3rd Battalion Canadian Railway Troops

Sapper George Robert Alexander Urquhart, whose name is engraved on the Strathroy cenotaph, was a member of the 3rd Battalion Canadian Railway Troops for a period of about 11 months between March 11, 1917 and February 22, 1918.

In the early months of WWI, on the Western Front, transportation on the front lines was mostly by horses. There were some rail lines already existent, but most of those were in the German held territory. The combatants believed that the war would be short and more permanent rail lines would be unnecessary. However, as events unfolded the war became bogged down with the enemy lines defined by trenches that were separated by anywhere from less than hundred yards to less than a mile. This gap between the lines of combatants was called “No Man’s Land“.

Because there was an ongoing need to bring forward artillery and new men, and to remove casualties, it was decided that a system of railways would be constructed.

“By November, 1914, the opposing armies had dug in, and trench warfare had begun in earnest. At first the armies dug trenches and erected crude barricades using sand bags and barbed wire. Soon, however, much more permanent works were constructed, with concrete fortifications, earthworks, gun emplacements and miles of barbed wire. These lines bristled with almost every known type of weapon, and were connected by .miles of tunnels and deep trenches. The two opposing lines faced each other across a strip, varying in width from a hundred yards to more than half a mile, known as No Man’s Land. The entire system of front line fortifications became known simply as “The Trenches“. Here were fought some of the worst battles the world has ever seen.

“It slowly, very slowly, dawned on the British War Office that some more efficient means than hauling by horses over muddy, shell-damaged roads had to be devised to move the mountains of supplies needed at the front. The idea of specially- constructed light railways now seemed to be a feasible answer. The idea caught on. As early as September 17, 1914 the French government had accepted, with some reservations, British assistance in railway construction, so the company of the Royal Engineers were no longer idle. It would not be long before the Canadians were involved as well. . . .

“In May, 1916, after personal representations had been made to several British War Office departments, it was finally decided to ask Canada to furnish another unit, approximately 1000 strong, for railway construction work. This battalion, initially under Lieutenant- Colonel J.W. Stewart of Vancouver, was known as the 239th Overseas Railway Construction Corps. Due to various delays in organizing and recruiting, this corps did not reach France until March 22, 1917 by which time it had become the Third Battalion, Canadian Railway Troops.

“The 4th and 5th Battalions were organized at Purfleet, and proceeded to France in Feb., 1917.

“However, before the 3rd Battalion left for France on March 22, it had been decided to increase the number of Battalions to 10, and as more units arrived from Canada, they were sent to Purfleet. So swiftly was the new organization carried out, that by April 1, 1917, there were six Canadian Railway Troops Battalions fully equipped and serving in the Field. All 10 Battalions were at work on the British Western Front by the end of June of the same year.”

[Source: Canadian Rail]

A schematic diagram showing the layout of the standard-gauge, narrow-gauge and tramway lines on the Western Front: