_THE 85th BATTALION, NOVA SCOTIA HIGHLANDERS, AND THE 85th BATTALION
BAND._
The first distinctly Highland Battalion to be organized in Nova Scotia
for active service Overseas in the late War was the 85th Battalion, Nova
Scotia Highlanders. The Battalion was authorized at Ottawa on September
14, 1915, with the appointment of Lieut.-Colonel Allison H. Borden as
Commanding Officer. Headquarters for organization and mobilization were
first established at the Military Camp, Aldershot, N.S., on September
23, 1915. Recruiting proceeded rapidly, the idea of a distinctly Nova
Scotia Highland Battalion having fired with enthusiasm the people of the
Province, who, true to their ancestral Highland spirit, were found “deas
gu cath” (ready for fight). The success of the recruiting drew an order
from Ottawa for Battalion Headquarters to be transferred to Halifax, and
for the Battalion to be mobilized in full strength and stationed in the
Armories. Mobilization resulted on October 14, 1915, with the 85th
Battalion 200 over strength. On that day occurred the first parade of
the Battalion—a memorably impressive scene and event, by virtue of its
contrasts in personnel; for in all ranks were officers and men who came
from every walk of life, professional and industrial and commercial,
with farmers and manufacturers amongst the officers, while clergymen,
college professors, and teachers paraded shoulder to shoulder in the
rank
[Illustration:
LIEUT.-COL. A. H. BORDEN, D.S.O.]
The 85th Battalion has the distinction of being the senior, and, as it
were, the parent Unit of the Nova Scotia Highland Brigade. But with the
Brigade as such this chapter is not concerned. Its story has been told
incidentally in connection with the other Units which made up the
Brigade. It will suffice to remark, however, that this magnificent body
of fighting men—“the very flower of Nova Scotia’s manhood”—after being
noted by the military leaders and authorities in England “as the finest
body of troops sent over from Canada,” was, under the exigencies of
military supervision, finally broken up in England, and reorganized into
two Battalions, the 85th Battalion, Nova Scotia Highlanders, and the
185th Battalion, Cape Breton Highlanders. The latter Battalion—“siol nan
gaisgeach mora”—became a splendid Unit in the so-called Fifth Division,
but was denied the privilege and glory of seeing service in France as a
Unit. The record of their compatriots, “D” Company of the 85th
Battalion, at Virny and Passchendaele, a most glorious record, is
sufficient proof that had the 185th Battalion, Cape Breton Highlanders,
got to France as a Unit, the name not only of Nova Scotia Province but
also of the Island of Cape Breton would to-day be shining with still
greater glory than that which they now possess for brilliant military
achievement in the late War. As it was, however, the records of
individual officers and men of the 185th Battalion who had transferred
to the 85th and other Units on the 185th being broken up just before the
initial drive of 1918, were such as to give a noble name not only to
themselves individually, but also to the 185th Battalion and Cape Breton
Island, where this splendid Unit of fighting men was recruited.
Reverting now to the 85th Battalion as such, after due training, and
many inexplicable disappointments in earlier sailing for Overseas, the
85th Battalion, and the other Units of the Nova Scotia Highland Brigade,
broke camp on October 11, 1916, and sailed for England on October 13,
1916, aboard H.M. Transport _Olympic_. The 85th and the Nova Scotia
Highland Brigade disembarked at Liverpool on October 19, 1916, and
immediately entrained for Witley Camp, Surrey, arriving in Camp the same
evening. Following the breaking up of the Nova Scotia Highland Brigade,
and the reorganization of the 85th, the Battalion sailed for France on
February 10, 1917, going into training for service in the Field at Gouy
Servins, Bouvigny, and Bouvigny Wood, from which quarters the Battalion
moved up to Music Hall Line, in the reserves, to take part as “a working
Unit” in the Battle of Vimy Ridge (April 9, 1917).
