THE GREAT WAR PERIOD
The year 1914 gave us in history the spectacle of world-wide sword play,
the rattle of machine-guns, and the roar of heavy artillery, along with
an unprecedented loss of human life. It saw the British Empire, taken
unprepared save for the Grand Fleet, hurling itself against the most
colossal war machinery the world had ever seen assembled by one nation.
And it saw this because Britain, pledged by a "scrap of paper,"
ordinarily called a treaty, to preserve the undamaged neutrality of
Belgium against Germany or any one else, counted no cost too great for
the maintenance of her sacred honour. But that fateful year saw our men
not only on the field of struggle, but witnessed our people, whom the
necessities of the case forced to remain behind, steadily keeping the
wheels of industry turning at the base of supply, preventing internal
discord and maintaining the integrity of the country unbroken, despite
hostile influences that were at work. It is a common expression that
when the Empire is at war Canada is at war. That saying has been proven
again and again till it has become an undisputed axiom. It had been
demonstrated before 1914, and then demonstrated again, till it needs no
further proof. It is part of the Empire's history that the far-flung
colonies of Britain are at her side when danger threatens their mother.
Hence, at the sound of the war trumpet, Canadians rushed to the Colours.
Amongst the first who desired to be sent to the Front after the general
call had gone out were the Royal North-West Mounted Police, who hoped to
go as a unit. The request was made at the outset, renewed in 1917 and
1918. But the Canadian Government, fully aware of certain conditions in
the country, not only refused this request, but ordered that the Mounted
Police should be reinforced by the enlistment of 500 more men for
important duty in Canada.
What those duties were could easily be gathered from the general
situation. At the beginning, the United States did not go into the war,
and the authorities there, who have always worked in friendly
co-operation with our Police, intimated that there was a good deal of
pro-enemy activity amongst alien elements south of the line. The
American authorities would not knowingly allow their country to become
the base of hostile operations against us, but, as in the case of the
Fenian raids into Canada, it was possible for enemies along a 3,000-mile
border to elude them and cross over to make serious trouble for us.
Hence it was necessary that an experienced body of men should patrol the
boundary region, and the riders of the plains were the only men who
could carry out that task.
Later on, when the United States entered the war, this work became
unnecessary, but there was still special need for the vigilance of this
famous corps, whose great record and prestige gave such unique authority
to their presence in any locality that nothing more was necessary. There
were 175,000 German and Austrian settlers in the prairie sections of
Canada, a quite formidable army if mobilized. It was specially necessary
that the Government of the country, backed by visible authority, should
see that this large number of people was prevented from making any
hostile demonstrations against the flag under whose shelter they had
sought new homes. And it was equally desirable and British to see that
these immigrants, as long as they observed and respected the laws and
institutions of the country whose citizens they had become, should not
be irritated or persecuted by perfervid and unthinking loyalists. An
immigrant cannot help his racial origin, and if the country has thrown
open its doors to his coming to help in its development, and if he
becomes a law-abiding Canadian, he is entitled to protection. To the
credit of all concerned, it is good to be able to say that there was no
trouble worth noting. There were some tried and convicted for seditious
utterances, but, generally speaking, they were not of alien race.
Doubtless the German in the middle west of Canada was glad to be away
from the cast-iron military system of his Fatherland, and the Austrian
was pleased to be out of the "ramshackle Empire"; while at the same
time, the Canadians around, like true British men, were willing to let
these immigrants make good in this land of the second chance. But both
were helped in their good intentions by the tact and firmness of the
riders in scarlet and gold.
Besides all that, the Government knew perfectly well that a time of war
is fruitful in opportunity for the man who wishes to upset human society
by revolutionary methods. Hosts of the cool-headed thinking men are away
at such a time, and in the general confusion the faddist and the
anarchist get a chance to put their theories into practice. But, as
Thomas Carlyle said, "It costs too much to have a revolution strike on
the horologe of time to tell the world what o'clock it is"; and so it
was important that destructive movements should be held in check. And,
accordingly, the Dominion authorities felt that the Mounted Police
should be on the ground. Further, in order that the Mounted Police could
have an oversight of conditions and situations which, though more
pronounced at some points, were in reality nation-wide, the Dominion
Government decided that absorbing the Dominion Police, the famous Royal
North-West Mounted Police should have their jurisdiction extended over
the whole of Canada, from the Yukon and the Arctic clear across to the
Atlantic coast. This involved the moving of headquarters from Regina to
the seat of Government at Ottawa, the placing of detachments all over
Canada, and the substitution of the word "Canadian" for the words
"North-West" in the title of the corps. This change in the title gave to
the "old-timers" who had served in the Force, and to us who had known it
under the old name, a sort of sentimental shock, and was the subject of
several protests, but it soon became apparent that the change of name
was the necessary accompaniment of the extension of jurisdiction. It
would be manifestly improper to retain the limited territorial
designation of "North-West" when the territory to be covered by the
Force was from sea to sea. In fact, the changes as to title and
jurisdiction now commend themselves to all who study the whole
situation, and credit in this connection is due to the Hon. N. W.
Rowell, who, as the governmental head of the Force and a great admirer
of its work, brought these changes to pass.
There was some discussion in the House of Commons when the changes above
mentioned were proposed. But in answer to questions as to the necessity
for the change being made in extending the jurisdiction of the Mounted
Police and placing detachments all over the country East as well as
West, Mr. Rowell gave clear and cogent reasons. It was pointed out by
him that there had been for years a Dominion Police Force, under Sir
Percy Sherwood, and that, as this Dominion Force was now absorbed by the
Mounted Police, there was no duplication of law administration agencies.
Broadly speaking, the Mounted Police have to discharge most important
duties all over Canada for all branches of the Federal Government in
seeing the laws observed in which the Federal Government is particularly
interested, because these laws relate to the public revenue or to
special Departments of Dominion administration. Thus, for instance, the
Mounted Police have to investigate all matters in which Federal property
is lost or misappropriated; they have to assist the Customs Department
in preventing the all-too-common crime of smuggling, and the Department
of Inland Revenue in regard to illicit liquor traffic. They have to
co-operate with the Department of Indian affairs, and the Department of
Colonization and Immigration in regard to the admission of citizens who
may or may not be desirable, and also look into all matters connected
with the nationalization of aliens. And more than once of late the
Dominion Department of Agriculture has asked the assistance of the
Mounted Police in stamping out epidemics amongst stock.
And that the placing of the Mounted Police all over Canada was opportune
is evidenced by the fact that, under the guise of legitimate strikes,
movements were begun which led to a sort of reign of terror in some
communities, and in connection with which the real motive of some who
manipulated them was shown, by evidence convincing to Judges and Juries,
to be nothing short of seditious conspiracy to overthrow the
constitutional government of this country. Incriminating papers were
found in many Canadian cities in the possession of many who were
suspected of sedition. And a curious thing arose when these suspected
men raised their voices in appeal to the very law of the land which they
had been denouncing to protect them from prosecution. Or, as
Commissioner Perry, who gave very special and serious study to the whole
situation, says: "Appeal is made by these men to British fair play to
protect them in their efforts to destroy British fair play."
Winnipeg was chosen by the agitators as the storm centre of their
movement, and it began in the shape of a strike by the metal-workers,
led by radicals of a pronounced type, who used the strike idea to
further their revolutionary aims, and who devoted themselves to bringing
about a general sympathetic strike in order to paralyse the business of
the city and thus help their enterprise. The radicals succeeded in
securing a general strike even to the post office staff and mail clerks,
and this led to similar sympathetic movements in Brandon, Saskatoon,
Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver. No doubt a great many in the various
organizations going on strike acted honestly with the idea in their
minds that the Winnipeg movement was of a genuine type and for usual and
legitimate purposes. But the leaders at that point showed their real aim
plainly when they started to take the control of the city out of the
hands of the Mayor and Council, and indicated by printed cards that the
only industries that would be allowed to continue were those that would
run "by permission of the Strike Committee." Winnipeg was about the last
city that would stand dictation from any other than their own elected
representatives, and so citizens organized themselves to withstand the
methods of the radicals and to uphold properly constituted authority. It
was a critical hour in the history of that city and the whole of Canada.
The Mounted Police that were in Winnipeg in pursuance of the policy of
distribution over the whole Dominion were under the competent command of
Superintendent Starnes, who, as we have seen, had done important work in
the Yukon, Hudson's Bay and prairie districts, and was known as a man of
experience and sound judgment in emergencies. The Mounted Police did not
interfere in the "strike," except by taking steps to protect life and
property, and to see that public services, such as the carrying and
distribution of His Majesty's mails, were not hindered. But on the 21st
of June, 1919, the Mayor, being unable to cope with the situation,
called for the assistance of the Mounted Police to prevent a parade of
thousands who were defying the city authorities. Thereupon fifty-four
mounted men, under Inspectors Proby and Mead, with thirty-six men in
trucks, under Sergt.-Major Griffin, were sent out from barracks,
Commissioner Perry, as well as Superintendent Starnes, being present
with the Attorney-General of Manitoba. A reserve was held in barracks,
under Sergt.-Major Greenway, but it was not required.
It did not take the mounted men of the old corps long to get control of
the situation, though they were only a handful. When they arrived on the
scene near the City Hall, they were received with showers of stones,
shots and other missiles. But they maintained their reputation for
restraint, and it was not till two of the men were in danger, through
their horses falling and through a charge from the mob, that the officer
commanding the Mounted Force gave the order to draw their revolvers and
use them. This had the desired effect of clearing the street and of
dispersing the rioters. Some sixteen of the Mounted Police were wounded
with missiles, while on the other side one foreigner was killed, one
fatally wounded, and several others hurt. This shows that the Mounted
Police preserved their reputation for refraining from taking the
aggressive until there was no other course open. But from that day the
"strike" lost its strength. Hundreds of the strikers began to see
through the real aims of their radical leaders and returned to work. A
few days later the "strike" was officially called "off," and the
sympathetic movements in the other cities died at the same time, to the
general relief of all concerned. Events of a somewhat similar kind were
happening sporadically here and there during the war period, and they
still appear occasionally. We may get to a stage where government is not
required in an angelic state of human society. But so long as there
remains a proportion of human beings who glory in disorder and revolt
against lawful authority in a democratic country like ours, where people
through their elected representatives really make their own laws, there
will be need for the men in scarlet and gold to preserve the peace, to
prevent wanton damage to necessary industries, to protect human life,
and generally to prevent society from sliding into the abyss of chaos.
We have emphasized at several points in this story the efforts made by
the Mounted Police to get into the war from the outset. And we have
indicated the grounds on which the Government declined to allow them to
go abroad, when the situation at home demanded their presence. Of
course, many of the Police, probably not less than a thousand, in
various ways, by resigning individually or buying discharge, or by
virtue of their term of enlistment lapsing, had managed to get away to
the war during the years before a unit from the Force was permitted to
go overseas. These men served with great distinction on many fields of
the colossal conflict. In the House of Commons, the Hon. N. W. Rowell,
in speaking on the subject, said: "I wish I had time to tell the House
of some of the deeds of those gallant men. I will only mention two. The
famous Michael O'Leary, V.C., was one of the North-West Mounted Police,
and he set a standard for courage and bravery during the early days of
the war which many other gallant soldiers have since emulated. The
other, a constable in the ranks for two years--Constable Parkes, a young
man now twenty-seven years of age. In 1915 he purchased his discharge to
go to the front; he rose to the command of the 116th Battalion, C.E.F.,
and won the V.C., the D.S.O., and La Croix de Guerre. He proved himself
an officer of the highest efficiency, and has been selected by the
Canadian Corps to attend the staff college. I might mention other
members of the Force and the gallant service they have rendered, but
time does not permit. I should also mention that ex-members of the
Force--that is, men who had served on the Force--provided our Canadian
Army overseas with two major-generals, four brigade-generals, and
colonels, majors and captains by the score. It shows the type of men who
are serving in our Royal North-West Mounted Police." And one thinks at
once in this connection of such men as that old campaigner and
ex-Policeman, the late Sir Samuel B. Steele, who went over in command of
the Second Division, but whose health, undermined by an injury on the
way, did not permit him to lead his men in the field; of that dashing
and distinguished Cavalry Officer, Sir Archibald Macdonnell, now
Commandant at Kingston, and of Brigadier-General Ketchen, who came up
from the ranks, and of many others. And then Mr. Rowell went on to say:
"All the sons, of military age, of the present and past officers have
served overseas, and no less than ten officers' sons died on the
battlefield. The son of the first man who joined the Force in 1873 is an
honourable and gallant member of this House--Brigadier-General Griesbach
(of Edmonton), who has rendered such distinguished service in this war.
