THE PROBLEM OF REINFORCEMENTS

The early days of trench warfare took the Patricia's by surprise. It took them some time to adjust to their new surroundings. So confident were these Canadian men who had conquered the unforgiving conditions of the wilderness back home, they lived off the land, skilled hunters, they learned from the natives, with survival skills ranked them among the elite fighters but they could never have envisioned war being fought under these conditions and were stunned at the distance and accuracy of the German artillery and fire power. It took them some time to understand how to fight this insane idea of warfare and in the first weeks they spent much of their time in defensive mindset under cover until they could gain confidence to fight against this kind of enemy that none had ever experienced before.  They were outranked by the German weapons in which the telescopic capability and construction was well ahead of its times. Snipers with the keenest of eyes needed to compete with the German capabilities…..Conditions were more primitive than in any war preceding in modern times. 

Quoted from the book, "Mopping Up", written by Lieutenant Jack Monroe PPCLI

By late February, the relentless hardships were wearing on the men. The steady loss of soldiers killed, wounded and otherwise disabled from sickness and exposure was a worrisome problem not only for the Patricias but throughout the Allied army.

The war, as designed by German General Staff, was to have been won by now but the German Commander’s Schlieffen Plan failed. A swift triumph in France followed by an aggressive campaign on the Russian front would have put an early end to the war. However, the French retreated and fortified, denying the Germans their decisive battle. Each cautiously and defensively dug into the earth. In preparation for the ultimate breakthrough, complete with cavalry charge, both sides set up temporary strongholds with machine gun nests and screens of barbed wire protection. The advancement of deadly technology contributed to the stalemate on the battlefield and the victorious breakthrough was elusive for both sides. No one could have predicted how deeply settled they would become in a kind of terrifying warfare no one had ever seen before. After the shocking losses of the first several months of battle, both sides were that much more determined to vindicate their fallen comrades and fight stubbornly for their honour at an impossible cost. “I don’t know what is to be done." said Lord Kitchener, the British War Secretary, in early 1915, "This isn't war."

 c1915 PPCLI Trench; PPCLI Museum and Archives P30(300)-1

With the expectation of a short-lived conflict and minimal casualties, nobody had given much thought to the issue of reinforcements and in fact there was no system in place at all in the winter of 1915 for bringing in fresh troops. Yet in only six weeks of warfare the situation was already becoming critical for the Patricias. Entrenched in a very difficult sector, the losses were devastating with seventy casualties, including five officers. Even worse were the crippling numbers of sick soldiers out of the line. When Agar Adamson arrived with his draft the Regiment was close to four hundred men under strength. The arrival of the draft brought the numbers up to 700 but this had completely depleted the reserves. Any subsequent drafts of Canadian troops would be distributed to the 1st Canadian Division and new battalions of men were being reserved for a 2nd Division. The Regiment was just able to sustain itself with small drafts of men cleverly procured from a variety of sources throughout the winter.

Col Farquhar showed initiative by devising a system of replacing officers that would soon become Regimental tradition. Against convention, he began recommending men from the ranks for commissions within their own unit. Five such men were commissioned in January and February, three of whom rose to field rank and were decorated. Uniquely, hardly an officer who had served with the Regiment had served in the field with any other unit than the Patricias and in most cases they had risen from the ranks.

FEB 24th, 1915 AGAR ADAMSON PREPARES FOR HIS FIRST TOUR IN THE TRENCHES

Adamson understood the conditions he would be facing on the front line and was preparing himself for the trials ahead. When he arrived in France with his draft of reinforcements, the 27th Division was still occupying the trench systems east of St. Eloi and engaged in the exhausting task of holding a dominant land feature dubbed "The Mound". Rising up 20 feet high and 70 feet long on the western side of the road from St. Eloi to Warnton, the clay mound presented one of the few opportunities for the Division to control high ground. As such it was heavily shelled and became increasingly difficult to hold. 

Portrait of Agar Adamson 

The trench systems north and east of St. Eloi extended from the front of the Mound. Ralph Hodder-Williams describes the area in his history of the Regiment, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry 1914-1919: 

"Across this road two trenches, 19 and 20, continued the line in a north-easterly direction; thence the line bent back sharply in front of Shelley Farm through trenches 21, 22 and 23, to conform to the German position, which paralleled the St. Eloi - Hollebeke road with its front line north, and the main system immediately south, of this road. The two lines were extremely close at this curve, and the interest of the Germans in the Mound, from which they would be able to overlook the whole southern defences of Ypres, made an early struggle for its possession certain. The outlook was not encouraging. The Germans, as was proved later, were fairly well off for trenches, but the condition of the British line here was even worse than on the right. The defences were very inadequate - low, untraversed, not even bullet-proof. Trenches 19 and 21 were particularly bad, in many places filled above the knee with slush and filth; their garrisons had to occupy such dry spots as they could find by cutting one-man recesses into the parapet. Buried in the ditches lay French, German and British dead, and there were many corpses protruding from the crumbling parapet. Movement by day was impossible, as the German snipers commanded the whole area from high ground beyond trench 22…. The whole position east of St. Eloi was plainly insecure.” 

