CMPC | Lokka's History Project

The CMPC in New York

Posted on May 20, 2018 by Jlokka

As previously stated, the CMPC’s primary mission was to enforce conscription. In New York, the first head of station ensured that the media, and the American public, believed his mission was broader. The British Assistant Provost Marshal meant to apprehend fakers, deserters and other “undesirables”. That first head of station was Lt. Col Frederick Fraser Hunter, who arrived in March, 1918.

The British Assistant Provost Marshal (B.A.P.M) headquarters was located near Battery Park, New York City with 50 personnel assigned. This placed the headquarters well south of the BCMR’s main office on 681 fifth avenue, but within easy reach of the main recruiting office on 280 Broadway. Canada and Britian split funding for the B.A.P.M. Additionally, USA, Canada and Britian entered into a tri-party agreement on authorities. The B.A.P.M was the first foreign law enforcement authorized to operate in the United States. Moreso, the United States supported and assisted the B.A.P.M.

From various newspaper articles, The B.A.P.M prosecuted at least four cases. One case involved two Americans who volunteered for the Royal Canadian Air Corps. They were declared deserters when they returned to Viriginia after the dissolution of the Air Corps in 1916. (Note: The Air Corps was reconstituted in 1917.) However, most of the cases were fakers.

Fakers posed as British officers with great military deeds and attempted to cash large cheques from Canadian banks. Usually, the faker would get a free meal, a free night’s stay, and some of the cash. The newspapers ran a few stories about these fakers and how they were caught by the B.A.P.M.

As for Col. Hunter, he led a storied and controversial life. Born in 1876 in Dunham, Ontario, Canada, he traveled the world in service of the empire. Hunter earned distinction during his survey mission in India and during his time with the South Perisan Rifles. Because of his Canadian background, he was the B.A.P.M. until April, 1919 when most of Canada’s war aparatuses were dismantled.

In 1919, the B.A.P.M. transitioned from Canadian to British hands. Besides the name change to British Army Provost Marshal, the replacement head of mission became Col. Norman G. Thwaites. Oddly enough, his courtship and marriage to Elleanor Whitridge Greenough made significant news. Unfortunately, not much appears to have been written about the B.A.P.M. under his direction.

The CMPC office in New York requires more research. Considering LtCol Hunter traveled most of the eastern seaboard of the United States, a question lingers about his true purpose. Additionally, what was the effectiveness of the New York office. Exact numbers on prosecutions were not listed in the Report on enforcement of the Military Service Act (MSA). However, the report on the Overseas Mission explicitly called out the MSA enforcement numbers as unverifiable. As result, I am unable to confidently determine the effectiveness or exact mission of the B.A.P.M. and Lt Col Fraser Hunter.

To note, Col Fraser died in Dunham, Ontario in 1959. Itt appears he married a Kate Upper in New York around 1903. More of his story can be found in the book “Kipling’s Canadian: Colonel Fraser Hunter, MPP, maverick soldier surveyor in ‘the Great Game'”.

The British Canadian Recruiting Mission

Posted on May 3, 2018 by Jlokka

The British Canadian Recruiting Mission (BCRM) operated under the British War Office (abbreviated WO or W.O. in personnel records). The War Office was also known as the British War Mission. The BCRM was created to recruit British subjects in the United States for service in the C.E.F. However, the BCRM was only one component of the War Office.

The BCRM spread across the U.S.A, but the focus is on New York City. Based upon a few sources, the BCRM in NYC consisted at least ten personnel with two primary offices. The following personnel were assigned or connected to the BCRM:

B.Gen Wilfred Arthur White. A British General associated with the Connaught Rangers
LtCol Cameron Alex Warren: Canadian. Chief Medical Examiner
LtCol Campbell Arthur Stuart: French-Canadian. Military Secretary. Connaught Rangers
Capt Paul FleetFord Sise: Canadian. Director of Recruiting. Hon. Major.
Capt Francis Chattan Stephens: Canadian.
Capt Alexander Cunningham Tweedie: Canadian.
Lt. Frederick Albert Gunther: British.
Lt Thomas Edward Allen: Irish
J.W. Woods: Canadian. Civilian. Director of Purchasing
George Algernon Trenholme: French-Canadian. Civilian. Audit and Finance

While there are two primary locations, some locations are still being validated. Here are the locations:

681 Fifth Avenue: Suspected to be BCRM and War Office HQ.
280 Broadway: BCRM Recruiting station
511 Fifth Avenue: Unverified location
120 Broadway: Unverified location. Possibly purchasing offices.
Vanderbilt Hotel: a location listed for Capt Paul SISE. Unverified association to BRMC

So, here’s the real teaser. The BCRM was home to a CMPC Assistant Provost Marshal (APM) who was in charge of about 50 personnel. I don’t think this included the Royal Flying Corps APM and three subordinates for NYC. There’s clearly more to this story. For example, there’s an interesting New York Times article from 1918 on the Provost Marshal office. However, this APM is in direct support to the BCRM with authorization to enforce the Military Service Act, 1917.

Sources:
1. Who’s Who in the British War Mission in the United States of America, 1917 (Google Book: https://tinyurl.com/y9ohlt8n)
2. Richard Holt (2015) “British Blood Calls British Blood The British-Canadian Recruiting Mission of 1917-1918,” Canadian Military History: Vol. 22: Iss. 1, Article 4. Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/cmh/vol22/iss1/4
3. Library Archive Canada CEF record for Cameron Alexander Warren (RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 10104 – 1): http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/personnel-records/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=298860
4. Library Archive Canada CEF record for Campbell Arthur Stuart (RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 9393 – 20): http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/personnel-records/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=256894
5. Library Archive Canada CEF record for Francis Chattan Stephens (RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 9272 – 22): http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/personnel-records/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=250011
6. Library Archive Canada CEF record for Alex Cunningham Tweedie (RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 9855 – 10): http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/personnel-records/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=282067
7. Library Archive Canada CEF record for Paul Fleetford Sise (RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 8952 – 28):http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/personnel-records/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=232053
8. Expense of Assistance of Provost Marshal in New York to be divided between the British and Canadian Governments (RG24-C-1-a. Volume/box number: 1008. File number: HQ-54-21-23-116): http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/CollectionSearch/Pages/record.aspx?app=fonandcol&IdNumber=1886766

Additional Sources:
1. Caledonian Vol 18 (Google Book: https://tinyurl.com/ycemq8gy)

Canadian Military Police: Organizational Structure

Posted on April 25, 2018 by Jlokka

I like to understand the organizational relationships, both horizontally and vertically, of the subject. Besides, I thought this was a task that I had nearly completed. Little did I realize how convoluted and entangled the relationships were between the Police units (C.M.P.C., Dominion, R.N.W.M.P) and the ministries. Furthermore, some positions, like the Minister of Aviation, I haven’t been able to verify. With that, here is a look at the relationships between the Ministries and Policing elements of Canada and the Military Services Act, 1917.

Timeline of Canadian Federal Police forces

Canadian Special Police Forces Timeline

Posted on April 21, 2018 by Jlokka

As promised, I’ve completed the first draft of a little timeline project on the various “special” police forces of Canada. By “special police force”, I mean those policing entities with a federal mandate. Some police entities may have only had provincial authorities, but were merged into a federal police force. I believe that only the Newfoundland Ranger force falls into that category. While building this timeline, I noticed a few oddities between widely published times and the 1919 report on the operations of the Military Service Act. The discrepancies are enough that it warrants indepth research. For now, the timeline follows the more commonly known timelines.

Here is the list police entities covered by the timeline:

