This 21st Battalion Memorial was erected in 1931 and is dedicated to the 21st Canadian Infantry Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force who died in the First World War. In May of 1915, 1,013 men left Kingston with the Battalion, but when they marched into Germany at war’s end, only 103 remained.
The imagery above the front inscription includes a cross, poppies over a sunrise and the battalion crest. A statue of a soldier stands atop the memorial. Battles in which the battalion participated are listed on the other three sides of the memorial. The reference to 1915-1918 marks the years the battalion were in France and Flanders.
The 21st Battalion, which was authorized on 7 November 1914 as the 21st Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, embarked for Britain on 6 May 1915. It disembarked in France on 15 September 1915, where it fought as part of the 4th Infantry Brigade, 2nd Canadian Division in France and Flanders until the end of the war. The battalion was disbanded on 30 August 1920.
On May 24, 1919, the 21st Battalion was demobilized in Kingston and the men discharged from the Canadian Expeditionary Force. An Association was formed from their numbers, and reunions were held annually until 1976 when their numbers dwindled to a handful of surviving members. The 21st Battalion is perpetuated in today’s military by the Princess of Wales’ Own Regiment, a Kingston Militia unit. Each year on Remembrance Day the Regiment parades to the 21st Battalion Memorial, to honour their memory.
