The Drill Rifle: Training Recruits in the CEF
When the war broke out in August 1914, Canada only held 16,796 rifles on hand. [1] As Canadians rushed to recruiting stations in staggering numbers to enlist, the Department of Militia and Defence was confronted with the overwhelming challenge of training new recruits without a sufficient amount of rifles. In response, CEF units in Canada […]
“You are needed”: Americans in the Canadian Expeditionary Force
The summer of 2017 marks 100 years since the arrival of the first American troops in France. The American Expeditionary Force landed on 26 June 1917, with 14 000 soldiers, a force which eventually grew to about 2 million. However, before the United States joined the war, there were still thousands of Americans fighting in […]
Attaché to Kolchak? The mystery of Capt. Horace Hume Van Wart
I’ve been meaning to write about Horace Hume Van Wart for about two years now, ever since his photograph came across my desk during a cataloguing rush.
“Pro patria mori”: The McGill University Companies
I recently attended a lecture by historian Tim Cook on the legacy of Vimy, held at McGill. One thing that Dr. Cook mentioned was how closely entwined McGill’s history is with that the First World War, and how many buildings, plaques, and windows can be found around the campus that make reference to those from […]
Dressing the part: The CEF officer in World War I
Like the Victorian armies in Britain in the 19th century, officers of the British and Imperial armies, including the Canadian Expeditionary Force, were expected to be able to fund their own lifestyle. Until the First World War, most officers came from the upper middle class and were already well connected within the army, usually receiving […]
The Lost: Canadian Soldiers Missing in the First World War
There were few official telegram messages worse than “Killed in Action” during the First World War; however, one of those had to be “Missing in Action”. Roughly 5 000 soldiers of Canada’s total fatal casualties are listed as “presumed to have died”; many more were initially listed as KIA and even possibly buried, but their […]
The old lion: Sam Steele and the Canadian Expeditionary Force
Samuel Benfield Steele is perhaps best known for his role in the North West Mounted Police and the development of Western Canada. Steele was involved in the Canadian campaign to drive Sitting Bull back to the United States after the defeat of General Custer, and fought the Cree at Frenchman’s Butte during the North West […]