Dominion Police (1868 – 1920): Primarily used to provide protection to federal buildings and persons. They had enforcement powers of arrest and fingerprinting.
North-West Mounted Police (1873 – 1904): Frontier enforcement in the NorthWest Territories.
Royal North-West Mounted Police (1904 – 1920): Extension of the NWMP. The addition of “Royal” by King Edward VII for heroism in the Second Boer War.
Canadian Military Police Corps (Military) (1917 – 1920): CMPC was stood up to enforce the Military Service Act, 1917.
Canadian Military Police Corps (Civil) (1918 – 1920): A Special Dominion Police force to apprehend defaulters, who were outside the purview of CMPC. Dominion Police, RNWMP and CMPC (Civil Branch) merged to create RCMP
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (1920 – Present): ’nuff said.
Canadian Provost Corps (1939 – 1968): When the CMPC disbanded, there was no centralized military police force. Each unit alloted soldiers to play provost. The Canadian Provost Corps stood up at the outset of WWII to fill the gap left by the CMPC.
1st Provost Company (RCMP) (1939 – 1945): one of two companies created when the Provost Corps was established. The RCMP was ordered to supply the unit strength for the 1st Provost Company, which was reabsorbed by the RCMP on 18 Oct 1945.
Newfoundland Ranger Force (1935 – 1949): Newfoundland did not immediately join the confederation of Canada. The Dominion of Newfoundland created the Newfoundland Rangers, which were modeled after the RCMP. When Newfoundland joined the Confederation of Canada, the Rangers merged with the RCMP.
Canadian Armed Forces Military Police (1968 – Present): Established when the Canadian military unified it forces into the Canadian Armed Forces. Each branch had an independent police force which merged into the CAF (or CF) military police. (NOTE: I haven’t looked into Canadian military police forces beyond WWI. Furthermore, I only have cursory knowledge of non-CMPC military police forces.)

Most of the years aren’t important. I included them as mainly filler. I will add highlights for Boer, WWI, WWII, and possibly a few other key dates.

Sources:
1. RCMP: http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/history-rcmp
2. Newfoundland Ranger Force: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newfoundland_Ranger_Force
3. Dominion Police: http://mpmuseum.org/ww1dominion.html
4. North-West Mounted Police: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North-West_Mounted_Police
5. Canadian Provost Corps: http://canadianprovostcorps.ca/history-0.htm
6. Operations of the Military Service Act, 1917 (pg 21-22): https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112049607077;view=1up;seq=34

Additional Resources:
1. Dominion Police: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominion_Police
2. Canadian Provost Corps: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Provost_Corps#Canadian_Military_Police_Corps

Background & Future: The CMPC

Posted on April 17, 2018 by Jlokka

While I’m trying to get caught up on my reading, I thought I would provide background on this Canadian Military Police Corps (CMPC) history project. Additionally, I wanted to provide what questions I am hoping to answer, or rather, where is this whole thing going anyway.

As stated in the first post, I purchased a news spread of Rockcliffe Camp as a Thank You gift. The honored persons are retired Ontario Provincial Police. So, I thought it would be a good gift when I saw the photos of the CMPC trainers. However, I didn’t want to leave them with just the photo. I wanted to provide some context to the men in the photo.

As I was just starting to learn about the depots, training pipelines and flow of men from Canada to the front in France, Richard Holt’s book, “Filling the Ranks”, was released. I haven’t finished reading it, but it has provided very fascinating insights. The book covers a lot of the larger issues on recruiting and manpower in Canada during WWI. Interestingly enough, Holt didn’t address enforcement, but he did address, in general terms, the shift from voluntary to conscription (Military Service Act, 1917).

Holt highlights the recession in Canada in 1914 and 1915 as one of the reasons for success in rapidly recruiting. From personal experience, economy ebbs and flow are major influences on military recruiting. In Ontario, Paul Maroney added to this with a study on how a “decentralized recruiting system produced an impressive propaganda campaign by drawing on the intellectual and cultural norms of the prewar decades.” These systems appeared to have worked well enough for the early years of the way. By 1917, though, social and economic conditions changed to the point where voluntary enlistment was not able to meet political promises.

Borden started off with a promise of 150,000 which was increased to 600,000 by 1917. (NOTE: I’m still trying to track down the sources and announcements for these numbers.) Holt breaks down the difficulty and realities of these numbers quite effectively. The recession turned around by 1916 with the influx of war contracts. The dead printed in newspapers and the wounded returning home from battles like Ypres. These factors started to erode on the majority’s will.

Additionally, there was difficulty with some of the minority factions. Quebec seems to have had a long standing issue with conscription. Quebec was called out twice in the report on the Operations of the Military Service Act. First, All recruiting outside of Quebec was stopped on August 1, 1918 in order for Quebec to meet quota, which happened on Oct 3. Second, there is a whole section on “hostility to the Military Service Act”. Large parts of Quebec were identified as being “energetically opposed to compulsory military service.” Furthermore, two articles, written by Brown and Sanders respectively, add to the narrative of the growing social backlash.

