1916 – Alberta Commandants gather in mid May after Edmonton’s “Commandant Munton of the Legion of Frontiersmen, who is recruiting for the 210th (Frontiersmen) Battalion…” releases his leadership duties. The new Commandant is the very notable P.C.H. Primrose who is meeting with Honorary Commandant Dennis and Commandant Lt.Col. John Drummond both of Calgary; as well as Major Hill-Male and Captain Esmond of Strathcona Command (south side Edmonton). Major Hill-Male is reported giving lectures on military law and the south side Frontiersmen are parading with the area company of the 101st Edmonton Fusiliers.

1916 – Edmonton Command’s medical section of Frontiersmen are active in stretcher-bearer drill, first aid, and very uniquely a home nursing program. On the first of May the news reports, “The ambulance section of the Frontiersmen has become very efficient in its work, under the direction of Sergeant W. Rogerson.”. Much to the interest of the local St John Ambulance association and the public in general, the Legion of Frontiersmen are promoting and enrolling men into possibly the first men’s home nursing course in Canada. “It is hoped that this home nursing class will be, if possible, a bigger success than the very successful first aid class recently held under the auspices of the Frontiersmen. This is the first men’s home nursing class ever got together in the whole Dominion of Canada….” Later the Legion of Frontiersmen put on a display for an unnamed officer of the Women’s Volunteer Reserve. Other news reports indicate that the Legion’s ambulance section is a very successful unit involving a number of local medical doctors. As of August 1916, Edmonton’s LF medical section have had provided at least 20 medical Frontiersmen for enlistment in the Canadian Army Medical Corps, one of whom had been killed in action.

1916 – The United Farmers’ Of Alberta Mounted Infantry Corps is recruited by the Legion of Frontiersmen to provide mounted rifles in Edmonton and in outlying areas around the City of Edmonton. Along with this group the Frontiersmen recruit units from other employment groups as well: the Wholesalers’ Platoon, the Edmonton City Dairy workers, and even the sporting clubs like the Curlers’ unit.

1916 - Winnipeg Legion of Frontiersmen: Little is currently known about Winnipeg and the Legion of Frontiersmen. The following Edmonton newspaper quote provides some evidence of a Winnipeg LF Command. “ So far information obtained to the effect that Winnipeg Council passed a resolution calling on government assistance in providing arms for the Frontiersmen and Home Guard.”

1916 - Peter Gunn M.P.P. (Alberta) states that he was the first Frontiersman enrolled in Canada and C.H. Dunn of Wabamun Lake, Alberta is the second to enroll. Stanley Winther Caws of Lac Ste.Anne is credited as the first of the LF commandants in Canada. Author’s Notes:

• Other information from British Columbia indicates that Colonel Bates (the older brother of Capt. G.R. Bates OBE, JP) is reported as starting the first Frontiersmen unit and it was located in British Columbia.
• Also noted is the statement (see 1908 this timeline) that the first B.C. unit was formed in the Nicola Valley in 1908.

1916 – Registration: Organizers from the Legion Of Frontiersmen (Canada), ”Hereby declare their intention to form themselves into a Body Corporate and Politic under Chapter 66 of the Ordinances of the Northwest Territories: in force in the Province of Alberta, to be known by the name of The Legion of Frontiersmen, (Canada).” This declaration and government registration was signed by: Denis Erskine-Tulloch, Frank A. Robinson, Herbert B. Monk all of Calgary, by Charles G. Parkyn of Prince Albert, and by George B. Hanley of Moose Jaw. It is unconfirmed, but this registration was deemed invalid as it occurred without Imperial Headquarters authorization. (A review of 1916 newspapers is required). The next registration of the Legion of Frontiersmen with the province of Alberta occurred in 1933.

1916 – The aforementioned 1916 corporate registration in the Province of Alberta provides for a position designated as Matron of the Red Cross within the Legion of Frontiersmen. Implicit in such a title is a role for women within the Alberta Legion of Frontiersmen as nursing sisters or for the provision of assistance to those in the field.

