1914 – “C” Squadron, South Saskatchewan Command, at Maple Creek (between Swift Current and Medicine Hat) was formed about January 1914, leader A.I. Dawes.

1914 – Medicine Hat Squadron, is formed about 1914, secretary E.D. Gower.

1914 - A photo of members from Hamilton, Ontario shows C. Leadbeater, D. Dodd, T.H. Buckholder, D.S. Blackie, J. Anderson, W.H. May, W.Wood, A.J. Potts (Capt), J Ratcliffe.

1914 – Toronto. “Frontiersmen met last night and increased their numbers from 20 to 40...
The organization is not confined to sevicemen. They will admit surveyors, cowboys, bushmen, and any men who have had experience in frontier service. They will do duty as irregular cavalry and will do scouting and transport work… An executive meeting will be held at the home of secretary J.S. Warren, 122 Howland Avenue”.

1914 - Just prior to the outbreak of the Great War Calgary Command was attempting to raise “a fighting Battalion of Frontiersmen with horses, accoutrement, batteries, transport, medical equipment, parts” by canvassing via letter for $250,000.00. This does not occur as members join Canadian Expeditionary Force battalions once war is declared.

1914 - Newfoundland & Labrador Command membership was described as follows: “The Legionaires (sic) included many men with war medals and much experience.” In a commentary about Newfoundland legionnaires dated 22 December 1917, Lt.Col. E.R. Johnson, the Acting Chief Executive Officer of Legion of Frontiersmen wrote that “the pre war total of over 150” made up the Newfoundland Command. At the outbreak of war Legion Capt W.A. Wakefield attempted to have the entire command go to England to be under Lt. Col. Driscoll’s leadership. As this was not feasible, “He advised all Frontiersmen under his command, between 19 and 35, who had no dependents, to join either the Royal Naval Reserve or the newly formed Newfoundland Infantry Regiment. Captain Wakefield himself joined the Infantry Regiment in September 1914…the older members of the Command have been and still are on Home Defence Artillery Duty, under Legion Lieut. Vere-Holloway, at St. John’s, as a portion of the colony’s armed forces. Recruitment for the Command has continued steadily since August 1914, and a small but steady stream of Legionaires (sic) has gone to the Infantry Regiment overseas.”

1914 – Most of the Legion of Frontiersmen in Newfoundland and Labrador joined the newly formed Newfoundland Regiment: “the Newfoundland Regiment First-500 had many who were Frontiersmen (perhaps 200)”. With the remainder serving in the Merchant Marine or Royal Navy Reserve, Lieutenant E.W. Vere-Holloway, with Sgt. Russell and remaining Frontiersmen gunners manned the naval gun protecting the entrance to St. John’s harbour. As they were under the command of the Royal Navy Reserve, the Frontiersmen gave up their colonial slouch hats and wore the brimless naval caps with the LF uniform. Lt. Vere Holloway and Sgt. Russell wore the standard army uniform with a Frontiersmen badge with a bugle “not unlike the badge of the Durham Light Infantry of the Imperial Army”.

1914 - Seymour Rowlinson wrote in 1914 that upon declaration of war Victoria BC Command under Legion Captain Gray-Donald was drilling three nights a week at Beacon Hill Park. Capt. Gray-Donald asked the Commanding Officer if the Frontiersmen could enlist in his 50th Gordon Highlanders. ”Colonel Currie said he would be only too pleased to have our members under him and granted to them a special distinction the privilege of wearing their own uniforms; and I have seen photographs taken in France of our men wearing Stetson hats with the L.F. badge.” Rowlinson further wrote that on the 28th of August 1914 that only about six men are left to carry on. Driscoll the CEO of the Legion appoints Rowlinson a Legion Lieutenant at the request of Victoria Frontiersmen who were in England with the CEF.

1914 –At the declaration of war the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry began recruiting and within days is overwhelmed by volunteers, especially members of the Legion of Frontiersmen, and it is the Legion officers who are recruiting for PPCLI in Edmonton, Calgary, Moose Jaw and likely other locations. Based on legion-lore and recent research it is very logical to consider that hundreds, about 50% of the original PPCLI enlistments of August 1914 were Legion of Frontiersmen. A published letter written by Lt. Col. D.P. Driscoll DSO the CEO of the Legion of Frontiersmen, then on his way to British East Africa as Commanding Officer of the 25th Royal Frontiersmen Fusiliers states: “It is a source of great satisfaction to find so many colonial contingents so strongly represented; nearly 50 per cent of Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry are members of the Legion.”

