William Donald Allan

3rd Infantry Battalion

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3rd (Toronto Regiment) Battalion
1st Canadian Division

3rd Bn 1

Robert Rennie was the first 3rd Battalion CO, from September 1914 to November1915, when he was promoted to command the 4th Infantry Brigade.

3rd Bn 2

William D. Allan commanded the 3rd Battalion until September 1916 when he feel deadly ill following a shell splinter wound. His parents returned with the body for burial in Toronto’s Mount Pleasant Cemetery, making him one of the few Canadians buried at home even though he died overseas.

3rd Bn 3

An original officer with the 3rd Battalion, Robert B. Rogers took over after Allan’s death. He remained in command until the end of the war.

The Meteorologist

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Lieutenant Colonel William D. Allan, D.S.O. †
3rd (Toronto Regiment) BattalionWDAllan

Since going into the trenches he was three times wounded, and mentioned in dispatches for many acts of signal bravery. The people of Canada still vividly recall the story of heroism when he went with another soldier into No Man’s Land under heavy fire to carry in a wounded comrade. The man was struck by a bullet and killed as they were carrying him to shelter. For this and other conspicuous acts of bravery he was awarded the D.S.O.

(Toronto Globe, 3 Oct 1916, 4)

William Donald Allan was a meteorologist and seventeen year member of the Queen’s Own Rifles. He was born in Toronto on 25 November 1879. Allan served as a company captain with the 3rd Battalion during the second battle of Ypres. After Robert Rennie was promoted to command the 4th Brigade, Allan took charge of the 3rd on 10 November 1915.

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