Lieutenant Colonel Alex Wilson the Commanding Officer of the 33rd Overseas Battalion declares Robert Dixon fit for service. It has been over seven months since Robert signed up. Lucky for him that he lived near by and we assume able to sleep at home while training. Now that he is declared fit for service that training will probably intensify. The Battalion, now formed, would be heading overseas early in the new year.
The men of the 33rd Battalion were drawn from around South Western Ontario. They trained at the London Ontario Mobilization Centre in Carling Heights at the Wolseley Barracks. The Wolseley Barracks were built in 1886 to house the Company D of the Infantry School of the Royal Canadian Regiment. It was the first purpose built such infantry training school built by the Dominion of Canada , and as a result it now a national historic site. It is also home of the Royal Canadian Regiment Museum – so you can go visit where Robert Dixon trained . It is highly likely that Robert Dixon is in the photo below.
The 33rd Canadian Infantry Battalion ,which would eventually number 1,000 men, received training here on rifle shooting, bayonetting, field tactics and marching. The Battalion continued its training to the end of the year. They were given sometime off for Christmas and New Years before making their way overseas. Many of the men in the photo above would not return.