e Battalion and armed with
this pass he is at liberty for the period named on the pass.
The next big event in which we figured, after the King's visit, was
the Lord Mayor's show. The Canadians were to be represented, and there
was quite a flutter of excitement and much interest as to who should
go to represent each battalion. I gave the honor to Lieutenant Frank
Smith, who had worked very hard and had shown much ability.
The Lord Mayor's show is one of the annual events of London, and we
were all anxious to see it. I had the good fortune to be invited by
Sir Joseph Lawrence to view the procession from a balcony close to
Temple Bar. The procession has been described so often that everybody
knows all about it. The Canadians made a very fine showing. They were
under the command of Colonel Williams. Our Highland detachment, under
Lieutenant Frank Smith, looked exceedingly smart and got a full page
in a number of the London illustrated dailies next morning.
One thing that struck me very favorably in the parade was the way in
which the British regulars covered each other as they marched in fours
along the street. Their rifles formed four ribbons of steel. There was
no straggling.
The battalion soon settled down to a hard syllabus of training and
instruction, beginning with squad drill. It was drill, drill, drill,
all day long, rain or shine, and it was almost always rain.
We were much struck at first by the fact that in England farmers paid
no attention to the rain. They kept on ploughing in rain, that in
Canada would have sent the hired man to the shelter of the barn. After
a while it dawned on us that if they did not plough in the rain they
would not get any ploughing done at all.
Not only did the battalions give their days to drill but after they
got through their squad drill they took two nights a week in training.
All this soon began to get the men in shape.
On Thursday, November 19th, the 3rd Brigade had a visit from Mr.
Rudyard Kipling. I sat at lunch with him and formed a friendship which
I regard very highly. Mr. Kipling is one of the great men of the age,
the first Imperialist of the Empire. He said very nice things about
the Canadians.
On the 27th of November the Canadian Division was reviewed by General
Pitcairn Campbell, Officer Commanding the southern command. The
Division was drawn up in a long line on the Downs and presented a
formidable aspect. It was one of the most inspiring sights I have e
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