Including Vimy, the 85th Battalion was in the following
engagements—Vimy, April 9 to 14, 1917; “The Triangle,” June 20, 1917;
Ontario Trench, June 26, 1917; Eleu dit Leauvette and the Horse Shoe,
June 28, 1917; Lens, July to October, 1917; Passchendaele, October 28 to
November 2, 1917; Arleux, June, 1918; Fompoux, July, 1918; Amiens,
August 8 to 11, 1918; Arras (Drocourt-Queant Line), September 2 to 5,
1918; Cambrai (Bourlon), September 25 to October 2, 1918; Valenciennes,
November, 1918; Quievrechain, November, 1918; Honnelle River. November,
1918.
What the Battalion did after the signing of the Armistice is of no
military significance. It returned from France to England on May 1,
1919, took part in the Great March of Triumph through London on May 3,
1919; sailed from England for Canada on May 31, 1919; and arrived at
Halifax on June 8. 1919, and two days later marched through the City of
Halifax, which was _en fête_ to give the Unit a memorably joyous welcome
home. It was not, however, a welcome from the city, but from the whole
Province, and it is estimated that 60,000 outside visitors—friends and
relatives—of the returned victors must have been present among the
citizens of Halifax to witness the home-coming parade of the 85th
Battalion, Nova Scotia Highlanders. A week later (June 15, 1919), a
remnant company of the Battalion fell in at Grafton Park, Halifax, and
headed by the Royal Canadian Regiment Band, marched with its King’s and
Regimental Colors to Government House, where the colors were deposited
in the presence of His Honor Lieutenant-Governor Grant, Colonel W. E.
Thompson, D.O.C., M.D. No. 6, and Staff. On the occasion Lieut.-Col.
James Layton Ralston, C.M.G., D.S.O., with Bar, Commanding the 85th,
read an address of farewell to the officers and N.C.O.’s and men
assembled—and thus the history of the 85th Battalion, Nova Scotia
Highlanders, as a fighting Unit, came to an end.
In the proper places there will be explicit observations on the
achievements of the Battalion, individual officers, N.C.O.’s and men on
the Field. In the meantime, following is a summary of the honors and
awards (259 in total) that belong to the Battalion:—
C.M.G. 1
D.S.O. 4
Bar to D.S.O. 1
M.C. 34
Bar to M.C. 3
D.C.M. 15
M.S.M. 4
M.M. 166
Bar to M.M. 12
Croix de Guerre 5
Mentioned in Despatches twice 4
Mentioned in Despatches-Officers 0
Mentioned in Despatches-Warrant Officers 1
———
Total 259
The first “big show” or engagement in which the 85th Battalion took part
was that of Vimy Ridge. Theirs was not at first an envious situation.
The Battalion had been substituted for another in the 12th Brigade, but
the actual taking over did not ensue till after the Battle of Vimy
Ridge. For that engagement the 85th was attached to the 11th Brigade,
commanded by Brigadier-General Odlum. For the Battle of Vimy Ridge the
85th moved into position in the reserves, and was to serve as “a working
Unit,” that is, to follow up the troops in action, and to carry
ammunition, build dugouts, keep up communication trenches, clear wire
entanglements, and in general, as the phrase is, “to mop up.” The 85th,
of course, could be called on, as they were, to fight in an emergency.
But they were regarded as “green troops,” and it was not considered
likely by the authorities that the Battalion would be efficient and
steady under slaughterous fire. As a matter of fact, all the while
between the Battalion’s arrival at Gouy Servins till the Unit moved out
from quarters into the reserve at Music Hall Line for their part in the
Battle of Vimy Ridge, the Commanding Officer, Lieut.-Col. A. H. Borden,
the Second in Command, Lieut.-Col. E. C. Phinney, the Adjutant, Major J.
L. Ralston, and Assistant Adjutant, Lieut. A. T. Croft, had been
preparing the Battalion as much for a fighting Unit as for a working
Unit—having had the German lines at Vimy all taped out to scale, and
having trained the Unit in every detail of the coming operation, until
all ranks knew the precise “lay” of the Vimy Front and how the fighting
Units as such would operate in action. Thus considered, the 85th
Battalion was not a Unit of “green troops” in the ordinary acceptance of
the phrase. They were “ready for fight”—and unexpectedly they got their
chance, and achieved to their immortal glory.