1914 – Ernest Roper of Bittern Lake in central Alberta joins PPCLI. Frontiersman E. Roper is a rare documented example of the hundreds of Legion of Frontiersmen who flocked to the ranks of the original Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. He leaves Canada with the first contingent in October, 1914 and is killed in action January 9th, 1915.

1914 – PPCLI. An Edmonton newspaper article mentions that Capt. McKinery is recruiting men in response to Lt. Col. Farquhar’s telegram requesting 300 from Edmonton for the PPCLI. The 47 Legion of Frontiersmen names listed (recruiter Capt. McKinery was Canadian Militia) were compared to the nominal roll “originals” in the two volume PPCLI history by Ralph Hodder-Williams. This “first batch” of the total to come from Edmonton presents a rare statistical example: of the 47 LF mentioned as entrained from Edmonton, 21 of these LF became “originals” in the PPCLI, or 44% of these Legion of Frontiersmen volunteers made it into the PPCLI ranks. Certainly, a percentage based on one sample could not be extrapolated into a conclusive statement; yet, it adds to the circumstantial picture forcing one to seriously consider the Legion lore claiming that hundreds of LF had served as PPCLI “originals”.

Again, the men McKinery recruited (”first batch” of the total from Edmonton) were definitely Legion of Frontiersmen. How many of the subsequent batches of recruits entrained for Calgary from Edmonton were on the original PPCLI Nominal Role is not known. It is known that the Edmonton Legion Commandant Justus Duncan Willson was recruiting for PPCLI. It is also reported in Calgary news that Major Duncan Stewart of Calgary Legion Command and Colonel G.E. Saunders also of Calgary Legion Command are responsible for transportation and rations regarding PPCLI recruitment, while news reports indicate hundreds of Calgary Frontiersmen are available for recruitment. Further it has been reported that eighty-three or more Moose Jaw Command Legion of Frontiersmen joined the PPCLI troop train by force (photo of this group in Ottawa survives).

Substantial LF involvement with the original PPCLI at the call to arms is further determined by evaluating news of the day in Edmonton, Calgary, and Moose Jaw; the regimental history of the LERs by Stevens and subsequent PPCLI nominal roll by Ralph Hodder-Williams, 1923. In relation to the information presented one is reminded that in 1915 Lieutenant Colonel D.P. Driscoll DSO of the 25th Royal (Frontiersmen) Fusiliers, and LF Chief Executive Officer, writes that “nearly 50%” of the Patricia’s are from the Legion of Frontiersmen. Lastly, Colonel Louis Scott DCM, a WW1 “Patricia” controls the Legion of Frontiersmen from 1930 to his death decades later, and at no time is there any apparent repression of the traditional Frontiersmen lore of hundreds (or more than half) of the PPCLI being from the very irregular LF quasi-military force. All in all, interesting points when one reviews the old Legion of Frontiersmen legend of volunteering for the PPCLI and constituting 600 of the original regiment’s formation.

1914 – Legion of Frontiersmen, “western cavalrymen”, arrive in Ottawa, “some in khaki regimentals, some in mufti”. Not all LF can enlist in the PPCLI and it appears that the LF remaining were assigned immediate remounts duty. The news of the day reports that the Legion of Frontiersmen “will be utilized to break 700 horses which are now being assembled at Lansdowne Park, and later can be enrolled with the artillery units as drivers.”

1914 – A reflective quotation regarding Lord Strathcona’s Horse, made in 1933 follows: “In 1914 on the outbreak of the Great War, a contingent of the Canadian Command of the Legion joined Strathcona's Horse and formed their own Legion Squadron distinguished from the other Squadrons by a distinctive flash".

Author’s Note: While many LF arrived in Ottawa attempting to join PPCLI, not all could do so. The intriguing question of which units would be available to men focused on immediate mounted duty were: remounts, artillery (drivers), and possibly Strathcona’s Horse in Valcartier?

• While a comment in one of the Founder’s earliest LF publication indicates that Strathcona’s Horse in South Africa left a positive impression on him; recently other references are needed in addition to the 1933 quote about recruitment of LF into their ranks in 1914.
• References indicate that the regiment was 120 strong at the outbreak and had to man up to strength in Valcartier. The war diaries on line only start around 14 Oct 1914, after they had been brought up to strength. Other sources need to be traced to indicate how the Strathcona’s were the brought up to strength.