1916 – United Farmer’s of Alberta Mounted Infantry Corps were recruited by the Legion of Frontiersmen. “Capt. Rice Sheppard stated 600 men had signed up out of the U.F.A. for a mounted corps.” This UFAMIC reported formations in Edmonton, and in the outlying rural villages and districts of St.Albert, Bremner, Stony Plain, Spruce Grove, Winterburn, Horse Hills, Belmont Park, Clearwater, and Leduc. The distinct unit badge consists of a gold shield surmounted by the King’s crown, with the Legion’s circular union jack badge at the center of the shield. The letters UFA (top) MIC (bottom) are on the shield as well.

1916 – The Model 1876 Winchester Carbines are given to the Legion of Frontiersmen now the politically correct Edmonton Battalion Reserve Militia, by the Royal North West Mounted Police, for the duration of the war. Collectors may note carbines stamped NWMP-LOF-APP or stamped LOF-APP from this era. The APP stamp would indicate use of the same carbines by the newly formed Alberta Provincial Police of 1917.

Author’s Note: One may safely speculate that the Alberta Provincial Police and the Legion of Frontiersmen had very good rapport. This would very likely be due to the efforts of Edmonton Commandant P.C.H. Primrose of the Legion of Frontiersmen, one of the three men responsible for establishing the APP in 1917.

1916 - Montreal Patriotiste Regiment: In a news article by Calgary columnist Jack Peach, he comments about this Legion of Frontiersmen initiated unit. Research into this is required.

1916 – No.255927, Private Charles Shepard Taylor, 210th (Frontiersmen) Battalion C.E.F. recollections of the 210th are recorded by Dominion Commandant A. Mack of the Legion of Frontiersmen. Taylor reported that the British were buying large quantities of horses from many countries. Much of the stock was untamed and there was a growing need for personnel capable of training mounts for the war effort. An original (unnamed) member of the PPCLI recovering in hospital was briefed as to the need for suitable horsemen. He (unnamed) was dispatched to western Canada. Southern Alberta was the prime location for cowboys; however, they were needed to ensure the beef supply for the war effort. The focus was then shifted to Saskatchewan and recruiting started in Moose Jaw. Charlie Taylor was able to join the 210th Frontiersmen Battalion despite his poor eyesight, because fitness was secondary to good horsemanship. Interestingly, although the 210th was raised as an infantry battalion, the men of the 210th Frontiersmen Battalion were referred to as “Troopers” instead of the customary “Privates”.

1916 – 210th (Frontiersmen) Battalion CEF: “The Legion are successors of the 1st Frontiersmen, who are best known as the Princess Patricia’s, a gallant corps of fighters who were ready soldiers when the great call came.”

1916 – The following quoted letter from Capt. J.C. Agnew, Canadian Signal Service was sent from France to Major F.V. Longstaff of Victoria Command. The letter is dated “France 24.Feb.1916. (1917)” and states “I met Colonel Driscoll some years ago on his visit to Vernon. He was making a pack horse tour through the Kootenays along with one of the Cecils, and stayed for about ten days. He gave some interesting lectures to the locale (sic) branch which I attended with the local O.C., J.P. Audy who poor chap was killed at Ypres while I was stationed there in the ramparts.” This interesting letter from the front suggests that the Legion of Frontiersmen’s CEO, Lt.Col. Driscoll DSO, had traveled to Canada prior to the Great War. (However, this is highly unlikely and it is far more probable that Agnew was confusing Driscoll with Legion Founder Roger Pocock, who had visited Vernon a number of times during his regular travels in Western Canada. Geoffrey A. Pocock, U.K. Historian and Roger Pocock biographer.)

1917 – P.C.H. Primrose -(RNWMP Superintendent, LOF Commandant, Police Court Magistrate, Board Member founding Alberta Provincial Police)- the officer commanding, Edmonton Battalion Reserve Militia comments as follows about the Edmonton Battalion of Reserve Militia (“R.M.” in news reports): “The formation of the Edmonton Battalion Reserve Militia was absolutely necessary in order to give governmental sanction to the Legion of Frontiersmen that they might complete their usefulness…to train men who had to stay at home to be of service in case of trouble arising. By being a body of trained men it frees more men of military age and fitness for actual overseas service. There is no use in loyal citizens saying that when trouble comes he will be there, because without training he would be of no earthly use”.