The Battle of Vimy Ridge opened in the early morn of Easter Monday,
April 9, 1917. At first it was all clear gain for the Canadians. But, at
last, toward the evening, word kept coming back that the Canadian
advance was being held up, that Hill 145 remained untaken, that it was a
“nasty critical situation,” because the enfilading of the Huns would
destroy attacking troops totally, and that if Hill 145 were not somehow
taken, the engagement would fail. Where were there fresh troops who
could be sent in to take Hill 145? It is understood that Colonel
Hilliam, commanding the 25th Battalion, Nova Scotia’s invincible “Shock
Troops,” recommended that the 85th Battalion be selected for the feat.
He assured Brigadier Odlum that even if they were “green troops” they
would be steady under fire. The die was cast. Orders came from
headquarters that two Companies of the 85th were to go into the line at
sundown and assault Hill 145. Lieut.-Col. Borden, Commanding Officer,
selected “C” and “D” Companies, and placed Capt. Percival W. Anderson in
command, with Capt. Harvey E. Crowell in command of “C” Company.
[Illustration:
LIEUT.-COL. E. C. PHINNEY.]
At zero hour “C” Company went over the top, followed immediately by “D”
Company, but, for good reasons, without the usual barrage. The 85th had
_dared_. The question now was on the part of the Units that had been
held up, Would the 85th also _DO_? From the moment the Companies went
over the top, they proceeded on to their objective, the crest of Hill
145, with the precision and steadiness of inured troops. There is no
necessity to describe the assault in detail. But when the Huns first saw
the 85th Companies going over the top, they were amazed. As the
Companies proceeded forward, steady and indomitable in spite of the gun
fire and the hail of bullets from concealed nests of machine guns, the
while themselves wreaking destruction on the Bosche, the Germans became
alarmed. And when the 85th Companies still kept on, in the same spirit,
and with the same effectiveness, the Huns became disconcerted, and at
last ignominiously turned and “beat it,” leaving Hill 145—the Huns’
“pivotal strategic stronghold”—in possession of the 85th Companies and
the Canadian Corps. The clearing up of the Ridge and the advance of the
85th Companies to the Lens-Arras Road need not detain us. On the morning
of April 14, 1917, the Battalion was relieved by the Royal Sussex, and
marched back to rest quarters at Bouvigny Huts.
There were many acts of heroism on the part of officers, N.C.O.’s and
men during the first day of the Vimy Ridge “show” and on later days. One
phrase might be applied to summarize the conduct of the Commanding
Officer (Lieutenant-Colonel Borden), the Second in Command
(Lieutenant-Colonel Phinney), and the Adjutant, Major J. L. Ralston, who
had the task of consolidating the line after the taking of the Ridge;
not only were they all the time “cool, calm and collected,” but the
three showed distinct military genius. Outstanding was the conduct of
Capt. Percival W. Anderson, who, amongst other exploits, single-handed
performed a deed of heroism which won for him the Military Cross (it
should have been the V.C.). One of the men in the patrols suffered a bad
wound. His groans were heard in “No Man’s Land,” but he lay where the
whole field was raked by rifle and machine-gun fire. Captain Anderson
would not ask or command any of his men to attempt a rescue, but went
out himself and carried the wounded man back to safety. This splendid
soldier and officer was killed at the Battle of Passchendaele, his death
profoundly regretted; for he knew no fear, and he was a superb officer
and leader of men, a splendid example of the Cape Breton Highlander.
The list of those who turned exploits and won awards at Vimy is too long
to admit of detailed accounts. But specially to be mentioned are Capt.
H. E. Crowell, Capt. H. B. Clarke, Chaplain, and later Transport Officer
(acting); Lieuts. H. C. Verner (“Hell-Fire” Verner), Douglas Graham,
Hugh A. Crawley, F. C. Manning; and amongst the privates and
N.C.O.’s—Pte. C. A. McLeod, Pte. H. C. Steeves, Pte. A. J. Murphy, Pte.
