THE "PRINCESS PAT" REGIMENT

No consideration of the activity of the university graduates, or undergraduates, in the war can be made without reference to that famous regiment whose personnel was very largely made up of university men—the Princess Patricia Regiment, the first Canadian body of fighting men to reach the front, and the one that suffered most heavily.

The Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Regiment was recruited in Montreal, though its members were from all parts of the Dominion. This body was formed on the initiative of A. Hamilton Gault of Montreal. The regiment was first commanded by Lieutenant Colonel F. D. Farquhar, D. S. O., of the Coldstream Guards, and military secretary to the governor general. The other original officers were Major A. Hamilton Gault; Adjutant, Captain H. C. Buller; Quartermaster, the Hon. Lieutenant C. A. Wake; Paymaster, the Hon. Captain D. H. MacDougall; Medical Officer, Major C. B. Keenan. The heroic career of this body of men at the front will be followed in a later part of this volume.

Those brigades which embarked from Quebec during the fall of 1914 were those which were later to become famous as the First Canadian Division, which was the first large body of Canadian troops to arrive in France.

The First Division was constituted as follows: First Artillery Brigade, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel E. W. B. Morrison; Second Artillery Brigade, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel J. J. Creelman; Third Artillery Brigade, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel J. H. Mitchell; First Infantry Brigade, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel M. S. Mercer; Second Infantry Brigade, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel A. W. Currie; Third Infantry Brigade, commanded by Colonel R. E. W. Turner; Royal Canadian Dragoons, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel C. M. Nelles; Lord Strathcona's Horse, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel A. H. Macdonnell; Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel H. A. Panet; Fourth Infantry Brigade, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel J. E. Cohoe; First to Ninth Field Batteries, commanded respectively by Major C. H. L. Sharman, Lieutenant Colonel C. H. MacLaren, Major A. G. L. McNaughton, Major E. G. Hanson, Lieutenant Colonel H. G. McLeod, Major W. B. M. King, Major H. G. Carscallon, and Major E. A. McDougall. The General Staff officers were: Colonel E. H. Hard, Lieutenant Colonel A. H. Macdonnell, Lieutenant Colonel G. C. W. Gordon-Hall, Lieutenant Colonel C. H. Mitchell, and Lieutenant Colonel H. J. Lamb. Besides the above units there were also the Automobile and Machine Gun Brigade, various line of communication units, a clearing hospital, two stationary hospitals, and two general hospitals and remount department.

The Second Canadian Division was composed of those units which arrived in England during March, April, and May, 1915. It was in command of Major General S. B. Steele, who was afterward succeeded by Brigadier General R. E. W. Turner. As finally constituted the infantry included the Fourth Brigade, commanded by Brigadier General Lord Brooke; the Fifth Brigade, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel David Watson; and the Sixth Brigade, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel H. D. B. Ketchen.

A fifth division was later organized in England, but was there held as a reserve, most of its constituent elements being sent to France as reenforcements to the first four divisions.

The Canadian Cavalry Brigade was not organized until early in 1915, in England, but its constituent parts had come over from Canada with the first contingent. From the time of its formation until May, 1918, it was under the command of Brigadier General (later Major General) J. E. B. Seeley, C. B., C. M. G., D. S. O., M. P., a veteran of the South African War, where he served under Sir John French, and later Secretary of State for War in the Asquith Cabinet.

The brigade was originally formed from the Royal Canadian Dragoons, Lord Strathcona's Horse, King Edward's Horse, an Imperial unit, and the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery. In 1916 the King Edward's Horse left the brigade and its place was taken by the Fort Garry Horse, previously known as the Canadian Reserve Cavalry Regiment. Later the brigade had added to it the Machine Gun Squadron, the Canadian Cavalry Field Ambulance, and the Mobile Veterinary Section. During the early part of its services in France the brigade operated as infantry, and it was not till the early part of 1916 that it was finally reconstituted as a cavalry force. The cavalry brigade ranged in numbers from two to three thousand throughout the war.