He is one of the many gallant officers, sons of members of the Force who
have served overseas."
One would like to place special stress on the way in which the sons and
even the daughters of the first generation of the Mounted Police kept up
the great tradition of their fathers, who had instilled into them that
devotion to duty and that desire to maintain the right which made the
old Force so well known in every part of the world. The names of these
gallant young men and women are found in practically every unit of
service in the Great War as combatants, nurses and so on, all showing
that blood tells, and that the theory of heredity can find in such cases
a real and indisputable demonstration.
And, while touching upon this phase, let me also mention that another
unique tribute to the way in which the Force got hold of the imagination
and enlisted the devotion of those who served in its ranks, is the fact
that ex-members all over Canada organized in evidence of their desire to
support the parent body in any crisis that may arise. Several hundred of
these men, experienced in every detail of the work and trained to the
minute, left their occupations and put themselves at the disposal of the
Commissioner during the war, when the Force was depleted by enlistments
for the front. Any organization that can thus count on the assistance of
its former members in the hour of need, must have had elements in it
that appealed to the best qualities of real men. Hence we find that the
war and the social unrest called into being Police Veterans'
Associations, whose aim is to continue the traditions of the corps, and
whose members hold themselves at the service of the Government of Canada
whenever required. In other words, anyone who tries to play "rough
house" where these veterans' associations exist will have to reckon with
the "old boys," who once wore the unforgettable scarlet and gold. And
what is here said of the men is equally true of the wives and mothers
and sisters of the riders of the Western plains.
But one of the most conclusive pieces of evidence as to the real quality
of the men of the Mounted Police was given when, in those dark and
deadly-looking days near the close of the war, the British Government
let it be known that another cavalry unit from Canada would be
acceptable. A call was placed before the Mounted Police to provide
reinforcements for the Canadian Cavalry Brigade, which had suffered
serious losses, and also to furnish a squadron to add as a distinct
Police unit to the Cavalry Corps. In one sense it was not a good time to
appeal for recruits. The allied army was fighting with its back to the
wall. Our cavalry brigade had been decimated and all along the line our
men were falling--
"Grimly dying, still unconquered
With their faces to the foe."
But every man in the Mounted Police wanted to go and help hold that
line. Five hundred men were desired, but there was a rush, and before
word could be got out by wire to stop recruiting, over 700, including
some ex-members, had enlisted and had to be accepted.
This contingent was divided into four squadrons, the whole coming, of
course, under orders of the Militia Department as part of the C.E.F.,
and on May 19, 1918, the following order was issued from Militia
Headquarters at Ottawa: "The following provisional appointments of
Officers in the C.E.F. are authorized: To be Major, Inspector G. L.
Jennings; to be Captain, Inspector H. M. Newson; to be Lieutenants,
Inspectors A. B. Allard, A. E. Acland, Thomas Dann, S. T. Wood, J. McD.
Tupper, W. C. Proby, C. H. King, Denis Ryan, C. D. La Nauze, H.
Townsend, Sergts.-Major T. H. Irvine, F. J. Mead, R. H. L. MacDowell."
These were all Officers and Sergts.-Major in the R.N.W.M. Police, and
were recommended by the Commissioner for the positions named.
Inspectors Jennings, Allard and Newson have since been promoted
Superintendents, and Sergts.-Major Irvine and Mead have been granted
commissions in the Force. Putting the draft into regular military form
as a provisional Regiment, it was composed of four Squadrons and
Headquarters Staff as follows:--To command the overseas Cavalry Draft
and special Squadron, Major G. L. Jennings; to be second in command,
Captain H. M. Newson; to be Acting Adjutant, Lieutenant R. H. L.
