An Insatiable Demand
The need for wood products on the Western Front was enormous. The British Command quickly realized that shipping lumber and other products across the Atlantic from Canada consumed a vast portion of the limited space available in transport ships. In February 1916, therefore, a call was put out for a special battalion of Canadian foresters to harvest the timber of France and England.
The first call was for 1,500 men. In May and November, 1916, further calls demanded an additional 9,000 men. Ultimately, a total of 17,000 men, plus attached personnel, served in the Canadian Forestry Corps.
One of the Forestry battalions - the 230th - was mustered in Creston, BC.