Interestingly enough, there are hints of conflict within Sir Robert Borden between the promises and realities. After his return from visiting wounded Canadians in hospitals in England, he appears to take a more aggressive role in demanding information from England. He also seems to struggle with the idea of conscription. However, this is based upon preliminary review of the documents.

While I’m trying to sort out the recruiting picture, I intend to move on to the CMPC force structure and responsibilities beyond MSA enforcement. I really want to know more about the office in New York City.

Sources:
1. Maroney, Paul, ” ‘The great adventure’: The context and ideology
of recruiting in Ontario, 1914-17″; The Canadian Historical Review ; North York Vol. 77, Iss. 1, (Mar 1996): 62-98. (https://doi.org/10.3138/CHR-077-01-03)
2.LtCol Machin, “Report on the Military Service Act”; Ottawa King’s Printer; 1919; pg 3, (https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112049607077;view=1up;seq=37)
3. ibid. pg 25
4. Brown, Lorne, “Canada’s Legacy in WWI The Great War: A Crime Against Humanity”; The Canadian Dimension ; Vol. 48, Iss. 6 (Nov/Dec 2014) (https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/the-great-war-a-crime-against-humanity)
5. Sanders, Richard. “WW I: Slave labour camps and other extraordinary renditions”. CCPA Monitor. Dec2014/Jan2015, Vol. 21 Issue 7, p48-49. 2p. (https://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/National%20Office/2014/12/Monitor_Dec2014-Jan2015.pdf)

A Brief Note about the Provost Marshall

Posted on April 13, 2018 by Jlokka

As stated, Col Gilbert Godson-Godson the Provost Marshall for Canada from 1917 until 1920. I thought there might have been an error in his name. I thought it was simply “Godson” as Tresham wrote. Even though his official personnel record listed “Godson-Godson”, I have noticed errors in these records before. So, it wasn’t until I discovered other instances of “Godson-Godson” that I realized my error.

My first clue was on page 21 of the “Report of the Director of the Military Service Branch to the Honourable the Minister of Justice on the Operation of the Military Service Act, 1917”. (NOTE: The title normally gets shortened to “the Operation of the Military Service Act 1917”.) In Section XIII – The Special Dominion Police, there is this quote, “unfailing readiness to co-operate shown by the Provost Marshal for Canada, Col. Godson-Godson, D.S.O.” As a result, I started looking for more instances.

So far, I’ve found two instances, which confirms the “Godson-Godson”. First, “The Canadian Convalescent Hospital Bear Wood, Wokigham, Berkshire 1915-18” provided references on page 26 and a picture on page 31. On Page 26, the book references Lt Col Godson-Godson officiated over a medal ceremony. The caption underneath the picture states “Staff, 1917, and Colonel Godson-Godson.” I knew he spent time at a hospital because of his Personnel Record. He was wounded on April 24, 1915 at the Second Battle of Ypres. At the time, he was a major in the 16th Battalion. The gun shot wounds to the face and neck required pretty extensive surgery. He medically evacuated to London and eventually deemed fit for general service in Canada only.

The second source for “Godson-Godson” was in a book on published dispatches for awards. The dispatch was dated 31 May, 1915 (Page 189) and contains a list of people recommended for the Distinguished Service Order (D.S.O.). On page 240, under the 16th Canadian Battalion, it lists a Major Godson Godson. While it appears the D.S.O. may have been awarded for the Second Battle of Ypres, I haven’t confirmed it yet.

For more information on Col Godson-Godson, the Canadian Provost Corps page has a brief biography on him.

Sources:
1. Tresham, Origin of the Canadian Provost Corps: http://canadianprovostcorps.ca/history-0.htm
2. Godson-Godson Personnel Record Archive: http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/personnel-records/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=420935
3. Operations of the Military Service Act, 1917: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112049607077;view=1up;seq=33
4. The Canadian Convalescent Hospital: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mcg.ark:/13960/t2994jh3j;view=1up;seq=31
5. Naval and Military Despatches Relating to Operations in the War. September October November 1914: With List of Honours and Rewards Confered : https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112052742712;view=1up;seq=254
6. Godson-Godson Brief Biography: http://canadianprovostcorps.ca/pm.godson.htm

