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Name |
42nd Royal Canadian Highlanders |
Details |
The 42nd Highlanders (Black Watch) included some Grey County men in the First World War: Russel Cook of Meaford Roy Dillon of Meaford William Dillon of Meaford Hector Kennedy of Meaford Wilson Bedell (later Dr. Bedell, an Owen Sound dentist, c. 1923+) lived in the Kemble area of Keppel Township, and went to high school at Owen Sound before he enlisted with the 147th Battalion on Dec. 17, 1915. When the 147th was broken up and used as drafts for other units in England, Bedell joined the 42nd Royal Canadian Highlanders (Black Watch) on April 23, 1917. This unit wore kilts and Balmoral caps. Some of his memories are printed in the book CHRONICLES OF KEMBLE (see the military section, p. 2-4). There is an image of him provided there. He kept a war diary and recorded a couple mentions of the muddy kilts the men wore, and when the unit received red heckles (feather items) for their balmorals (Nov. 30, 1917). In August, 1918, he and the other 42nd Highlanders buried their commanding officer, Colonel McDonald. The C.E.F. battalion numbers were discontinued in 1919. |
