The 16th Battalion served in the
3rd Canadian Brigade of the
1st Canadian Division. Since its early beginnings, the battalion had a high standard of conduct on the battlefield and was commanded by outstanding leaders. One such was Lieutenant-General Sir
Arthur Currie, KCMG, who rose to command the Canadian Corps during the Great War. Currie was a master tactician whose skills led the Canadians to victory at Vimy Ridge and Amiens. Lance-Corporal
William Henry Metcalf, and Lieutenant-Colonel
Cyrus Peck. ; originally titled
The Victims it was renamed after objections from the battalion's commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Cy Peck. The Canadian historian René Chartrand noted that despite the fact that
black Canadians were only supposed to serve in construction units, one of the soldiers in the painting
The Conquerors is a black man, suggesting that at least some black Canadians served as infantrymen in World War I. The battalion returned to England on 27 March 1919, disembarked in Canada on 4 May 1919, was demobilized on 8 May 1919, and was disbanded by General Order 149 of 15 September 1920. == Perpetuations ==