Adamson's arrival at the front would coincide with the Regiment's most aggressive action to date. As he became immersed in the appalling conditions of trench life, Agar's letters to Mabel transitioned from jovial correspondence to a powerful chronicle of the Canadian experience in the Great War.   

Portrait of Agar Adamson 

Flanders, 24th Feb. 1915.

My dear Mabel,

I am censoring my own letters and I am therefore in honour bound not to break the rule about places, numbers, etc., so I must refrain from saying so. We left Rouen at 6.p.m. and arrived at the "Racehead", N. SodMoring yesterday 10 a.m. which means, as far as the Railway at present goes to the front, we then marched 6 miles in a fog, no rain, the roads and mid, notwithstanding every effort at draining are indescribable, worse than the worst at Salisbury. We heard the artillery all the way up on the march in the distance. The journey in the train which was a quick one, was very comfortable - 3 of us in a 1st class carriage, one sleeping on the floor. We had our Wolsey valises with us.

It was a bit cold in the early morning and very draughty. We arrived here (Gray knows its name) and found the Regiment had come out of the trenches the night before for 6 days rest. Their casualties had been small; 4 killed, 4 wounded, but they were in the eastern trenches of the line. Next time it is our turn for the worst ones. Everything is a case of take turns at the soft and the hard.

.... The Regiment is full of buck and very cheerful the men are looking splendid. No 2 is still the strongest Company. The men seemed very glad to see me, as I went to see them. The draft has now been split up with the different companies and the old lot will soon knock them into shape. The officer of each Co. mess together in their billets and some of them do themselves very well; Pelly and Ward particularly, as they get all kinds of things sent them from home. Although the rations seem to be quite good. When the Regiment came out of the trenches Niven had got hold of a brougham and put 4 horses into it, two postillions riding, two men on the box with German helmets and drawn swords, tow men standing up behind with fixed bayonets and inside a tired man togged up as a German. The servants and grooms acted as outriders. They drove in the middle of the Regiment and created a great sensation. General Snow turned out with all his staff and was much amused. The men told the population that it was the Kaiser inside and all the children and old women hissed him.

... All the officers are looking very fit, except Minchin who I think will now go to the Flying Corps. He is not strong enough for this work. Ward and Pelly who I thought might waste are better and stronger than ever they were. McKinery is at Tidworth. He writes that James is leaving in a few days. Gault is doing wonderful work and the men adore him.

....The trenches we are to fill on the next go are bad ones I hear and only 30 yards from the Prussian Guards, who have sapped to within 18 yards. I am taking Captain Carr who has been in command of No. 2 for some time with me, as he has been in there before and the whole game will be new to me. The 30 and 18 yards are actual facts, although it is hard to believe. The only thing I cannot understand is how any human being can stay awake for 48 hours, but I will have to find this out by experience and tell you all about it, when it is over.

Goodbye old girl, thank you for your very nice letter. Don't worry about me. Lots of hardships are due me after so many years of undeserved comforts and there are a great many men and officers here who must find it harder to stand than I will and who have been at it for nearly two months. Ever thine,

Agar.

St. Omer, 25th Feb. 1915

My dear Mabel, 

... I have taken over No. 2 Company which is now 145 strong, the strongest in the Regiment still. Martinette and the other two risen from the ranks, went to England today on 6 days to buy kit. 

Captain Carr's blistered heel has now festered and he will not be able to go into the trenches this time, so they have given me Donald Cameron of No 3 Coy., a very nice chap, and unless the 6 officers I left at Rouen who up, the two of us will have to handle the Company alone in the trenches. 

This afternoon we did some wire entanglements and the men thoroughly understood it. We also went through instructions (the N.C.O.s and officers) in bomb throwing. You hold the bomb (which has a handle and looks like a Queen Anne milk jug) in your left hand, pressing the ignition button with your right hand, passing the bomb to your right hand and then throwing it. It has to be done very quickly, as it goes off in 6 seconds after the button is pressed and burst in a circle, bursting backwards as far as forwards. 30 yards is a good throw. We also have special pistols that throw up flares. It has been raining all day. I also had instructions in the most useful working of the periscope. It is a very cover double mirror reflecting instrument, but it is impossible to judge the distance the object you in the bottom, is away. Our big guns are quite close to us and wonderfully concealed. The 16-pounders are further away and are dug-in and are most difficult to see. The firing keeps up all day and at times much more rapid than at others. Snowing hard since 5 p.m. and very strong moon. 