J. S. Westlake, Pte. L. M. Gates, Pte. K. Manoles, Pte. J. C. Taylor,
Pte. C. J. Doucette, Runners, Ptes. W. E. Stackhouse, W. W. Pearson and
G. B. Peck; Lance-Corporal A. F. MacAree, Lance-Corporal V. M. Lindsay,
Lance-Corporal H. W. Hardy, Corporal C. D. Reid, and Sergt. W. U.
Martel.
The courage, pluck, indomitableness and resourcefulness of the officers,
N.C.O.’s and men of the 85th Battalion at the Battle of Vimy Ridge were
instanced not to glorify the Battalion, but to show forth the kind of
“stuff” that was the spirit of the Unit. The same kind of spirit was
shown in all subsequent engagements—“The Triangle,” Ontario Trench, Eleu
dit Leauvette and the Horse Shoe and around Lens, up to Passchendaele.
The outstanding phase of the long Battle of Passchendaele (October 28 to
November 2, 1917) was the recapturing of the front line by “D” Company
(Cape Bretoners), commanded by Captain Ross M. MacKenzie—another “saving
of the day,” as at Vimy, by the 85th Battalion. The 85th was, as
decided, to be in the line for a day before going over the top. However,
before that move, “D” Company was to take over the whole Battalion
frontage, the other Companies to remain at the rear. A Western Canadian
Unit was in the line, and just as “D” Company reached the line for the
relief of the Western Battalion, the Huns launched a violent and
destructive counter-attack. Captain MacKenzie and “D” Company saw that
the Western Battalion was falling back, and the Huns advancing in great
force. It was a critical situation, and Captain MacKenzie at once
offered himself and his Company to reinforce the retiring Unit. The
offer was gladly accepted. Captain MacKenzie ordered his Company to drop
all kit, and to fix bayonets and advance in true Highland fashion. With
huzzas they made for the enemy—dashing upon the Huns with such a rush
and momentum, that the Huns became bewildered, next were seized with
panic, broke, and “beat it.” The situation was saved, and the line
recaptured shortly by continued advance to the position from which the
Western Battalion was forced to retire. But that advance was costly in
casualties, for it was covered by enemy machine guns and snipers’ posts.
Then it was that the ancient fighting spirit of his Gaelic ancestors
shone brilliantly in Captain MacKenzie, and he became the Gaelic Hero
Cuchullain in the fight and in death. MacKenzie was shot through the
abdomen—some say he was literally riddled—with machine gun bullets, and
he fell. But he struggled to his feet and kept on with his Company,
bleeding to death, and commanded his men, encouraging them, until he
dropped exhausted into a shell hole. Even then, though undone, he would
not be attended to, but kept encouraging his Company. Eventually he
permitted himself to be placed on a stretcher, and while being borne
away, he died—like Cuchullain too, unconquerable in death. There were
many other individual examples of heroism on that day and during the
days that followed at Passchendaele. But the slaughter was awful: and
while the engagement added fresh glory to the 85th Battalion, and is a
memorial to the living, it is to be regarded as an apotheosis of all
85th officers, non-commissioned officers and men who fell at that
mysteriously ordered engagement—Major P. W. Anderson, M.C., Capts. John
M. Hensley, E. R. Clayton, M.C., and Ross M. MacKenzie, Lieuts. Walter
U. Martel, M.M., Frank O. Hutchison, Angus D. MacDonald, Norman C.
Christie, Alexander D. Fraser, Fred J. Anderson, John R. MacFarlane, W.
H. Murr and R. Salisman, and the 123 privates and non-commissioned
officers. It was for their bravery and resourcefulness and
indomitableness—their sheer invincibility—at Passchendaele that the 85th
Battalion won from the other Units in the Canadian Corps and the
Imperials the noteworthy, if slangy, complimentary epithet, “The Never
Fails.”
