LIEUT. N. C. CHRISTIE.
CAPT. JOHN M. HENSLEY.
From Passchendaele to the signing of the Armistice would furnish only repetitions of the records of the 85th Battalion in action. It was all a most honorable and glorious record, quite worthy to stand beside that of Canadian Units which had seen longer service. It would not do, however, to bring this summary narrative to a close without mentioning the characteristics of the outstanding officers, but for whom the 85th would not have been a reality, or would not have achieved so splendidly. First, let it be remembered perennially that all honor and distinction belongs to Lieut.-Col. Allison H. Borden for conceiving the idea of a distinctly Nova Scotia Highland Battalion, and, later, a distinctly Nova Scotia Highland Brigade. As an officer he always displayed vision and decision, great gifts for organization; and in the Field he was a gallant and resourceful soldier, to whom the loss of men in action was felt as a poignant personal loss. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. But posterity will gratefully remember him and honor his name as the Organizer and Commanding Officer of the 85th Battalion, Nova Scotia Highlanders, and the Organizer and Brigadier of the Nova Scotia Highland Brigade. Lieut.-Col. Earle C. Phinney was a young officer, and, in turn, filled several positions from Adjutant to Commanding Officer in Canada and in England, and had the honor of taking the 85th to France, where, though he had voluntarily reverted to Second in Command, he was temporarily in Command till the arrival of Lieut.-Colonel Borden. He made a record at Vimy for coolness and resourcefulness in the Field. In a later engagement he was wounded, and was eventually invalided home. Lieut.-Col. J. L. Ralston, who brought the 85th home, as Commanding Officer, also served as Adjutant and as Commanding Officer in the Field. He was his officers’ and men’s ideal of “the splendid soldier,” intrepid and indomitable, and always resourceful. He was wounded several times: and was awarded the D.S.O. and Bar to the D.S.O., and honored by the King with the C.M.G. Lieut.-Col. Joseph Hayes was unique as an officer. He was the M.O. of the Battalion, and a more humane and intrepid M.O. there was not in the Canadian Corps. Though several years past the age limit, he never missed a day from the line from Vimy to Passchendaele, and did much to keep up the morale and fighting spirit of the officers and men of the 85th. In a phrase, Lieut.-Col. Joseph Hayes was a gallant officer, a genuinely brave soldier, and a humane and kind medical expert in the line. The hygiene of the Battalion, which was a record in the Canadian Corps, was due to Colonel Hayes’ rigorous supervision of camp and line sanitation and his meticulous care of the person, food and potables of the officers and men. He was awarded the D.S.O. It is impossible to make a “Homeric Catalogue” of the character and deeds of all the other officers. Suffice it to say that they all were good men and true. The Battalion had the distinction of having Sir Robert Borden, Premier of Canada, as Honorary Colonel.
LIEUT.-COL. J. L. RALSTON, C.M.G., D.S.O
Killed in Action while serving with the 85th in France and Flanders
LIEUT. O’DONOHUE.