The 118th (North Waterloo) Battalion, CEF was a unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. In the early months of the war, Canadians rushed to enlist for various reasons - patriotism, adventure, and to oppose German hostility. Battalions were quickly filled and local communities were proud of their enlisted men. But as the war progressed Canadian recruitment numbers declined. By 1916, all Canadian battalions, not just the local 118th and 111th, were faced with enlistment challenges. Overseas casualties increased and Canadians began to realize the war would not end soon. As the war progressed and Waterloo County came under more scrutiny, Waterloo North Member of Parliament William Weichel proposed to Sir Sam Hughes, the Canadian Minister of Militia and Defence, tha