1917 – Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan accompanied by his wife Mrs. Lake present the colors to the 210th (Frontiersmen) Battalion C.E.F. on the Collegiate Campus at 2:30 pm 16 March 1917. Mrs. Lake formally presented the King’s Colors to a kneeling officer, and a similar ceremony saw the Regimental Colors presented to Mrs. Seaborn, the wife of the battalion’s commanding officer Lieutenant-Colonel Seaborn. The Colors were then paraded to the front and center of the 210th (Frontiersman) Battalion and they were saluted by all present. The Following event of the proceedings was the trooping of the colors. “The Maple Leaf Forever,” having been sung the ensigns with the colors and the escort, headed by bands, were marched across the grounds and then through the lines, the troops standing at the salute. The Lieutenant-Governor took his position beneath the flag and took the salute. The men went by in excellent order and were loudly applauded. At the conclusion of the march past the whole battalion advanced in to line of review order with colors at the front and again the royal salute was given.”

1917 – Headline: “Ancient Ceremony of Depositing Colors Of Unit Going To Front Took Place At St. Andrew’s – 210th Colors Left With Elders”.

1917 – The 210th (Frontiersmen) Battalion is broken up in England, all enlisted men revert to the rank of private, all officers including Lt. Col. Seaborn revert to the rank of lieutenant; and are reassigned as reinforcements to units in the field.

1917-‘18 – John Evelyn Sturley the former Regimental Sergeant Major of the 210th (Frontiersmen) Battalion and most others of the 210th are reassigned to the 46th Battalion CEF as a private soldiers. He subsequently is promoted to the rank of sergeant in the field. Sgt. J.E. Sturley single handedly charges an enemy machine gun position bayoneting all entrenched there. This former Frontiersman RSM is recommended for the Victoria Cross, and received the very prestigious Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) for his valour in action.

1917 – Although this timeline reports the 1915 news mentioning 400 women in Edmonton’s Legion of Frontiersmen, the work of Canadian women with the Legion unclear at present. An interesting example of a female physician, Miss J.A. Scott M.D. from Auckland, has been recorded in the New Zealand news of the era.

“Dr. Jessie Scott, who was made an honourary lieutenant of the Legion in recognition of her noble work in Servia (Serbia), has been spending a furlough in London, and sends greetings to legionaires (sic) of the New Zealand division. She was entertained at lunch by H.R.H. Prince Alexander, Crown prince of Servia, and his brother Prince George. Dr. Scott writes: “Things being so slack, I was glad to take the opportunity of returning to England for a little. I hope to go back to the Servians before very long and I want to go. The more one sees of these brave people the better one likes them. I have taken a great fancy to the beautiful Balkan countries. Our hospital is was about 100 miles up country, in the direction of Monastir, and I didn’t get many opportunities of visiting Solinika, but I met a number of New Zealanders. The base censor is a New Zealander, and he arranged a New Zealand dinner at which I was present. About 30 attended and we had a very jolly time.”

Author’s note: Bruce Fuller, the official LF New Zealand historian identifies the news reporter as d’Esterre who wrote for the Auckland Star and the Auckland Illustrated. The officer d’Esterre was the Organising Officer for New Zealand’s North Island. He was also the Legion leader who offered the NZ LOF en masse to the NZ Government for war service in 1914, and after the Great War later the force behind the NZ Legion of Frontiersmen Memorial at National Park.

Important Correction: NZ Historian further identifies via photo and news article, Dr. Jessie Scott (female) as Dr. J.A. Scott (not L.A. Scott as incorrectly recorded in an older Canadian LF history book.).

