WW1 CEF 137th (Calgary) Battalion, sweetheart.

Great looking enamel and gilt sweetheart of the  137th (Calgary) Battalion, CEF:

• The battalion was based in Calgary, Alberta, and began recruiting in late 1915.  Initial training was conducted within the city until, in late May 1916, the battalion assembled at Sarcee militia training camp southwest of Calgary , where it trained alongside other Alberta-raised battalions.

• Its sole commanding officer was Lieutenant-Colonel G.W. Morfitt.

• After sailing to England in August 1916, the battalion was absorbed into the 21st Reserve Battalion on January 10, 1917 , meaning like many CEF battalions raised in this wave, it never fought in France as a complete unit; its men were used as reinforcements for battalions already in the field.

• It also absorbed drafts from other broken-up Alberta units, including men from the 138th (Edmonton) Battalion in December 1916.

• Perpetuation of the battalion was assigned in 1920 to the 5th Battalion, the Calgary Regiment, and after the regiment split in 1924, passed to the 3rd Battalion, the Calgary Regiment — now the King’s Own Calgary Regiment (RCAC), which still perpetuates the 137th today.

• In 1967, the 137th Battalion CEF Association raised funds for a memorial at North Glenmore Park in Calgary, and members of the King’s Own Calgary Regiment still hold a small Remembrance Day ceremony there.

• The 137th is also one of only four units whose glyphs survive on the hillside at Battalion Park  in the Signal Hill area of Calgary, where trainees carved giant unit numbers into the hillside in 1916 — several are still visible today.