[Illustration:
LIEUT. A. D. FRASER.]
[Illustration:
MAJOR P. W. ANDERSON.]
[Illustration:
CAPT. ROSS MACKENZIE.]
[Illustration:
LIEUT. A. D. MACDONALD.]
[Illustration:
LIEUT. J. R. MACFARLANE.]
[Illustration:
LIEUT. N. C. CHRISTIE.]
[Illustration:
CAPT. JOHN M. HENSLEY.]
From Passchendaele to the signing of the Armistice would furnish only
repetitions of the records of the 85th Battalion in action. It was all a
most honorable and glorious record, quite worthy to stand beside that of
Canadian Units which had seen longer service. It would not do, however,
to bring this summary narrative to a close without mentioning the
characteristics of the outstanding officers, but for whom the 85th would
not have been a reality, or would not have achieved so splendidly.
First, let it be remembered perennially that all honor and distinction
belongs to Lieut.-Col. Allison H. Borden for conceiving the idea of a
distinctly Nova Scotia Highland Battalion, and, later, a distinctly Nova
Scotia Highland Brigade. As an officer he always displayed vision and
decision, great gifts for organization; and in the Field he was a
gallant and resourceful soldier, to whom the loss of men in action was
felt as a poignant personal loss. He was awarded the Distinguished
Service Order. But posterity will gratefully remember him and honor his
name as the Organizer and Commanding Officer of the 85th Battalion, Nova
Scotia Highlanders, and the Organizer and Brigadier of the Nova Scotia
Highland Brigade. Lieut.-Col. Earle C. Phinney was a young officer, and,
in turn, filled several positions from Adjutant to Commanding Officer in
Canada and in England, and had the honor of taking the 85th to France,
where, though he had voluntarily reverted to Second in Command, he was
temporarily in Command till the arrival of Lieut.-Colonel Borden. He
made a record at Vimy for coolness and resourcefulness in the Field. In
a later engagement he was wounded, and was eventually invalided home.
Lieut.-Col. J. L. Ralston, who brought the 85th home, as Commanding
Officer, also served as Adjutant and as Commanding Officer in the Field.
He was his officers’ and men’s ideal of “the splendid soldier,” intrepid
and indomitable, and always resourceful. He was wounded several times:
and was awarded the D.S.O. and Bar to the D.S.O., and honored by the
King with the C.M.G. Lieut.-Col. Joseph Hayes was unique as an officer.
He was the M.O. of the Battalion, and a more humane and intrepid M.O.
there was not in the Canadian Corps. Though several years past the age
limit, he never missed a day from the line from Vimy to Passchendaele,
and did much to keep up the morale and fighting spirit of the officers
and men of the 85th. In a phrase, Lieut.-Col. Joseph Hayes was a gallant
officer, a genuinely brave soldier, and a humane and kind medical expert
in the line. The hygiene of the Battalion, which was a record in the
Canadian Corps, was due to Colonel Hayes’ rigorous supervision of camp
and line sanitation and his meticulous care of the person, food and
potables of the officers and men. He was awarded the D.S.O. It is
impossible to make a “Homeric Catalogue” of the character and deeds of
all the other officers. Suffice it to say that they all were good men
and true. The Battalion had the distinction of having Sir Robert Borden,
Premier of Canada, as Honorary Colonel.
[Illustration:
LIEUT.-COL. J. L. RALSTON, C.M.G., D.S.O.]
* * * * *
Killed in Action while serving with the 85th in France and Flanders
[Illustration:
LIEUT. O’DONOHUE.]
[Illustration:
LIEUT. G. F. CANN.]
[Illustration:
LIEUT. J. HOLLAND.]
[Illustration:
MAJOR IVAN RALSTON.]
[Illustration:
LIEUT. GEO. T. LYE.]
[Illustration:
LIEUT. ERIC LANE.]
[Illustration:
CAPT. A. M‘KINNON.]
[Illustration:
LIEUT. N. L. CHIPMAN.]