1914 - Remounts in the U.K. are staffed by Legion of Frontiersmen: Lt. Col. Driscoll wrote to Rowlinson of Victoria BC: “I have a large number of our men in the remounts depots training horses. This enables them to keep employed until such times as they are called out for mounted duty. It also enables me to find a place for the many men who are coming constantly from overseas, so if you know of any men who care to come across they may be sure of getting into something as soon as they report to me.”

1915 – Lt. Col. D.P. Driscoll DSO, commanding the 25th Royal (Frontiersmen) Fusiliers enroute to British East Africa, writes as the CEO of the Legion of Frontiersmen that “some 7000 men of the Legion are on active service”. He then states “nearly 50 per cent of Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry are members of the Legion”.

1915 – Royal Flying Corps Lt. S.W. Caws, South African war veteran (former Legion Captain and Lac Ste Anne Commandant), and then Sergeant 19th Alberta Dragoons was killed in aerial combat and his crewmate Lt. Wilson was taken prisoner after their aircraft crashed behind enemy lines. Caws and Wilson, likely flew in a B.E.2c, engaged three German aircraft, downed two of them before the third enemy aircraft killed Caws. Lt. Wilson stated that the German Army buried Canada’s reportedly first LF Commandant S.W. Caws, with full military honors. After the war his gravesite is untraceable. Lieutenant Stanley Winther Caws, 10th Squadron, 1st Wing, Royal Flying Corps who died on Tuesday, 21st September 1915, age 36 is remembered at Arras Flying Services Memorial, Pas de Calais, France.

1915 – Edmonton’s Mayor wrote to the District Officer Commanding Military district No. 13 appealing for rifles to assist the Legion of Frontiersmen Home Guard, but his request is refused due Canadian Expeditionary Force requirements for them. Mayor W.T. Henry writes to Legion Colonel H.J. Munton about this and states “we will have to work along some other lines.”

1915 – Edmonton (Northern Alberta) Command was reported as having engaged in rifle smuggling from the USA to equip themselves with weapons for training.

1915 – Edmonton Command’s Commandant Justus Duncan Willson was appointed the Officer commanding “D” Company of the 49th Battalion CEF (later the Loyal Edmonton Regiment) and all recruits who were Legion of Frontiersmen were directed to “D” Company. Allegedly, “D” Company recruits from outlying areas were men “four axe hafts across the chest and two axe heads between the eyes”.

Author’s Note: It is noted that the Legion of Frontiersmen contribution to the 49th Battalion has often been omitted due to either a lack of knowledge or by design. One notes the capital “F” in Frontiersmen is usually changed to the lower case. While each company A,B,C,D recruited unique bodies of men: A, “sportsmen from about the city Edmonton”; B, “Scotchmen”; C, “men from outlying districts”; and D, “Frontiersmen” becomes reported as the generic “frontiersmen” (basically wrong information) versus the distinct body of men known as the Legion of Frontiersmen under the Legion Commandant J.D. Willson who became the D Coy. Commander.

1915 – Edmonton LF and W.V.R. connections? - Mrs. Justus Duncan Willson (nee: Lieutenant Flora Kathleen FitzMaurice), the wife of Edmonton Commandant of the Legion of Frontiersmen died in England. A military service in England was held for her, one of the first women to have been commissioned in the British Army. In attendance were officers and men of Edmonton based units including members of her husband’s 49th Battalion CEF. She had been decorated with the Order of St. John for conspicuous courage during a typhus plague in Ireland and received both the Queen’s and King’s medal for South African war service. The night before her memorial parade in Edmonton’s river valley, ladies (likely associated with the LF as the late Mrs. Willson was), were reported to have formed a “Women’s Volunteer corps” that paraded with the Legion of Frontiersmen at the memorial service. This body of women, the Women’s Voluntary Reserve appeared associated with the Edmonton Command home guard’s efforts. Sometime later, it is known that the W.V.R., led by the 101st Regiment’s Bugle Band, “presented a very smart appearance in their khaki uniforms” as they paraded to Government House for inspection by the Lieutenant Governor on October 13, 1915.

1915 – Commandant Munton and Sub-Commandant Hill-Male are identified as Legion of Frontiersmen leaders at the south Edmonton summer social attended by approximately 500 citizens. The newspaper reported “The Frontiersmen of the city now have enrolled about 350 men and 400 women. During the program much criticism was expressed of the indifference in official quarters to the need and importance of home defence”.

1915 – Edmonton Command (also referred to as Northern Alberta Command) under Commandant H.J. Munton has five parade locations, had uniforms available through Ramsey’s Department Store, assisted unemployed Frontiersmen to find work, and had social events for members. “Orders for the week posted at Dominion Cigar Store, Limited, corner of First and Jasper, and Deschenes, Limited, corner of Jasper and McDougall.”

