The 51st Battalion was authorized on 7 November 1914 and embarked for Great Britain on 18 April 1916.

It provided reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field until 13 November 1916, when it was reorganized as a garrison duty battalion.

[2] While training at Sarcee Camp near Calgary, Alberta, the men of the battalion, along with many other units who trained at the camp, created hillside numerals of whitewashed stones overlooking their encampment.

These stones, a 24-metre-high (79 ft) number "51", are the remainder of only four units whose glyphs survive on the hillside at Battalion Park in the neighbourhood of Signal Hill, Calgary.

[2] A former member of the 51st, George Burdon McKean, was awarded the Victoria Cross while serving with the 14th Battalion at the front.