There was women's work in every direction. At the headquarters of the C.A.M.C. there were lady drivers headed, in length of service, by Miss Gordon Brown, a neice of Col. Sir A. P. Sherwood of Ottawa; in France there were many Red Cross Canadian girls and women taking men's places as drivers of motor ambulances and carrying wounded men from the ambulance trains to the hospitals, helping also with supplies and work of many kinds; throughout France also were many Canadian V.A.D. nurses and helpers in every stage of suffering for the wounded, in every form of kindly entertainment, amusement or comfort for the soldier on leave or resting in the C.R.C. Huts behind the Front. At this point, also, there must be mentioned the British women whose work Lady Drummond recorded in a December, 1917, letter to The Times: "In closing I would say a word of grateful, heartfelt thanks as a Canadian woman to the women of this country for the 'perfect mothering' which they have given to our men from overseas. Great Britain had 80,000 Voluntary Aid Detachment Helpers or V.A.D.'s, and the cry and need was for thousands more; Canada helped in this splendid work but not as much as she might have done (perhaps 200 a'together), with the sharp criticisms of Sir Sam Hughes as, no doubt, a negative influence. The unselfish labours of these (in the main) unpaid workers were too great to merit attention to the gossip of occasional women critics. As a matter of fact the V.A.D. nurses in Canada did work similar to that of probationers in a regular nursing course general ward-work. But in England or near the Front they performed every duty from washing dishes and preparing trays for the men in the hospitals to acting as telephone operators or driving motor ambulances. There was no place they were not ready and anxious to fill. In England, also, every kind of Club and institution, the historic homes of London and the country, were ready for wounded or rest-seeking Canadian soldiers with varied Committees of Canadian women seeking means to help. There was one serious side to this shield, however the presence in England, at the beginning of 1917 of about 30,000 Canadian women-relatives of soldiers in the main but many, also, who had drifted to England, in one of the curious contrasts of wartime, for social reasons, for pleasure, for curiosity or similar motives. Of the large total, therefore, a proportion were unable or unwilling to do war-work, to do work of any kind which would be helpful to the community, and became additional burdens upon the financial and food resources of a greatly-burdened country. Gradually they were sifted out by Canadian authorities, some were brought home and no more were allowed to go from Canada; but ships were scarce and difficulties many. Of the incidents during the year an interesting one was the visit of the Duchess of Connaught's Irish-Canadian Rangers, of Montreal, to Ireland. According to despatches 700 men and 28 officers arrived in Dublin on Jan. 25 and were heartily cheered on their march through the streets. The officer in command was Lieut.-Col. O'Donoghue; the Adjutant was Capt. the Hon. A. J. Shaughnessy. The Battalion was reviewed by Lord Wimborne, the Lord Lieutenant; the officers were entertained by the Lord Mayor at luncheon; letters of welcome were received from the Duchess of Connaught, Mr. Redmond, Sir Edward Carson and others. Belfast was visited and a great welcome received; Cork and Armagh joined in the reception; Blarney Castle was added to the circle of entertainment and "the wearing of the Green," for the moment, assumed an Imperialist chord. Other matters included the depositing of the Colours of the 124th Battalion in Witley Parish Church, one of the oldest in England and mentioned (1081) in the Domesday Book; the tribute by Mr. Lloyd George (July 3) to the skilled work of Canadian Forestry Battalions in Britain; the opening of a Canadian Khaki Club at Shoreham on Aug. 20 and organization of a Canadian Club for officers at Shorncliffe on Sept. 24; the election in 1917 as 834th Lord Mayor of London of Charles A. Hanson, founder of the Montreal brokerage firm of Hanson Brothers; the initiation of an Overseas Press Club with John Kidman of the Montreal Gazette as Hon. Secretary; the organization of a Khaki College Library at Witley (Nov. 22) as a part of the Canadian scheme for education of soldiers in training camps as well as in Army groups at the Front. Canadian France: Sir The year 1917 saw about 125,000 Canadians in France giving, when up to establishment, 90,000 A. W. Currie fighting troops. This Canadian Army Corps was and Other commanded by Lieut.-Gen. Sir Julian Byng up to Commanders. and after Vimy, and then by Lieut.-Gen. Sir Arthur Currie; its Divisional Commanders were Majors-General A. C. Macdonell—after General Currie's promotion-H. E. Burstall, L. J. Lipsett and David Watson; its Cavalry Brigade was led by Brig.