In the early months of the war, Canadians rushed to enlist for various reasons - patriotism, adventure, and to oppose German hostility.
[1] Based in Kitchener, Ontario, the unit began recruiting in late 1915 in the northern portion of Waterloo County.
The 118th (North Waterloo) Battalion, CEF had one Officer Commanding: Lieutenant Colonel William Merton Overton Lochead.
It was not until the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914 that Berlin was finally allowed to form a city militia regiment: the 108th.
Instead, they encouraged recruits to join the newly created Canadian Expeditionary Force battalions, in particular the 34th being raised in Guelph, and the 71st in Woodstock.
[3] Not only were residents divided by ethnicity - German and British - but longstanding civic rivalries between Berlin (now Kitchener) and Galt (now Cambridge) increased the tension.
They also demanded that if the tax-payers are insulted, molested and interfered with in future, that Major General Sir Sam Hughes be requested to remove the 118th Battalion from Waterloo County.
The 118th Battalion faced low enlistment rates because good paying factory jobs in Berlin and Waterloo were plentiful, and men did not want to give them up.
Instead of proceeding overseas as expected, the soldiers of the 118th spent the summer of 1916 training at the newly built Camp Borden, just South-West of Barrie.
Their targets were local businesses - Schultz's shoe repair, Ritzer's tailor shop and Doersam's bookstore, that had German-made items on display.
His numerous pro-German remarks - "I am not ashamed to confess that I love the land of my fathers - Germany" - caused a great uproar in the city.
Two soldiers, Sergeant Major Granville Blood and Private Schaefer - received suspended sentences for the assault.
However, as anti-German sentiment increased throughout Waterloo County, many of the churches decided to stop holding services in German.
Stored in their hall was the bust of Kaiser Wilhelm I which had been retrieved after being thrown in the lake at Victoria Park in August, 1914.
On February 16, 1916, members of the 118th stole the medallions from the base of the Peace Monument in Victoria Park, where the bust of Kaiser Wilhelm I had previously been.
He also stated that the Club, since the beginning of the war has been very patriotic, always welcoming soldiers in their midst, and never giving cause for offense to anyone.
Similar claims in Calgary, Winnipeg and others were also not entertained, as the Minister of Justice viewed that there is no legal responsibility on the part of the Crown.
[1] 4) The final incident involving members of the 118th occurred during the newly named Kitchener municipal election held on January 1, 1917.
They escorted the 118th soldiers to the train station and remained on guard in Kitchener for the next few days as calm eventually returned.
Police Constable Jim Blevins appeared at the barracks to serve a summons to Private Meinzinger for his assault on another citizen.
Meinzinger punched Blevins, and rumours circulated that the policeman was not expected to live on account of a broken jaw bone.
Because of these and other incidents that occurred in Berlin, Mayor John Hett asked for a military investigation into the conduct of the 118th Battalion.
School children often visited the barracks and gave the soldiers oranges and eggs (Courtesy of the Mennonite Archives of Ontario/Gordon C. Eby Fonds).
Poor barrack conditions, particularly the food, and strict British military discipline was a shock to the Canadian troops.
Of the more than 250 infantry battalions formed in Canada, only about 50 served in France, continually reinforced with soldiers from units newly arrived in England.