MacDowell; to be Acting Regimental Sergt.-Major, Sergt.-Major G. F.
Griffin; to be Acting Regimental Quartermaster-Sergeant, Staff-Sergeant
A. H. L. Mellor (since promoted Inspector).
Squadron Officers: "A" Squadron--Lieutenants A. B. Allard (in command),
H. Townsend and F. J. Mead. "B" Squadron--Lieutenants T. Dann (in
command), S. T. Wood and D. Ryan. "C" Squadron--Lieutenants W. C.
Proby (in command), C. D. La Nauze, and J. McD. Tupper. "D"
Squadron--Lieutenants C. H. King (in command), A. E. Acland and T. H.
Irvine. Also to be Acting Sergts.-Major of the above Squadrons in order
named, the following Mounted Police N.C.O.'s, viz.:--Sergts.-Major W. A.
Edgenton, C. R. Peters, C. F. Fletcher and F. E. Spriggs. The whole
draft was taken on the strength of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, and
all members who were actively connected with the Mounted Police were on
leave of absence from their corps until they would be demobilized on
return to Canada.
On reaching England the men of the contingent were pretty well scattered
by being assigned for duty with various units, but, finally, the Mounted
Police Squadron to be attached to the Canadian Light Horse was sent over
to France, arriving, to their disappointment, too late to take part in
the Battle of Cambrai, where cavalry played a conspicuous part. But
Major Jennings was requested to detail some of his men for "Dispatch
Riding" in the 2nd and 3rd Canadian Divisions. Lieutenant Dann with 2nd
Troop was sent to the 2nd Canadian Division, and Lieutenant Wood with
3rd Troop was sent to the 3rd Canadian Division, and remained there till
the Armistice was signed. This was dangerous and difficult front-line
work, and was done to the entire satisfaction of the Division
Commanders, as was to be expected when the riders of the plains were on
duty. The Squadron also furnished every day N.C.O.'s and men to go to
different points immediately back of the front line to collect prisoners
of war, and escort them to the different camps. And one who knows the
record of the Mounted Police needs not to be told that not one prisoner
escaped from their custody in France, Belgium and Germany. On October
28, probably in recognition of the thoroughness with which these trained
and disciplined men from the Canadian plains had carried out every duty
that had been assigned them, orders were issued that the Mounted Police
were to be detached from the Canadian Light Horse and become an
independent unit, to be known as the Royal North-West Mounted Police
Squadron. This was the situation up to the Armistice, when the
dispatch-riding troops, under Lieutenants Dann and Wood, rejoined the
Squadron. Instructions came to have a troop sent to Mons, to be there at
the triumphal entry, but this was found impossible. The horses of the
dispatch-riding troops were completely fagged out with their strenuous
work, another troop was on prisoners-of-war service, while the horses of
the fourth were unshod and could not make the 32 kilos. over the paved
road to Mons. Later, Acland's troop went on duty to a point near Bonn,
in Germany, and Lieutenants King and Allard were sent on special service
into Belgium. Things were in much confusion, and the presence of the
scarlet riders seemed to give the people satisfaction.
The whole Squadron was kept busy at various points till December, when
the Canadian Government, realizing that conditions at home demanded the
presence of these recognized champions of law and order, sent a cable
recalling the Mounted Police to duty in Canada. There was much to be
done in the way of detail arrangements, gathering up the scattered
members out of other units, re-enlisting for service in Canada, but in
due course, after having added another highly creditable page to the
history of the corps, the Squadron reached Winnipeg.
It was rather a striking coincidence that at the very time when Winnipeg
was boiling over with red radicalism, this Canadian Mounted Police unit,
that had been on service at the Front, arrived in that city. Things
being as they were at that point, the Commissioner had Jenning's command
detrain there. For some days they were held in reserve in the barracks,
and no doubt the presence of these seasoned and disciplined men had a
reassuring influence on good citizens, and a very deterrent effect upon
the lawless advocates of violence and sedition. Their active
participation was not necessary, and so they continued out into the
various detachments all over the West and North. It is interesting to
know that at the time of this writing Major (Superintendent) Jennings,
who knows the vast North-land and its perils well, is in command of the
Mounted Police at Edmonton, the front gateway to the new oil-fields.
