A memorial honouring the memory of those who served with the 46th Canadian Infantry Battalion (South Saskatchewan), Canadian Expeditionary Force in the First War, sits under a tree on the northeast corner of the Bowl. A plaque, designed by a woman sculptor in Winnipeg named M.J. Taylor, was presented to the University of Saskatchewan at a ceremony on November 11, 1933. Seventy members of the battalion were in attendance, alongside numerous others. After the ceremony the plaque was put away until a stone on which to mount it was found and then the stone and plaque were installed next to the physics building.
The image on the plaque depicts a farmer on the left with a bundle of hay, and on the right, a soldier raising his helmet to the heavens. In fighting at the battles named on this plaque, the farmer had effectively been transformed into a patriotic citizen-soldier.
Formed in February of 1915, the 46th battalion was filled primarily with Saskatchewan youths, many from the University of Saskatchewan. Also known as the "suicide battalion,” it fought in some of the bloodiest encounters of the war. Reinforcements were constantly needed as battle after battle decimated its ranks. Of the 5,374 men in the 46th battalion, 4,917 were either killed or wounded. A particularly costly battle was Passchendaele, where there were 403 casualties from the battalion's strength of 600 men.
With the end of the war came demobilization and the end of 46th battalion. The soldiers became Veterans and returned to civilian life. Many re-enrolled or entered the university for the first time. Of the 336 students, faculty and staff who enlisted, 67 "passed out of the sight of man by the path of duty and self-sacrifice". More than 100 were wounded and 33 were awarded medals of valour. The School of Engineering closed its doors for the 1916-1917 session when the faculty and students enlisted en masse.
Surviving members of the 46th believed it imperative that the memory of their brothers remain intact. Yet the decision to have it placed on campus reveals something even more significant. The battalion was born at Moose Jaw, but men of the 46th included Reginald Bateman, the university’s first Professor of English, and the battalion’s sole Victoria Cross recipient, Hugh Cairns. Among those honoured on the plaque are Harold Blair and Reginald Batemen, two members of faculty killed in France.