FEBRUARY 15TH, 1915 ADAMSON RECEIVES HIS SAILING ORDERS

The Patricias were settling into the gruelling routine of trench life. During the day, their time was spent with heads down, cleaning their weapons and repairing any damage to the trenches from the previous night's shelling. When the heavy work was done the men would pass the time delousing, writing letters or sleeping. 

The officers spent their days inspiring the men, censoring the letters and managing inquiries from runners in the communication trenches. Ammunition stores had to be counted daily and casualty reports from the night before were reported. Writing letters of condolences became a regular part of the officer's routine. 

Once darkness fell, soldiers prepared for the continuous and nerve wracking threat of shelling. Some nights were quiet, waiting and watching for the enemy, but the men were always vigilant for rifle fire and sniper's bullets. They learned early on not to look out over the parapet. At this point in the war the Canadian's role was a defensive one. Orders from General Alderson were to "hold the front trenches at all costs"but heavy shelling and sharp shooting German snipers were taking their toll.

Trenches 1915; Arthur McMahon, Brunet, Milne, McCormick, Jones;
Courtesy of PPCLI Museum and Archives; P30(71)-1

Agar Adamson was eager to abandon the comforts of England and join in the hardships the other Patricias had been enduring for weeks. Talbot Papineau and Charles Stewart, both having recovered from their burn wounds, had already made their way back to the Regiment earlier in the month. Adamson was the last of the Originals to arrive in France. 

Monday night. February 15, 1915

My dear Mabel,

Kindly keep the enclosed receipt.

I got my sailing orders tonight about 5. and wired you. Only Martin a nice youngster from B.C., son of Justice Martin of B.C., is going with me.

The King and General Campbell were here today. General C. made a nice speech saying he heard from General French that our Regiment was one of the best in France. Just after James had been going for us and particularly me. He has got back to his old ways again.

Goodbye old girl. I will keep you posted on my movements. Your loving boy,

Agar.

P.S. Will you kindly have the two knives engraved P.P.C.L.I and send one each to Rodney and Anthony. Will you please find out from the Grays, Cornish's address and send the enclosed letter to him.

Another P.S. I am sending up tomorrow a white canvas kit bag with a saddle in it, a fat brown kit bag containing things I shall not want. It is locked, key enclosed. A long brown tired kit bag containing my camp bed, table and fold up chair.

It is now 12 o'clock and I have been sent for to see Colonel James about a nominal roll of the draft which he had this morning. We had three different kit inspections today,

I got some beautiful lined mitts from the British today for the whole draft.

Agar.

FEBRUARY 1915 THE REGIMENT MOVES TO THE TRENCHES NEAR ST. ELOI

On February 3rd the Regiment marched to a new area east of St. Eloi and took over the trenches from the York and Lancaster Regiment. They moved headquarters from the heavily shelled and badly damaged Voormezeele to Shelley Farm. 

Hamilton Gault wrote to his friend Percival Campbell, "The d--d old Huns found our H.Q. the day before yesterday - we thought it was too well hidden behind a wood for that! - and put 4 or 5 shells through. It was quite unnecessary of them to do this for the house had been barely touched before and we were extremely comfortably settled, Fanny (Farquhar), Buller and I in one room on mattresses with a table and chairs; our servants in another; the trench guides in a third; and the H.Q. men in the cellars". 

After each few days in the trenches the men were relieved and marched 3 km back to Dickebusch or on to Heksken, a small town approximately 12km from the front for rest. The bitter weather continued and the trenches, badly damaged from the driving rain, again were positioned on low ground. Lt Col Farquhar noted the unsanitary conditions with the bodies of french soldiers strewn across the rear ground. The trenches were wet and unsafe with too many dugouts against the thinned parapets, which on some had crumbled away completely. Wherever possible the men worked to drain and repair their defences but success was limited. 

Map of St. Eloi trench system, 1915 (click to enlarge) 

Map of St. Eloi and Voormezeele Region, 1915 (click to enlarge) 

Back on Salisbury Plain at the Reinforcement Depot at Tidworth, Agar Adamson was desperately trying to join the Regiment in Belgium. Much to his dismay, he had been ordered to stay behind to train a draft of 500 men from Canada. Unfortunately, he had made an enemy of the one man who could send him there, his Commanding Officer, Colonel James. James was an old school disciplinarian and made Adamson's life on the Plain miserable. 

