The achievements of the Seventeenth in the field of fire cannot be
dissociated from their experiences in the field of sport. The exploits
of the Battalion in Football, Cross-country Running, and
Boxing--revealing as they did the elements of challenge, perseverance,
cheerfulness in defeat, and also the power to win honours to their
name--have their grand reflex in the more grim and arduous experiences
through which the Battalion was called to pass.
In October, 1915, the Battalion won Divisional honours in
Cross-country Running. The winning of the Cup and medals in an event
in which a thousand runners took part was no small feat.
In the world of "Rugger" the Battalion's career was one triumphal
march, but the end accomplished cannot be summed up in figures,
adverse or the reverse. As for "Soccer" the successive achievements of
the Battalion are recorded in every number of _The Outpost_. Minor
struggles and conquests are recalled and rejoiced in, but the glory of
carrying off another Divisional Cup will never be forgotten by those
who witnessed the fray. Progress to the final of the event was not
easy, and the final was a particularly hard fought game, and though
the Battalion won, it was felt that equal honours were due to the
vanquished for their good play and sportsmanship.
In the Boxing World, the name of Corporal George Barrie, will be ever
green in the memory of all Seventeenth men; and the honour brought to
the Battalion by his pupil, Pte. Cushley, in winning two Divisional
Cups for Boxing, can be looked upon as a fitting tribute to Barrie,
the man who played the game even unto death.
Altogether the Seventeenth has much to be proud of in its athletic
record, and in future days when those of the Battalion sit round and
tell of the things which are theirs, which they won also at great
cost, their prowess in the field will not be among the least; for it
played no insignificant part in the making of the Battalion which,
although disbanded, has remained, both in name and in comradeship,
still the Seventeenth.