-Gen. J. E. B. Seeley, D.S.O., War Secretary for a time before the War. In this Army* there were 54 Battalions of Infantry, or about 55,000 men, more than 10,000 Artillery, from 3,000 to 4,000 Engineers, 3,000 Medical troops, perhaps 2,000 Army Service Corps, with others making about 20,000 troops of other arms than the Infantry. The Cavalry Brigade had an establishment of 3,000. The fighting corps troops amounted to 11,000, the bulk of them being Artillery, 5,000 or 6,000 strong, including siege artillery, aircraft artillery, trench mortars, with Corps field-troops for maintaining the supply of ammunition, etc. There also were over 2,000 engineers, tunnellers, telegraphers, telephonists, etc., with 3,000 machine-gunmen and cyclists. With these men in the Divisions and Cavalry Brigade and Fighting Corps troops were 28,000 in Railway, Forestry and Labour Services, with 36,000 on the lines of communication. These figures, of course, indicated the establishment and necessarily differed at various stages of fighting, rest, recuperation and reserve. At the beginning of the year Maj.-Gen. A. W. Currie, C.B., D.S.O., who had been in command of the 1st Division since 1915, was steadily making his mark as a rising officer of solid ability. He had joined the Canadian Militia as a private in 1895 and had worked his way up to the successful command of the 5th British Columbia * Official statement issued by Department of Militia, Ottawa, on Nov. 1st, 1917. Regiment of Garrison Artillery; he received in 1914 the command of a Brigade for active service and soon showed the elements of natural military capacity. Writing to M. N. Oxley of the National Life Assurance of which Company the General had, in private life, been resident manager at Victoria, B.C., for 15 years in a letter published at Toronto (Jan. 20) he stated that, during 1916, "we inflicted more casualties than we received, and whenever you do that in this war you win, for it is a war of attrition." Typical of the man were these letters to different old friends which from time to time found their way into print-kindly in remembrance of everyone serving under him and of special interest to his correspondent or local circles. In one, published by the Victoria Colonist of Apr. 15, after referring to the return of a bombing party from a raid, he said that there was nothing savage about them: "Nothing can exceed their self-sacrifice, their sense of duty, their sharing of each others' burdens, their chivalry or their gallantry. They are living closer to their God than ever before. I would like to tell you a little about our chaplains. They've been splendid practicing Christianity, not preaching it." In a letter to a New York friend, dated Mar. 16, he spoke of the Germans with much force: "Every story concerning German cruelty, treachery, lack of decency and honour, rape, murder, is true. Would it be worth living in a world with Germany in the ascendancy? I don't think so." On June 10 General Byng issued a special Order of farewell upon promotion to the command of one of the British armies: "During the year of my command the unvarying success in battle, the progress in training and in discipline, and the unswerving devotion and loyalty of all ranks are features which stand out prominently in the history of the Corps. That history will last forever, and my association with you in the making of it is a joy that can never be impaired. Many tributes were paid to this popular Commander by the Dominion Government, officers and men in personal correspondence, and by all who knew his military work of the period. The Canadian press was chiefly interested in his successor and several journals hoped it would be a Canadian with Generals Currie and Turner specially mentioned. On June 19 it was announced that Sir Arthur Currie recently knighted by the King upon the Battlefield of Vimy -had been authorized to take over the command. It was a remarkable promotion and well illustrated the possibilities for natural talent in a great struggle where real ability was an absolute essential. The new Commander continued from time to time to express himself on Canadian affairs touching the War and, while in London on June 19, said to F. A. McKenzie, the correspondent: "My own personal conviction is that the only solution of the problem of Canadian recruiting is Conscription. I believe the many difficulties which now threaten the adoption of such a policy would disappear before prompt, bold action. My experiences in France have shown me, as a soldier, the necessity of Conscription if we desire to maintain at full strength our fighting divisions to the end of the War." In July he was gazetted, with Maj.-Gen. Turner, a Lieut.-General. On Aug. 4 he authorized a Message to the Montreal Star, stating that news from Canada was not pleasant reading at the Front where "Orangemen and Catholics, Anglo-Saxon and FrenchCanadians, Whig and Tory, fight side by side and, dying, are laid side by side in the same grave, fully satisfied to give their lives for the cause they know to be just." These and other utterances caused political criticism in Canada and the declaration of Hon. Frank Oliver at a Liberal Convention, Red Deer, Alberta, (Sept. 27) that "when we have a political general in command of our forces I want to be assured that our battles are not being fought for political effect." This statement-and later rumours as to the General's retirement-aroused much comment but were generally accepted as ebullitions of an election campaign-especially as Sir Arthur did not hesitate to urge public support for the Union Government because of its Conscription attitude. His private letters of this period show intense pride in the men under his command-the fighting, indomitable spirit of the Canadians. To Sir. Wm. Hearst, Toronto, in