[Illustration:
LIEUT. CYRIL A. EVANS.]
[Illustration:
CAPT. W. T. RUGGLES.
Died after return to Canada.]
[Illustration:
LIEUTENANT THURBER.]
[Illustration:
CAPT. T. M. M‘LEAN.]
[Illustration:
LIEUT. F. C. MANNING.]
[Illustration:
CAPT. M. W. M‘KINNON.]
[Illustration:
LIEUT. J. O. M‘LEOD.]
_85th BATTALION BRASS AND REED BAND._
The literary and the musical professions were well represented in the
personnel of the 85th Battalion—by one historian, two poets, and a brass
and wood-wind band, an organization of instrumentalists that gave the
Battalion additional and peculiar distinction and glory. Lieut.-Colonel
Hayes in England and France acted as a free-lance war correspondent and,
on arrival home, set to work to prepare the History of the 85th
Battalion. He produced an illustrated work of nearly 400 pages—a most
readable volume, the first history of any Nova Scotia fighting Unit that
had taken part in the late War. It was hurriedly prepared, under very
difficult conditions, but despite a minimum of slight and inevitable
discrepancies or omissions—every history from Thucydides to John Richard
Green has these—it is a well-written and accurate work, a genuine
monument to the literary acumen and devotion of that versatile and
gallant officer, Lieut.-Col. Joseph Hayes. The two poets were the late
Lieut. Frederick C. Manning, a brilliant alumnus of Acadia University,
whose “Poems” were posthumously published. They are excellent poems,
both in conception and in craftsmanship, and go to prove how great a
wastage of brain power and rare spirit was caused by the late War. The
other poet was Sergt. J. D. Logan, an alumnus of Harvard University. He
was a free-lance war correspondent at the Front. He published two
volumes of war poems—“Insulters of Death and Other Poems of the Great
Departure” (1916), and “The New Apocalypse and Other Poems of Days and
Deeds in France” (1919), besides a series of magazine articles on
special phases of the War, a series entitled “From Vimy to
Passchendaele” (1918), and before sailing for Overseas a pamphlet on the
85th Band (“Canada’s Champion Regimental Band”). All this is mentioned
to show that military training for active warfare and actual warfare do
not necessarily kill the finer spirit of men or turn soldiers from human
beings into brutes. But the chief aesthetic glory of the 85th Battalion
was its extraordinary fine marching and symphonic band. Following are
the salient facts in its history.
The band was the descendant of the old Albion Mines (Stellarton) Band,
established in the ’40’s of the last century, and having a continuous
history of nearly three-quarters of a century to date. It was for years
the regimental band of the 78th Pictou Highlanders. Lieut.-Colonel
Borden, commanding the 85th, asked Lieut. Dan. Mooney, bandmaster of the
Stellarton or 78th Band, to organize a band for the 85th. The original
personnel of the 85th Band, the personnel which went Overseas with the
Battalion, was: Lieut. Dan. Mooney, Bandmaster; Sergt. J. C. Profitt,
Corpls. W. D. MacLeod and Alex. Myers, Ptes. A. H. MacDougall, R. H.
Roy, Ronald MacDougall, E. B. Mitchell (did not sail), R. Y. Geddes, C.
A. MacDonald, A. J. Fraser, T. R. Roy, J. W. Henderson, T. B. Davidson
(died in France), C. W. Appleton, H. P. Barnes, F. T. Freeman, J. J.
Gray, T. Mason, C. A. (“Chud”) MacDonald, A. R. MacDonald, A. A.
MacDougall, J. R. Munro, H. H. Murray, C. E. Purves, G. A. Rackham, W.
D. Jamieson, F. A. Ryan, W. P. Cameron, Joseph Smith, James Roy, D. W.
Cameron, W. E. Gallagher, F. D. Mooney, A. F. Gallant, W. Dunn (did not
sail, died later), Sergt. J. D. Logan.