Additional Sources:
1. Distinguished Service Order (D.S.O.): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distinguished_Service_Order
2. The Canadian Annual Review of Public Affairs: https://books.google.com/books?id=D38VAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA469&lpg=PA469&dq=col+godson-godson&source=bl&ots=t-jf1YjNvO&sig=1HkuJ8Xu_SNGwfsbC-Xq971U65g&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwimi9WFgLfaAhXOTd8KHQCLC4kQ6AEITjAK#v=onepage&q=col%20godson-godson&f=false
3. For Most Conspicuous Bravery: A Biography of Major-General George R. Pearkes, V.C., through Two World Wars : https://books.google.com/books?id=43N_XP7ZbXkC&pg=PA109&lpg=PA109&dq=col+godson-godson&source=bl&ots=t8z9nffjMa&sig=XtL4Gc3BPalNWM4bFO3rL__D0E4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwimi9WFgLfaAhXOTd8KHQCLC4kQ6AEIVTAM#v=onepage&q=col%20godson-godson&f=false
4. 2nd Battle of Ypres: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Ypres

Canadian Military Police Corps: A quick overview

Posted on April 11, 2018 by Jlokka

In the previous post, I highlighted my fascination with the Canadian Military Police Corps (CMPC). Based upon my initial research, many timelines for Canadian police entities converge with the creation of the CMPC in September, 1917. This research found some of the converging police units included: Dominion Police Force (1868-1920), North West Mounted Police (or Royal North West Mounted Police) (1873 – 1920) and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) (1939 – Current), Canadian Provost Corps (1940 – 1968) and modern military police units, like the 3rd Military Police Regiment (Halifax).

Retired Sgt-Maj Don Tresham thoroughly researched the history of the Canadian Provost Corps, to include the CMPC (source #3). He identified that the first Provost Marshal was LtCol Gibson Godson, who became promoted to Col. He was wounded and a medical board found him unfit for front line service in 1915. By April 12, 1917, he appears to have been appointed “Provost Marshall”. Since the CMPC was created in September, I need to do more research on the role of the Provost Marshall between April and September, when the CMPC was authorized. Col Godson held the position until discharge in 1920, when the CMPC was also disbanded.

The CMPC was headed by Major Baron Osborne, who reported to Provost Marshall Col Godson. Maj Osborne was also the commandant of the CMPC school in Rockcliffe camp from June 1, 1918, which closed on March 11, 1919. Major Osborne was demobilized on July 31, 1919, which is nearly a year before the final CMPC units demobilized in 1920.

The CMPC was split into two types, civilian and military. Some of the civilian police forces included the Dominion Police Force and the RNWMP. It is these civilian CMPC forces that become the world-famous RCMP. Whereas military police units link themselves to the CMPC through the Provost Corps. I can’t wait to build out a timeline graphic.

The CMPC’s primary duty was ” to maintain discipline, enforce the Conscription Act, and apprehend deserters and draft evaders.” (Source #6) This is really important when considering the Military Service Act of 1917. Sir Robert Borden promised an army that basically couldn’t be fielded, as I currently understand it. Eventually, Borden had to turn to conscription, which was manifest in the Military Service Act of 1917. Most of the frontline discipline was handled in accordance with British rules. However, it would interesting to find out what happened in New York City!

As Ret. Sgt-Maj Tresham highlighted, there was a third section of the CMPC, the Special Guard. According to Tresham’s research, the CMPC Special Guard focused on escorting Chinese workers to west coast ports in order to ship them back to China. This alludes to some very interesting racial/ethnic tensions. Richard Holt paints a more even balanced picture of racial issues in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (C.E.F.). Sadly, Tresham’s history appears to be collaborated by Guoqi Xu in “Strangers on the Western Front”. It looks like there might be more research into the Canadian Transport Program and the CMPC Special Guard.

Clearly, there are a lot of interesting little nuggets to continue to research. Unfortunately, I haven’t had time to fully validate and cross-reference the sources, especially since I used wikipedia links. Double checking the reference material will help me narrow research. Regardless, I’m hoping you’ve enjoyed this quick overview of the CMPC.

