complete and enough drill had been given to
make us fairly respectable. We all thought we were fit for the field.
We learnt differently afterwards.

It is very strange how the idea seems to get hold of a man, the minute
he gets into khaki uniform, that he is a fully-trained soldier. In
Canada, for years, we had no regular soldiers, and the training
generally was of a kind patterned after the South African War. Straw
hats and overalls were worn by the infantry, and the irregular cavalry
swagger was the fashion. It was fondly imagined that any Canadian who
could shoot straight and who had a week's training could take his
place in the ranks and would be just as good a soldier as a regular of
the King's first Army. No sooner was a man in uniform than everybody
began asking him the question "When are you going to the Front?"
assuming that was a question he could settle himself, and that he
would be anything but in the way and a nuisance at the Front, owing to
his lack of discipline and training. The public in this way made the
men's and officers' lives very miserable. It was almost impossible to
settle down to a hard course of training. Lord Kitchener had placed
the period necessary for getting a man into shape as a soldier at six
months. By great effort that period might be shortened, but from the
experience we gained nine months would be nearer the mark. The
training could be hurried by giving two months of foot and arm drill,
two months' special training of the men in special units, such as
signallers, stretcher bearers, machine gunners, bomb throwers, etc.,
and two months in hard field-training with lots of night work. But the
press of the country was clamoring for us to go to the Front, and
public opinion said "hurry." The battalions were all organized and
orders came for us to move on the 29th of September.

There was a slight drizzle of rain in the morning when we paraded for
the march out. Our transport waggons had to move out early and march
to Quebec, and it was a difficult job to get them started.

I had done everything in my power to suppress gambling and swearing
among the men, and on several occasions when individuals were paraded
before me for using bad language, I had reprimanded them and informed
them that the use of strong language was always left to the Officer
Commanding. This particular morning some choice words had to be used
to get the transport moving. They moved, however, to the tick of the
clock