1918 – Legion Captain B. Oxley, Organising Officer for Southern Alberta and subsequent Major in the 210th Frontiersmen Battalion CEF (while training in Canada) corresponds with New Zealand Frontiersmen. No. 920 in the Legion, Captain B. Oxley, writing from Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada, sends greetings to New Zealanders. He remarks:

“ I am an old-time New Zealander, and have lived in every part of it, from Auckland to the Bluff. Also, I was a personal friend and fellow-miner of Dick Sedon, afterwards Prime Minister. I was in one of the Kumara ‘rushes’ with him, and I was also in the wreck of the Tararua, at Waipapa Point, which made such a sensation at the time. You will see that I am one of the Old Brigade, - the first thousand in the Legion. Also, sadly the ranks of the first thousand have grown sadly less since the time of De Hora, Pocock, and others. For two years I was acting commandant of the whole of Southern Alberta, a district larger than the South Island of New Zealand. I sent nearly 400 Legionaires into the first Canadian Expeditionary Force, and then I helped raise the 210th Frontiersmen Battalion, in which I was a major, and we trained at Camp Hughes. The badge of this regiment is the Legion badge. I was told, however, that owing to my age I could not be allowed to go to France, so I had to resign and see the regiment go without me. All my four sons are fighting in Flanders. A copy of the AUCKLAND WEEKLY NEWS, sent to me by London headquarters of the Legion, has brought the most intense yearning for ‘God’s Own Country’ again. I’d love to see some of the old spots once more. Is the Waikato Light Horse still in existence? Do you remember the threatened Maori trouble, was it at Orepuki, somewhere around 1880? Wouldn’t I like just one more pig-hunt on the Hokonuis or up at Wakatipu! It sure sounds ‘kapai’. Well, well, I guess we old-timers are getting old, though I don’t feel it yet. It’s a time of worry for us all just now. My daughter, a girl of 14, was in Germany when war broke out. She was at school there, and was interned, but, thanks to the United States Ambassador, we got her safely home. I’d like to hear from some old-time New Zealanders in the Legion. Tenakoe!”

Author’s note: NZ Historian identifies the news report as sent to d’Esterre who wrote for the Auckland Star and the Auckland Illustrated. The officer d’Esterre was the Organising Officer for New Zealand’s North Island. He was also the Legion leader who offered the NZ LOF en masse to the NZ Government for war service in 1914, and after the Great War was the force behind the NZ Legion of Frontiersmen Memorial at National Park.

1918 – The following information is written prior to war’s end by Lt.Col. D.P. Driscoll DSO, Chief Executive Officer Legion of Frontiersmen and Officer Commanding 25th Royal (Frontiersmen) Fusiliers. It briefly summarizes the Legion wartime contribution. In responding to the call to arms, Driscoll writes that “some 10,000 grand men who rushed from their homes from all over the earth and from the British Isles”. He further states, “Over 6000 have either given their lives or have been incapacitated from wounds or sickness; the others are still in the field.”

Author’s note: Traditionally (1930s news clipping) the Legion of Frontiersmen pay tribute to “the 9000” and this has been understood as meaning 9000 Frontiersmen who perished during the Great War 1914-1918. Initially, the Founder Roger Pocock used the number “6000” in his book published after the Great War.

PPCLI: Regarding Legion of Frontiersmen enlistment in Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, Lt.Col. Driscoll DSO writes: “Again, who does not swell with pride and emotion when we think of the grand work performed by the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Battalion, which was rushed straight across in time of peril and who sacrificed themselves almost out of existence to save the Empire; over 50% of this battalion were members of the Legion.”

Author’s note: The “over 50%” conflicts with Lt. Col D.P. Driscoll’s earlier letter from Malta in 1915 in which he states that “nearly 50%” of the original PPCLI enlisted were members of the Legion. Regardless both percentages are supportive of Legion lore saying about one half of the original PPCLI were Legion members.

Newfoundland and Labrador was organized by A.W. Wakefield and according to Driscoll “contributed about 100 Legionaires (sic) who have done conspicuous work in France.”

Author’s note: Recall that at the outbreak of the Great War in 1914, that approximately 150 Frontiersmen were in Newfoundland Command and available for service. This would indicate that the remainder were in the Royal Navy, the Home Defence Artillery, or providing other colonial home front service.

Lt. Col. Driscoll DSO goes on to mention “at least 800 of the very best stamp” traveled to enlist from Fiji, Solomon Islands, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Siam, India, Ceylon, Aden, and Egypt. New Zealand women and men are singled out for praise supporting via parcels and letters the Frontiersmen in British East Africa. Regarding his own 25th (Service) Royal (Frontiersmen) Fusiliers he points out that of the over 2000 men that passed through the unit only 50 men survived as fit for service.