ranks
Service: Absorbed by 17th Canadian Reserve
Battalion on 10 June 1917
Disbanded: Official disbandment 11 April 1918
Perpetuated by:
The Pictou Highlanders |
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Insignia
The cap badge illustrated above appears
in the
Babin catalogue as E-246.
Battle Honours
General Order No. 123 of 1929 granted a
single battle honour to the 246th Battalion, CEF:
The Great War, 1917
Notes
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Guide to Sources Relating to
Units of the Canadian Expeditionary Force Infantry Battalions (Library
and Archives Canada, Ottawa, ON, 2012)
p.669
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Love, David W. A Nation in Making: The Organization and
Administration of the Canadian Military During the First World
War (Service Publications Ltd., Ottawa, ON, 2012) ISBN
978-1-894581-72-1 Volume I, p.93
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"In Orange Circles" The Province
(Vancouver), 23 Apr 1917 p.7
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"Comrades in Khaki", The Ottawa
Citizen, 7 Sep 1918, p.7 as well as entry at the
Canadian Virtual War Memorial accessed online at
https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/50906
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Love, David W. A Nation in Making: The Organization and
Administration of the Canadian Military During the First World
War (Service Publications Ltd., Ottawa, ON, 2012) ISBN
978-1-894581-72-1 Volume II, p.332 as well as "Guide to
Sources", Ibid
Archival Holdings
The following holdings at Library and
Archives Canada may be useful for further research on this unit:
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Historical record
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Correspondence re badges
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Correspondence re photographs
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Inspection reports, clothing and
equipment
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Mobilization accounts
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Inspection reports
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Audit reports
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Band
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Badges
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Pay and paysheets
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Appointment of officers
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MD4 file
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Organization
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Nominal rolls of men transferred
from 85th to 246th Battalion
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Inspection reports prior to leaving
Canada
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Nominal roll on embarkation from
Canada, 1917
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