The following brief history of the 94th Regiment was researched and written by Bruce MacDonald of Antigonish.
The 185th Battalion was authorized on February 1, 1916, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Frank Parker Day. The previous month, Canadian military authorities had approved the formation of the Nova Scotia Highland Brigade and appointed Lieutenant-Colonel Alison Hart Borden as its Commanding Officer. The 85th Battalion (Nova Scotia Highlanders), Lt-Col. Day’s former unit, established in September 1915 and recruited to full strength during the autumn of 1915, became the Brigade’s senior component. The 193rd Battalion, authorized four days prior to the 185th, formed a third unit, while the newly created 219th Battalion completed the Brigade’s ranks.
Lt-Col. Day had previously served with the 85th, where he held the rank of Major at the time of the 185th’s creation. While officials drafted additional officers from the 85th and obtained several others from the provincial universities’ Officers Training Corps, the majority were drawn from the ranks of the 94th Victoria Regiment “Argyll Highlanders,” Cape Breton Island’s long-standing militia unit.
The 185th selected the same Gaelic motto as the 85th, “Siol Na Fear Fearail,” or “Breed of Manly Men,” and was a Highland battalion, to be outfitted with appropriate attire. The unit included pipe, brass and bugle bands, and adopted “A Hundred Pipers” as its regimental march. Officials also added the phrase “Cape Breton Highlanders” to its title.
Each of the 185th’s four Companies obtained its personnel from specific areas of Cape Breton Island. “A” Company recruited in Inverness, Victoria and Richmond Counties, while “B” Company canvassed Glace Bay and New Waterford. “C” Company’s soldiers originated from North Sydney and Sydney Mines, while “D” Company’s ranks came from Sydney.
Authorities selected Broughton, a recently abandoned coal-mining town 18 miles from Sydney, as the unit’s mobilization centre. The four companies assembled there during the first week of April, and completed six weeks of organization and preliminary drill before departing by train for Camp Aldershot on May 26, 1916.
The 185th’s soldiers spent the summer at Aldershot, training alongside their Brigade comrades. On October 11, 1916, its personnel accompanied the 85th Battalion to Halifax by train and boarded SS Olympic, which lay at anchor in Bedford Basin. Following the arrival of the remaining two Brigade units the following day, the vessel departed for England on October 13. According to the 185th’s Lieutenant George D. Crowell, a Sydney native: “Our band had the honour of banging out ‘Donald from Bras d’Or’ as we passed the Citadel.”
Six days later, the vessel steamed into Plymouth harbour, where its weary passengers disembarked and endured an eight-hour train ride to Witley Camp, Surrey. The 185th’s ranks immediately resumed training. In early December 1916, however, significant Canadian Corps casualties, during fighting at the Somme, prompted military officials to request a draft of 800 soldiers from the Highland Brigade. The action prompted concern amongst the Highland Brigade’s officers and personnel, raising fears that the Brigade would not enter combat as a fighting unit.
In response to the request, the 185th provided a draft of 192 soldiers for service with units at the front. A group of 20 departed for the 42nd Battalion (Royal Highlanders of Canada, Montreal), while a larger contingent was assigned to the 73rd Battalion, another RHC unit. As both were kilted battalions affiliated with Scotland’s “Black Watch,” officials no doubt felt that the Cape Bretoners would be comfortable within their ranks. While excited to serve at the front, the men were disappointed that they would not do so alongside their 185th comrades.
Before year’s end, officials assigned the remaining 219th soldiers to the 85th’s ranks and similarly transferred the 193rd’s remaining personnel to the 185th. Officers and “other ranks” (OR) not deemed “physically fit” for overseas duty were assigned to the 17th Reserve Battalion, Bramshott, the unit that later serviced three Nova Scotian battalions in the field. While the Brigade was no more, the 185th had avoided dissolution and maintained the hope of serving at the front as a distinct unit.
During the spring of 1917, military authorities in England commenced organization of a 5th Canadian Division at Witley Camp. The 185th was assigned to the Division and diligently trained while awaiting the order to proceed to the continent. On July 1, 1917, the 185th received the privilege of providing the Guard of Honour for the Colours during a Dominion Day Parade in London. The following month, its ranks were outfitted in Argyll and Sutherland tartan kilts and complimentary Highland dress.
Due to rising casualties and declining enlistments throughout the autumn of 1917 and winter of 1917-18, military authorities officially disbanded the 5th Division in February 1918. The 185th received instructions to provide a draft of two Officers and 100 OR each to each Nova Scotian unit in the field—the 25th Battalion (Nova Scotia Rifles), 85th Battalion (Nova Scotia Highlanders) and Royal Canadian Regiment. The remainder of the battalion were ordered to relocate to Bramshott, where the 17th Reserve Battalion absorbed its ranks.
On February 23, 1918, the 185th Battalion paraded for the last time. The drafts selected for service in France stood to and remained at Witley, while the remainder marched out of camp on their way to Bramshott. Before war’s end, virtually every 185th Officer served at the front, where a total of five were killed in action. Amongst its OR, 136 made the “ultimate sacrifice” on the battlefield.
In the aftermath of the First World War, the Canadian government once again reorganized the country’s militia units. On April 1, 1920, military officials issued orders, establishing the “Cape Breton Highlanders.” This militia unit formally perpetuated the 94th Victoria Regiment “Argyll Highlanders,” 85th Battalion (Nova Scotia Highlanders) and 185th Battalion (Cape Breton Highlanders). On April 1, 1932, the Cape Breton Highlanders received permission to wear the uniform of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise’s Fusiliers), a famous British regiment with whom the 94th had maintained a longstanding relationship.