1

Cap Badge of the 52nd (New Ontario) Battalion
1915
Thunder Bay Military Museum, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

Credits:
Collection of David Ratz

2

52nd Battalion Shoulder Numeral
1915
Thunder Bay Military Museum, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

Credits:
Collection of David Ratz

3

The 52nd Battalion is Raised

The first full unit raised in the Thunder Bay District for service overseas was the 52nd (New Ontario) Overseas Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, localized at Port Arthur. The 52nd sent recruiting detachments into the region as far away as Fort Francis and Dryden and drummed up 1,945 recruits, of which 19 officers and 342 men had served previously with the LSR. Obviously not all of these men remained with the Battalion. Many were found unfit medically and there were a few desertions. The designation "New Ontario" was chosen because it was a common term used by contemporaries to differentiate northern Ontario from southern or "Old" Ontario.

4

The 52nd Battalion is Raised
31 July 2006
Thunder Bay Military Museum, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

5

52nd Battalion Machine Gun Section training Gresley Park
1915
Port Arthur, Ontario, Canada

6

52nd Battalion training Port Arthur
1915
Port Arthur, Ontario, Canada

7

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.

8

Recruiting a Battalion
31 July 2006
Thunder Bay Military Museum, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

9

52nd Battalion Shoulder Title
1915
Thunder Bay Military Museum, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

Credits:
Collection of David Ratz

10

52nd Battalion Camp
April 1915
Port Arthur, Ontario, Canada

11

Serving Rations
April 1915
Port Arthur, Ontario, Canada

12

Aboriginal recruits
1915
Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

13

No. 2 Section, 9 Platoon, C Company, 52nd Battalion
1917
Thunder Bay Military Museum, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

Credits:
Photo: Toronto Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre
Collection of David Ratz

14

52nd Battalion C over 52 Collar badge
1915
Thunder Bay Military Museum, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

Credits:
Collection of David Ratz