WW1 CEF 202nd (Sportsmen’s) Battalion, Edmonton sweetheart.

WW1 CEF 202nd

 Raised in southside Edmonton, Alberta, beginning recruiting in the winter of 1915/16, formally authorized on 15 July 1916, with headquarters in the Sheppard Block at 10316 Whyte Avenue.

Training took place at Sarcee Camp, Calgary, and it sailed for England on 23 November 1916, before being absorbed into the 9th Reserve Battalion on 27 May 1917 — a short-lived unit, as with most “Sportsmen’s” battalions raised for a single voyage overseas then broken up as reinforcements.  

Sole commanding officer was Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Edwin Bowen, one of Alberta’s best-known sportsmen and one of the province’s best rifle and trap shots — fitting given the battalion’s “Sportsmen’s” name.

Notably, flying ace Wop May was a member of the battalion before he transferred out to pursue his RFC career.