This is the story of a group of men who lived and died for what they believed in. They believed in their country, and that it was their duty to protect it and their families from foreign oppression. They believed in their King and the Empire He ruled and that it was their duty to defend it. But, the most important thing was that they believed in themselves and that no one could defeat them in the fight to defend their beliefs, their homes and their families.

While the formation of the 94th "Overseas" Battalion was not officially authorized until 22 December, 1915 when General Order No. 151 was published, the people of North Western Ontario had known that the Battalion was being formed since the 25th of October when the Fort William Times Journal published the news that the Kenora - Rainy River Regiment had been ordered to form a new Battalion for overseas service, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Arthur C. Machin, the Member of the Provincial Parliament for Kenora. Colonel Machin had served in the Boer War with "C" Company, 2nd Special Service Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry and later as a Lieutenant in the South African Constabulary.

Recruiting began immediately, and on November 4th, 1915, in Port Arthur, 198002, Sergeant Frederick Charles Cornell signed his Attestation Papers becoming the first of 1,385 men to join. It might be noted that the Fort William Times Journal reported that Harry Harkness of Fort William was the first recruit and that he had joined on November 2nd, 1915, however, there is no record of him as ever having enlisted.

The next seven and a half months were spent trying to organize an effective military unit, and in spite of all the confusion which had been built into the system by the machinations of the Minister of Militia, Sam Hughes, they managed to get the job done and, I might add, done very well. At first, those men from towns where there was a Militia unit and an Armouries, lived and drilled in barracks, but in towns and cities such as Fort William, the men lived at home or in hotels and drilled where ever they could find a space large enough for their purposes. There were no uniforms, weapons, or even office supplies. Most of the officers were learning their duties at the same time as the men, and it was very fortunate that a number of the enlistees had previously served in the British Army so as Non Commissioned Officers they were able to teach the men the basics of military life and how to live under military discipline.

As the weeks went by, things began to change for the better and the men began to look like soldiers. On December 4th, 1915 the first uniforms arrived and were issued. On December 11th, "A" Company, which was living in the Port Arthur Armouries, was issued wash tubs and washboards. On the 29th of December, the first shipment of rifles arrived and were distributed to the various companies, each receiving enough for one squad at a time to drill with them. There was no note as to when enough were received to issue one to each man. On January 27th, the renovations to the Steel Plant in the west end of Fort William were completed and the men of "B" Company finally moved into barracks. The atmosphere there was greatly improved on the 18th of February, when the bathing facilities were completed with 6 bath tubs and 1 plunge tank.

The people of North Western Ontario adopted the men and made sure that there was always something being done to entertain them. They organized dances, parties, teas, sporting events, and concerts and set up reading rooms. They cheered the battalion’s hockey team which competed in the Lakehead Senior Hockey League and almost won the championship, losing out to the "Fort Williams" in the final game of the season. They attended battalion church parades and inspections, cheered the men on route marches, listened to concerts given by the excellent brass band, and turned out to view them training to "Storm the Hun trenches". The 94th was truly, the battalion of the people.

On May 25, 1916, the men of "C" an "D" Companies from Kenora and Fort Frances were moved to the Lakehead and on June 9, 1916, the Battalion left for Valcartier, Quebec for "Summer Camp" as it was called. For two hundred and five of these men it was the last time they were to see their families and friends. The 94th trained at Valcartier for a period until June 13th when they sailed from Halifax for England on the RMS Olympic.

Although the 94th remained a battalion on paper until July 27th, 1918, with an office at East Sandling, if actually ceased to exist on July 13th, 1916 when it was broken up and the men were transferred to the 17th and 32nd Reserve Battalions to be used as replacements for casualties in front line units. The band’s instruments were "disposed of." and the resulting funds were disbursed. I have not been able to learn what actually happened.

The 94th did gain some measure of fame because of the story that is that it was broken up as a result of a coin toss. Apparently two battalions sailed to England on the Olympic, and it was decided that one of them would go to the front and the other would be broken up. Colonel Machin made the wrong call.