TRANSCRIPT

Recruiting a Battalion

As a Northern Ontario unit the 52nd also recruited a significant number of Ojibway Indians into its ranks. Of the twenty original Native members of the Battalion none would return with the unit. The 52nd also had a large number of members of Japanese origin. Unwelcomed by units raised in their native British Columbia, these volunteers, of Japanese ancestry, traveled east and found commanding officers willing to enrol them in the CEF. Many more joined the 52nd as reinforcements/replacements in the field.
Following the departure of the 52nd in November 1915 the 94th OS Battalion CEF was organized in the district. It too bore the unofficial moniker "New Ontario" on its cap badge. Though Battalion HQ moved into the Port Arthur Armoury, the residents of Fort William tended to consider it "their" battalion, since the 52nd had been informally adopted by the rival twin city. Concurrently the 141st "Border Bull Moose" OS Battalion CEF, though localized at Fort Frances in the Rainy River District also began recruiting in the region, drawing many soldiers from the 96th. The 141st eventually moved to Port Arthur and set up in the Port Arthur Armoury. Once overseas the 94th and 141st were broken up to reinforce the CEF in the field, some of whom found their way to the 52nd.
David Ratz