Sources:
1. Canadian General Military Orders 93 & 94: http://wartimecanada.ca/sites/default/files/documents/General%20Orders%2092-96.pdf
2. Dominion Police History: https://www.geni.com/projects/Dominion-Police-Force/31982
3. Tresham’s history on Canadian Provost Corps: http://canadianprovostcorps.ca/history-0.htm
4. North-West Police: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North-West_Mounted_Police
5. Canadian Provost Corps: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Provost_Corps
6. 3rd MP Regiment: http://www.army-armee.forces.gc.ca/en/3-military-police-regiment/index.page
7. Col Godson, Gibson: http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/personnel-records/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=420935
8. Major Osborne, Baron: http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/personnel-records/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=544910
9. Conscription Crisis 1917: https://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/life-at-home-during-the-war/recruitment-and-conscription/conscription-1917/
10. Military Service Act 1917: http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/military-service-act/
11. WWI courtsmarshall: https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/courts-martial/Pages/courts-martial.aspx
12. Strangers on the Western Front: https://books.google.com/books?id=ZogeRHAIr44C&pg=PA62&lpg=PA62&dq=cmpc+china+coolie&source=bl&ots=FwT2tN5hGQ&sig=BvrtVyAD7O2DP9xOPCEuiA2OfIU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjU5PTyqLHaAhWCxIMKHctpDFwQ6AEIYjAJ#v=onepage&q=cmpc%20china%20coolie&f=false

Additional Sources:
1. https://www.cmpa-apmc.org/mp-history.html
2. http://mpmuseum.org/history.html
3. http://www.cbc.ca/history/EPISCONTENTSE1EP12CH2PA3LE.html
4. Richard Holt, Filling the Ranks :https://www.amazon.com/Filling-Ranks-Manpower-Expeditionary-1914-1918/dp/0773548777/
5. Canada WWI Pardons: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/canadian-soldiers-executed-in-ww1-to-get-pardon-1.596886

Canada’s Aid to the Allies in WWI

Posted on April 9, 2018 by Jlokka

The spark of inspiration started out as a way to thank someone for their hospitality on my last year’s trip to Canada. As it turned out, I really started to enjoy working on it and finding out the stories behind some photos from a special edition print “Canada’s Aid to the Allies and Peace Memorial” by Montreal Standard Publishing Company (1919).

I own four pages of the publication. Some pages contain memorial rolls purchased by businesses and manufacturers. A couple of pages contain full page images of important figures, like Joseph Joffre. However, these are the back pages to two two-page spread articles on Canada’s Depot camps, Rockcliffe (Ottawa) and Sussex (New Brunswick).

During WWI, Canada utilized a system of Depot camps for initial training of the force. Each depot had some specialty training or aspects. For example, the Rockcliffe Depot trained military police. The articles highlighted the men who trained and prepared the recruits to fight.

Each article contains an image spanning the entire camp’s compliment of troops, to include recruits. However, the size and placement of the image depended upon the activities of the Camp and probably the camp’s commandant. The Sussex Camp article contains multiple spread images because they only trained in the basics. The Rockcliffe Camp article doesn’t contain any two-page images due to the number of training activities that happened at Rockcliffe. By far, the Rcokcliffe is most interesting to me.

There are a few really good resources that I’m using. First, the CEFresearch.ca forum led me to great finds such as the Canadian Virtual War Memorial. The second resource is the book “Filling the Ranks: Manpower in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, 1914-1918” by Richard Holt, which I learned about from the CEF Research forum. Finally, there is the Sussex Camp and 8^th Canadian Hussars museums, but I haven’t had time to explore these, yet.

I’ve just started my journey. The primary focus, of which, is the Canadian Military Police from 1917 to 1920. Additionally, I’m very interested in the training and force reinforcement pipelines, which Holt’s work is the foundation for modern research. The Rockcliffe article gave me the MP’s commandant, Major Baron Osborne. And, there’s a short history of the Canadian MP on MPMuseum.org. The additional exploration on the people shown in the photographs revealed many interesting tales to be discovered. So, I hope you look forward to the discovery process.

Sources:
1. CEF Study Group: http://cefresearch.ca
2. Filling the Ranks by Richard Holt: https://www.amazon.com/Filling-Ranks-Manpower-Expeditionary-1914-1918/dp/0773548777/
3. Sussex Camp Museum: http://www.8chassociation.com/camp-sussex-exhibit.html
4. MP Museum: http://mpmuseum.org/history.html
5. Major Baron Osborne military record: http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/personnel-records/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=544910