Home Coming Parade

85th Battalion (Nova Scotia Highlanders)

Barrington Street, Halifax, NS

June 9, 1919

Soldiers of the 85th Battalion parade down Barrington Street in Halifax after returning home from overseas. On horseback in the front is the commanding officer of the 85th Battalion, Lt-Col. James Layton Ralston from Amherst, NS. To his right, also on horseback, is the battalion adjutant, Capt. Ainley Thompson Croft, who was originally from Musquodobit, NS. Walking behind the officers is Regimental Sergeant Major Albert Sidney Ward who was born in England. Behind the RSM is Pte. Charles Herbert Harvey, the battalion runner, who was from Halifax, NS.

Photographer:  Unknown
Ref. Number:  19-02 (2.2)
Image Information:  Scan of original photo postcard
Source:  Sheila White, Toronto, ON
 

Reverse of the Above Postcard
 

Home Coming Parade

85th Battalion (Nova Scotia Highlanders)

Barrington Street, Halifax, NS

June 9, 1919

Soldiers of the 85th Battalion parade down Barrington Street in Halifax after returning home from overseas. Note the corner of the store canopy just visible on the far left of the photo. This belongs to Kinley's Drug Store which is plainly visible in the previous photo postcard.

Photographer:  Unknown
Ref. Number:  0-4 (3-6.2)
Image Information:  Scan of original photo postcard
Source:  Robert MacLellan Collection
 

Home Coming Parade

85th Battalion (Nova Scotia Highlanders)

Barrington Street, Halifax, NS

June 9, 1919

Soldiers of the 85th Battalion parade down Barrington Street, in Halifax, after returning home from overseas. Note the camerman in the foreground taking a picture of the choir on the far side of the street. Also note, on the right side of the photo, the memorial arch made of ladders and hoses from the Halifax Fire Department.

Photographer:  F.G. Goodenough
Ref. Number:  18-6 (2.2)
Image Information:  Scan of original photo postcard
Source:  Mark Chiasson Collection, Sydney, NS
 

Reverse of the Above Postcard

The postcard is addressed to a Miss Murray in Pictou, NS.
It is interesting to note that the postcard is postmarked June 13, 1919, only four days after the photo was taken.
 

Home Coming Parade

85th Battalion (Nova Scotia Highlanders)

Cogswell Street, Halifax, NS

June 9, 1919

Crowds of spectators follow soldiers of the 85th Battalion as they parade through Halifax, after returning home from overseas. Leading the brass band of the 85th Battalion is Bandmaster Lieut. Daniel Mooney from Stellarton, NS.

Photographer:  F.G. Goodenough
Ref. Number:  18-9 (7.2)
Image Information:  Scan of original photo postcard
Source:  Scott Isenor Postcard Collection, Halifax, NS
 

Home Coming Parade

Brass Band

85th Battalion (Nova Scotia Highlanders)

Halifax, NS

June 9, 1919

In the front is Bandmaster Lieut. Daniel Mooney from Stellarton, NS.

It is unfortunate that the image on the original postcard is slightly out of focus.

Photographer:  F.G. Goodenough
Ref. Number:  18-9 (9.2)
Image Information:  Scan of original photo postcard
Source:  Scott Isenor Postcard Collection, Halifax, NS
 

Colour Party

85th Battalion (Nova Scotia Highlanders)

Halifax, NS

June 9, 1919

The photo was taken during demobilization of the unit which had disembarked in Halifax, from overseas, the day before.

The officer holding the left flag is Lieut. Douglas Morgan Wiswell from Halifax, NS. He had originally served in the 185th Battalion (Cape Breton Highlanders), but after that unit was disbanded in England, he eventually transferred to the 85th Battalion. He joined the 85th Battalion while it was in France. The other soldiers in the photo are unidentified.

The battalion colours are currently housed in the Nova Scotia Archives in Halifax. They are in such fragile condition that they cannot be displayed.

Photographer:  F.G. Goodenough
Ref. Number:  0-4 (3-5.2)
Image Information:  Scan of Original photo postcard
Source:  Robert MacLellan Collection
 

Lt-Col. James Layton Ralston on Horseback

85th Battalion (Nova Scotia Highlanders)

Halifax, NS

June 9, 1919

Lt-Col. Ralston was the commanding officer of the 85th Battalion (Nova Scotia Highlanders). The photo is believed to have been taken in Halifax, NS, after the battalion returned home in June, 1919.

James Layton Ralston was born and raised in Amherst, NS. He was a lawyer before the war and practiced law in Amherst. He joined the 85th Battalion in 1915 as a lieutenant, and as the war progressed, he rose through the officer ranks until he commanded the battalion in France as a lieutenant-colonel in April, 1918. He remained in command until the unit was demobilized in Halifax in 1919. During the war, Ralston was wounded in action on four different occasions, was twice Mentioned in Dispatches and was awarded a Distinguished Service Order and Bar.

After the war, Ralston remained in the post war army until 1924 and achieved the rank of colonel. After leaving the military he went into federal Canadian politics and became Minister of Defence from 1926 to 1930, Finance Minister from 1939 to 1940, and Minister of Defence again from 1940 to 1944. During World War 2, Ralston was the Honorary Colonel of the Cape Breton Highlanders.

Ralston passed away in 1948.

Photographer:  Unknown
Ref. Number:  13-7 (1-51.2)
Image Information:  Scan of original photo postcard
Source:  Stephen Horne Collection
 

Final Line Up

85th Battalion (Nova Scotia Highlanders)

Halifax, NS

June 9, 1919

Photo postcard showing the final line up of the 85th Battalion in Halifax shortly after arriving home from overseas. The officer on horseback is unidentified. Note the pipe band on the right and Citadel Hill in the background.

Photographer:  F.G. Goodenough
Ref. Number:  18-5 (1.1)
Image Information:  Received as electronic file
Source:  Terry McCully Collection, Calgary, Alberta
 

Final Line Up

85th Battalion (Nova Scotia Highlanders)

Halifax, NS

June 9, 1919

Photo postcard showing the final line up of the 85th Battalion in Halifax shortly after arriving home from overseas. 

Photographer:  F.G. Goodenough
Ref. Number:  18-9 (8.2)
Image Information:  Scan of original photo postcard
Source:  Scott Isenor Postcard Collection, Halifax, NS