This band was distinguished in musicianship by _versatility_,
_virtuosity_ and _brilliancy_. It had acquired a notable reputation for
these qualities in Canada, and when Overseas, in England, where it was
in demand by towns near Camp Witley, for social functions of a
semi-military or war-propaganda nature. The Director of Musical
Services, who came to Camp Witley, to hear and conduct the band at
rehearsal said of it, in writing: “_It is the best band that has come
Overseas from Canada_,” and remarked specially on its precision in
attack, its unanimity, its dynamic qualities and nuancing, and its
brilliancy.
Now, bands in camp and rest quarters are regarded as good for the morale
of Units, but generally were considered as impedimenta (or superfluous
baggage) with a Unit active in the Field. But the officers and men of
the 85th were insistent in their outspoken demand—“We want our band.”
The problem was how to keep the band from being broken up, and how to
get the bandsmen, with their instruments, into France. It was achieved
by the characteristic resourcefulness of the Commanding Officer and
officers. When the 85th crossed to France the band was not on the
establishment. The bandsmen, however, were brought over on the strength
as fighting men, and the instruments came along too, somehow
mysteriously, as part of the Quartermaster’s stores (Capt. Robert
Donaldson was Quartermaster—and a kinder and more resourceful
Quartermaster there was not in the Canadian Corps). The bandsmen and
their instruments being in France, their fixed place on the
establishment of the Battalion was finally adjusted by the authorities.
The fame of this band soon spread throughout the 4th Division and the
Canadian Corps, and into England; and it became a matter of perpetual
demand for the 85th Band to be present and to play at concert parties
and at parades and other functions of the Division and Brigade. This was
due more particularly to the versatility of the band in _soloists_ and a
_group of entertainers_ amongst the personnel, who formed a concert
party by themselves. It is without question that Thomas Roy, euphonium
soloist; Percival Barnes, piccolo and flute soloist; R. MacDougall and
D. W. Cameron, cornet soloists; J. C. Profitt and Alex. Myers, clarinet
soloists; Alex. (“Attell”) MacDougall, trombone soloist, and the
trombone quartet (A. MacDougall, J. J. Gray, C. E. Purves, and James
Roy) were as expert instrumentalists as the trained ear could wish to
hear. They earned for the band its name for virtuosity and brilliancy.
The group of entertainers comprised H. H. Murray, George Rackham, Frank
(“Hunk”) A. Ryan, C. W. Appleton and Ronald MacDougall. Murray was vocal
soloist, with band accompaniment, having a rounded cantabile baritone.
He was also “the lead” in the theatrical entertainment, sketches and
vaudeville, with Rackham as foil. Ryan, Appleton and R. MacDougall were
step dancers, and Ryan was noted for his eccentric dancing specialties.
The group, assisted by the other members of the band, also produced “The
Old Homestead,” in costume, at the Front.
On the day of the Great March of Triumph through London, May 3, 1919,
the 85th Band made a distinct popular “hit” with the Londoners. The
Director of Musical Services, noted the fact in the following official
communication:
“Argyll House,
“London, W.I.,
“May 5th, 1919.
“To—
”LT.-COL. G. S. HARRINGTON,
“Deputy Minister, O.M.F.C.,
“34 Grosvenor St., W.I.
“SIR,—I have the honor to bring to your notice the musical report of
the bands marching through London:—
“‘The 85th Battalion Band, thirty performers, under Lieutenant
Mooney, Bandmaster. This famous marching band has been sadly
depleted by war losses, but gave a fine, spirited performance, which
was much admired.’
“I have the honor to be,
“Sir,
“Your Obedient Servant,
”JASPER VALE-LANE,
“Musical Director.”
It should be noted that the band was considerably augmented when in
France; and that one member, T. B. Davidson, died, while Ben. Hichens
and H. Luscomb were killed in action. It should also be noted that the
85th returned officers and men organized, under the name “The 85th
Clansmen,” and “The 85th Memory Club,” to perpetuate the name of the
Battalion and the memory of the fallen by reunions on the days of the
engagements in which the Battalion took part.—L.