1915 - The Legion of Frontiersmen Commandant H.J. Mutton of Edmonton, with Major Hislop and Major Hopkins of the 66th Battalion Canadian Expeditionary Force, Lieutenant Malholt, and Major D.L. Redman the aide de camp, wounded veteran of 10th Battalion, form a military escort at the investiture of the Province of Alberta’s new Lieutenant Governor Robert George Brett M.D. The local Commandant of the Legion of Frontiersmen must have held in significant esteem to have been placed within an officers’ escort for the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta’s investiture.

1915 - Victoria Volunteer Mounted Rifles under the command of Lieutenant John Briant Howes formally transferred all rank and file into the Victoria Sub-Unit, Legion of Frontiersmen. The letter is signed by John Briant Howes, Lieutenant for the Victoria Volunteer Rifles; and by S. Rowlinson, Lieutenant, Legion of Frontiersmen.

1915 – Newfoundland and Labrador Frontiersmen: an untitled partial document produced by Calgary Command comments “ One result of the Dominion policy of giving the Legion no practical recognition was that the FRONTIERSMEN contingent from Labrador and Newfoundland now fighting in the Dardanelles, after training in Scotland, had to go so far afield as to the Governor-General of New Zealand to get leave to join an overseas contingent.” And, it also comments that “The Frontiersman” is no longer available due to the war, so a local magazine has offered to produce a column called “Frontiersmen Notes”.

1915 – Two enigmatic LF groups rush to the front: from an untitled partial document produced by Calgary Command comments “Just as the Vancouver Command of the L.F. (“Elliot’s Horse”) was the first military unit from Canada to reach the firing line, so the first and yet only South African contingent to get to the front was the Cape Town Command of the Legion of Frontiersmen which went by public subscription as “ The People’s Legion”.

1915 - Victoria, BC Command was rebuilding under recently promoted Legion Captain Seymour Rowlinson. The first returned Legionary from Victoria is “No. 6557 Trooper E.E. Long…a veteran of the Boer War, and possessor of the King’s and Queen’s medals.” The Victoria Volunteer Reserve Squadron of Mounted Rifles organized in June 1915 trained with Legion of Frontiersmen and reportedly 70 men at a time were on parade. Eventually Victoria Mounted Rifles became part of the new Victoria Command under Capt Rowlinson. Returned soldier Sgt. J.W. Taylor with much South African experience was appointed to command the city squadron. Legion Captain Rowlinson took the opportunity to engage Colonel Andrew C. P. Haggard DSO an honourary Legion member in the formation of the Veteran’s Club of British Columbia. At the inaugural ceremonies 15 returned soldiers were present. By the end of the war years Victoria Command, headquartered at The Veterans’ Club of BC in the Camosum Building in Langley (Langley Street), includes all of Vancouver Island. The Commandant is listed at Legion Captain S. Rowlinson. The staff officer and “A” Squadron leader is Legion Captain J.W. Taylor (invalided from WW1 service). Legion Captain S.R. Bates (on active service WW1) was Squadron leader for “B” Squadron. “A” Squadron’s Troops No. 1,2, & 3, are in Victoria while Troop No. 4 is in Saanich. “B” Squadron’s Troop No. 5 is located at Cowichan, No.6 at Duncan, No.7 at Port Alberni with Legion Lieutenant C.T. Hilton M.B.,B.Sc. commanding; and Troop No. 8 is located at Comox.

1915 – Elsewhere in the British Empire, India’s Legion of Frontiersmen are mentioned as follows:
“The older and harder men of long service in India are bitter and heart broken over being refused active work in the army. Then there is the Legion of Frontiersmen – men from 40 to 55, who have served the empire as such men only can - they are begging for work. There are 400 of them or more, and it seems criminal that they cannot be used. From their experience and fitness they would be splendid for base work at Nairobi or along the lines of communication in France or Belgium.”

NZ Historian Bruce Fuller comments: “The claim of 400 in India is odd in that looking through lists of signed up members prior to 1914 shows barely any. The 400 likely consisted of men who belonged to LOF outside India but then went there to work or whatever. The item does not qualify where the numbers came from. It could also mean "East Indies Command" which covered places like Burma, Borneo, etc. India was in the E.I. Command. From what records I can find it appears the highest Legion rank in India was that of Captain.”

Author comments: Also to be considered is the possibility of rapid growth just prior to and as a result of the Call to Arms. A pattern of LF growth (and large enrolments claimed) in Alberta at the time is an example.