a note which was published on Dec. 6, he said: "The year 1917 has been a glorious year for the Canadian Corps. We have taken every objective from the enemy we started for, and have not had a single reverse. Vimy, Arleux, Fresnoy, Avion, Hill 70, and Passchendaele all signify hard-fought battles and notable victories. All this testifies to the discipline, training, leadership and fine fighting qualities of the Canadians. Words cannot express the pride one feels in being associated with such splendid soldiers." In December the General was decorated by King Albert upon the battlefield with the highest Belgian honour for his victory at Passchendaele Ridge. Only less important than the work of the Infantry and Cavalry and Artillery was that of the so-called non-combatant Servicesa mere figure of speech very often, so far as danger was concerned. The Railway Corps were particularly effective-the work of one month (April) showing 51 miles of track laid, 43 miles repaired, 36 graded, 46 ballasted, 60 maintained (average), 1,597 men engaged on construction with 3,276 of other labour attached and many bridges built or repaired. Col. W. C. P. Ramsey, C.M.G., Montreal, and Brig.-Gen. J. W. Stewart (Vancouver), were in charge. The despatch of F.-M. Sir Douglas Haig, made public on June 20, referred to this work and to Government action as to Railway stock late in 1916: "I wish to place on record here the fact that the successful solution of the problem of railway transport would have been impossible had it not been for the patriotism of the Railway companies at home and in Canada. They did not hesitate to give up the locomotives and rolling stock required to meet our needs and even to tear up track in order to provide us with the necessary rails." To these men and the Labour Battalions, Roland Hill referred in an article of Oct. 17 issued by the Militia Department: "They are shelled by Fritz, if anything, more persistently and in greater volume than the Infantry, yet night and day tons of ammunition and rations and men go forward over repaired lines, feeding guns and men alike." Railway troops, as they came to be called, moving the lines up to and operating them close behind the Front, had many casualties in 1917 and the Canadian contingents won a number of the D.S.O. and other honours-notably in the Cambrai fighting. So with Canadian Engineers and Tunnelling companies (No. 3) who sent Hill 60 up in fine dust, who were continually under fire in many parts of the long lines and who rendered great and varied service. One Correspondent visited a Company which counted 7 officers with the Military Cross and 27 men with other decorations won in this work. The Forestry Corps also did good work with 22 Companies operating in France in the middle of 1917 with probably double that number by the end of the year. The Companies were equipped with Canadian-made saw milling machinery and tools, and the greatest efficiency and keenness was displayed by all ranks. Operations extended over a large area. All species of lumber were manufactured, including sawn timber, sleepers, trench timber, pit props for roads and mining. They often operated under fire and in an advance their work was essential. Nine-tenths of the preparation was in fact dependent on lumber supplies. Nothing could be moved over soggy, shell-devastated ground without improvised plank roads or railways resting on wooden ties. Shelters for men, trenches, saps and innumerable other structures of an advancing army were made of wood. At the beginning of 1917 there were 1,500 of these Canadian workers at the Front; at the end of the year there were 56 companies-33 working for the British and 23 for the French armies, with about 8,000 men altogether. Col. J. B. White (Westmount) was at the head of the Corps. The work of the Canadian Army Medical Corps was arduous, effective and highly considered, the skill of the surgeons and devotion of the nurses remarkable; the work of the stretcher-bearers in the battles of this year was beyond all praise for self-sacrificing bravery and assiduity; and the achievements of Medical science in the Canadian service, as in the British and French, were wonderful, with epidemic disease almost eradicated, typhoid non-existent, sanitation splendid. The medical work of this Corps included early diagnosis and elimination of suspected cases of epidemic disease; inoculation to control typhoid fever, etc.; chlorination and filtration of water, and destruction of excreta; control of insects and breeding places of flies; protection of food. The Dental service before and after the formation of the Canadian Army Dental Corps was exceptionally effective and did much to maintain the health of the troops. The Cana dian Battles of the YearVimy, Passchendaele, Bellevue, etc. The War efforts and successes of Canadian troops in 1917 came at a stage when the acknowledged high standing of the Army Corps was at its best with a good average of mental and physical qualities, excellent conditions of discipline and training, a shrewd individual common-sense trained in the business of war. There was quick initiative and a disregard for red-tape which was characteristic and effective when combined with discipline. Canadians had held at various times a battle-front ranging from about a mile on the Ypres Salient, 6,000 yards in the fierce fighting |