The Silent Sixtieth is the nickname the battalion earned while training in Canada. They used it as the name of the trench newspaper they wrote to let the folks back home know of their exploits. They published two papers, Vol. 1 No. 1, on the troop ship on the way to England and Vol. 1 No. 2, during the bloody Battle of Mount Sorrel in June of 1916. Vol. 1 No. 1 was subtitled “H.M.T. Scandinavian” and Vol. 1. No. 2 was subtitled “Somewhere in Belgium”. They did not intend to publish regularly, only “every once in a while”
It is common practice for publishers of periodicals to number each issue in a series and then change volume numbers to indicate a new time period. I choose to name my book on the 60th Battalion; “The Silent Sixtieth” and subtitled it “100 years on”. I gave it a new Volume number “2” to indicate the passage of time and it is issue No. 1. It is my way of let the descendants of the men of the battalion know of the battalions exploits.
The book is the result of over 15 years of research into my grandfather, Zinofrey Antonuk’s military service. It is the story of the 60th Overseas Battalion from their formation in 1915 to their disbanding in 1917 and beyond. The Silent Sixtieth follows the daily exploits of the battalion during its time in France and Belgium. The book contains maps outlining the battalion’s areas of operation at major battles of Mount Sorrel, The Somme and Vimy, numerous pictures highlight the story of the men and the battalion. I hope this website can be an extension of the book and continue to tell the story.
The soft cover version of the Silent Sixtieth is still available at $35.00 plus shipping (Canada Post to anywhere in Canada is approximately $18.00) International can be quoted on request.
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The 60th Battalion C.E.F. "Victoria Rifles of Canada" 