These men will see that human life and property are as safe there as in
any part of Canada. The "gunman" and the disorderly and the lewd
exploiter of camps and frontiers will not get into the country at all,
and the unfit and unprepared and unequipped, however respectable, will
be saved from the reckless folly that would send them on a wild rush
into a country whose perils they do not know.
In summing up his report of the Overseas Squadron, Major Jennings
indicates that the fine reputation for good behaviour made by the
Mounted Police when in the Old Land, at Coronation or Jubilee
celebrations, was fully maintained amid the temptations incident to war.
He says, "The moral conduct of the men was most satisfactory." In regard
to matters of discipline he states: "To my knowledge there was not one
member of the Overseas Cavalry Draft brought before a Court Martial. The
offences were few and of a minor character, mostly due to ignorance in
new surroundings, but the principal reason for the small number of
offences was without doubt due to the discipline enforced by the old
N.C.O.'s of the Force." "Sergeant What's-his-name" has always been one
of the mainstays of the Army. And the Major adds: "No charge was ever
brought against an officer." A good record in war.
In noting men's services, Major Jennings says: "Where all ranks showed
such a spirit of loyalty to the unit and to the Force and such
determination to do their duty, it is difficult to single out individual
cases." This is fine, but there are some always who have special
opportunities for service come their way, and so the Major specially
mentions Captain H. M. Newson, Lieutenants Acland, Allard, Dann, Wood
and MacDowell; and amongst the N.C.O.'s, Mellor, Darling, Edgenton,
Peters, Fletcher, Spriggs and Hogan. The Major recommends for decoration
Sergeant C. A. James, a highly efficient man who, while on
dispatch-riding duty, captured single-handed five of the enemy and
brought them into camp. Also Constable A. Brooker, a dispatch rider, who
took a pack horse with telephone wire through heavy shell and
machine-gun fire to advance Headquarters, thus enabling them to send
back valuable information. Finally, Major Jennings expresses his own
obligation for having been given the command, but his heart is with the
corps, and he says: "No officer would ask to command a finer body of
men. The high standard of discipline inculcated through years in the
Force was adhered to throughout."
It will be recalled that shortly before the Armistice date it was
thought that Canada ought to be represented, as well as the Americans
and the Japanese, up in that perplexing land of Russia. Accordingly, a
squadron of cavalry, to be known as "B" Squadron R.N.W.P., Siberia, was
authorized. The officers were all of well-known names in Mounted Police
annals, being:
Major in Command: George Stanley Worsley.
Captain, Second in Command: Arthur William Duffus.
Lieutenants: Richard Young Douglas, Thomas Mulock Belcher (now
Superintendent), Frank Henry French, Thomas Caulkin.
Of these French, of the famous Bathurst Inlet patrol, related in the
next chapter, was prevented by illness from going, and was replaced by
Sergt.-Major Wilcox. Caulkin, whom we met before in this story in the
vast spaces of the Arctic, was awarded about this time the King's Police
Medal for service in that white North-land.
This Siberian Squadron passed through some trying experience by reason
of epidemics, and by reason also of the unsettled conditions in
Vladivostok and other points where they were quartered. They passed
through train wrecks at the hands of Bolshevists, and various other
exciting experiences. And Constable Pilkington, who penetrated into the
interior of the country, gives some vivid stories of Bolshevik exploits.
The Squadron did its whole duty, and did it well, but in a few months
the Canadian Government decided to withdraw from the Russian situation,
and so recalled the Force to duty in the Dominion, after an absence of
several months in the enigmatic land.
Thus, whether amid the puzzling problems of the war period in the
homeland, or in the face of new situations abroad, did the riders of the
plains, to the full extent of their opportunity, make their usual
thorough-going contribution to Canada's part in the making of human
history. East, West, North or South, they have always answered the call
to duty. In a word, they have always been on active service.