Where did they come from?

[REMEVMBEA1]

I was looking at the post regarding the 104th (Westminster ) Canadian regiment and it set me to wondering , Where did the come from? In 1912 the population of Canada was roughly 12 million , assuming that roughly half of those were women the number of regiments raised is quite simply amazing.

[GregN]

That's a great question, the population of Canada was quite small, the geography immense. Parts of Canada were well populated like Southern Ontario and Quebec but other areas were almost outposts in the wilderness. In general, most of the business and skilled workers were expats from the UK, patriotism was fairly high.

The Canadian government was keen to exert some control over the "hinterlands and this resulted in the formation of military units throughout Canada. This whole process was a result of US expansionistic tendencies after the war of 1812 and the notion of Manifest Destiny. There was a real concern by the new nation of Canada (and Britain) that the Americans might invade Canada so a patchwork of units was established to be a national representation of Canada and Britain throughout Canada. The concern were most high immediately after the end of the US Civil War and the advent of the Fenian raids in 1866 and 1870. There was also concern the US might also take advantage of open borders and a small government footprint in the Canadian west to annex what is now Western Canada. The Crown's solution was the formation of military units in the east and west, a national railway to connect the two populations and a national police force to exert British/Canadian law (NWMP).

The units were sometimes very small (but active) or on paper only when the local population was too small to support the unit. This is a VERY simplistic explanation of the Canadian Militia at the turn of the century and there are many books on the formation of the Canadian Army over the years. "We Stand On Guard - an Illustrated History of the Canadian Army" by Martinson (ISBN 2-89429-043-8) and "Compendium of Canadian Regiments - A Civilian's Perspective" by Gregory (ISBN-0-9688562-0-9) are two of many books on the subject.


Cheers,

Greg

[Bill A]

To add to Greg's explanation. The Northwest Mounted Police were originally intended to be a cavalry unit to be sent to the Northwest Territories to suppress the ambitions of both Americans who were migrating north and the First Nations who were expressing tendancies contrary to the government of Canada. But Ottawa was not comfortable with sending an identified military unit to the west. They thought it would be interpreted as an aggressiive act by the US and may lead to further animosity. To avoid these issues, they decided to camoflage the unit with a simple designation change. But the NWMP wore scarlet uniforms and were trained as cavalry had some equipment as per the scale of issue for British cavalry.
In another aspect, most localities were desirous of having a military unit. IF a local group demonstrated that they could provide the officers and local support they were granted authority to raise a unit. Most of these local units startes as rifles companies. These were the cheapest and easiest equip and organize. If the companies demonstrated efficiency and / or sufficient local patronage they were granted battalion status. Battalions were later re-designated as regiments of infantry. (Circa 1900).

[Peter Brydon]

Bill and Greg,

Great posts which explain the beginnings of the Canadian Army.

After recent research on my family tree, I have begun to realise just how much the world was changing from the 1850`s onwards and the start of much of what we recognise ( and a lot of what is disappearing ) today.

Peter

[Phillip Herring]

In the case of New Westminster, the earliest militia/volunteer unit in the colony of British Columbia was the New Westminster Rifle Volunteers, authorized in 1863 and succeeded by No 1 Company New Westminster Rifles.
Of interest is the three members of The Royal Engineers who had remained in Canada and were members of the new unit.

Harley, Robert M. Editor in Chief. For King and Country 150 Years of The Royal Westminster Regiment. Vivalogue Publishing, New Westminster. 2012.

[GregN]

Of course Phil, I forgot Rob's book! Harley, Robert M. Editor in Chief. For King and Country 150 Years of The Royal Westminster Regiment. Vivalogue Publishing, New Westminster. 2012.

This book is unique in that it's written by a collector now curator. As a result, many of the local myths as to what was worn and when are dispelled by Rob's collector eye, backed up the museums photo archives. It's a great read!

Greg