Canadian WWI platoon diaries / service files

[RedMystic]

Thanks for the response cashew.

Here are my learnings for the day. 

There are no war diaries for battalions before they saw action in the field of battle - hence nothing in the period I was seeking.

Also:
With regard to deserters/defaulters, when an individual absented himself from his unit in Canada, he would at first only be declared to be Away Without Official Leave (AWOL), and a certain interval would follow to allow him either to surrender himself, or to be apprehended.  The local authorities in the place he was living, as well as for the area in which his next of kin were living (if different), would be notified and instructed to arrest him if he appeared there.  This process in practice only worked sporadically as it depended on local police authorities to carry out searches for deserters who might be in their area, which often they would not or could not do for various reasons.  The military was unable to do more than token efforts in this direction, as the war required all their efforts.

If he remained at large for the set period, a Court of Inquiry would be convened and he would be declared a deserter rather than just AWOL and discharged from the service.   If he then returned to his unit he would be subject to a General Court-Martial on the charge of desertion, and if found guilty might be sentenced to time in a military detention centre, or simply to a dishonourable discharge from the Forces. Most Court of Inquiry records did not survive. Sometimes these events were reported in a local newspaper.

Many deserters in Canada during the First World War were never apprehended before the war ended. Much bad feeling had been generated by conscription during the latter part of the war, and in order to speed the return to normal life a general amnesty was declared for all deserters.  This meant that they could return to their homes with no fear of arrest.  However, because they still had been discharged as deserters, they could expect no benefits from the Government under any of the programs set up to help war veterans after the First World War.

I love learning new things. 

[cashew]

I know the feeling, you've done extremely well to find all that information.

So, as I suspected, he did go absent whilst still in Canada.

Sensible post war policy of the Canadian government.

I'm wondering if perhaps he went to America, and American records for border crossings into America from Canada are available for that era.

[RedMystic]

Hi cashew. Thanks for weighing in.  This particular fellow died of Spanish flu living in a remote mining town. It is now a ghost town. I'm researching all of the known burials as it is no longer publicly accessible. It's been a fascinating sleuth so far.