In spite of Farquhar's request to have Adamson brought to the front and command the new draft, James put his foot down and refused to allow him to go. We know from a comment of Mabel's that Col James and General Alderson were "very bitter" about the glamour and mystique attached to the PPCLI and seemed to take delight in dismantling the unit. When the new draft had arrived in January, James, with imperious authority, had them transferred over to a group of general Canadian reinforcements. Adamson himself was separated from the Regiment and placed with other surplus Canadian officers. He was furious. He wrote to Mabel, "This is the last straw. I have written and protested, but James wrote back that any suggestion from me is out of order." 

Adamson send an urgent message to Farquhar who returned immediately to sort out the situation with the top brass at the War Office. James had denied Farquhar's request to send him to London to meet with Farquhar so Adamson disguised and smuggled his most trusted NCO, Sergeant A.B. Cork, out of camp and sent him to London with a long memo delivered to Farquhar by Mabel herself. Thanks to Farquhar's efforts the situation was resolved favourably for Adamson and the draft. 

Tuesday, February 9th, 1915.

My dear Mabel,

The C.O. saw James yesterday but could get no satisfaction out of him, so we motored to Salisbury and saw the General of the Southern Command, net result being that all my actions, telegrams and official letters were upheld and approved of. We are to be made (are being made today) a separate and complete unit of our own, self-contained with Barracks, Officers' Mess, Store Rooms, Orderly Rooms, etc., all our own, that we are not to be removed from Tidworth, all the other Canadians are going to Lark Hill in huts in the mud very shortly. The C.O. tried to get us put directly under the Southern Command and free from James. This he could not work, but is seeing the War Office today and hopes to be able to arrange it. We don't move for 10 days.

I am to take three of the new officers to London very soon to show them how to buy kit and get 3 days leave.

I am to command the draft of 130 men and 2 officers to pick my own officers, am 2nd in Command of the 500 men here and have to re-organize these tomorrow into 2 companies, appoint a Quartermaster, Adjutant, Paymaster, etc., etc.

The C.O. and I got back from Salisbury at 7:30 last night. He gave a "Talk on the war” to all Roger's officers, plus the 14 P.P.C.L.I. He then took each officer one by one and looked him over alone forming his own opinion; this took till 1 in the morning. He slept in a bunk in my room, it was past two when we had thrashed out how he would like the new offices planned. At 7 this morning he inspected the 500 men, talking to each. He came back to my room, wrote two very important letters, had breakfast and caught the 9:30 train.

He inspected the old lot left with me yesterday, the men all thought he was in France. When he came on parade the men gave him 3 great cheers. James was so angry he ordered all the men put under arrest (afterwards cancelled).

The C.O. shook hands with every one of my men and had a word to say to each. If we once can get out of James clutches everything will go beautifully.

I feel a positive wreck this morning, a sort of reaction I suppose after the strain of the last two weeks. It is difficult to always do the right thing when you have a little beast like James trying to catch you up at every turn. If it had only been a personal affair it would have been quite different, but a great part of the welfare of the Regiment was at stake.

Goodbye old girl, thank you for a very nice letter.

Agar.

Members of the 500 draft, Tidworth, January 1915

JANUARY 1915, PRINCESS PATRICIA'S CANADIAN LIGHT INFANTRY EXPERIENCE THEIR FIRST TOUR OF DUTY

"I was trying to get a fire going in a bucket by swinging it to and fro, to thaw us out a bit, when Hamilton Gault roared, 'Roffey, I know bloody well that Jerry knows we are here but you don't need to advertise the fact!' "

By the end of January the Patricias had been initiated into the horrors of a new warfare. Surviving members of the Regiment would remember that first tour in the trenches as one their worst experiences of the war. It was not only exhausting but put many out of commission with foot rot and sickness.

The rain had turned to sleet and snow and the rudimentary trenches were constantly caving in under the continual onslaught of shelling and harsh weather. A series of brooks in front of the trenches prevented the men from digging any deeper as drainage was impossible. There were no sand bags to build a parapet and it was not uncommon for soldiers to be waist deep in water. Adding insult to injury, the Germans were able to drain their trenches toward the British line. The unburied dead lay all around them and the area was infested with rats.  

"If only there might be a touch of Canadian frost to freeze this mud! If only one might get out and run up and down the road to get warm! But that might not be. The trench was but three feet high. One-half of it was mud and the other half water. There was no chance of making the trench deeper; had the boys attempted that, they would have been drowned in more mud. The water was always pouring into it from all sides and there was nothing to bail it out with. If the trench had been built up equally on both sides, it would have been a case of drown or be shot....For now I realized the depths of misery in the world - and realized that the misery was man-made!”

Quoted from the book, "Mopping Up", written by Lieutenant Jack Monroe PPCLI

This photo from PPCLI Archives is very likely a staged scene. The early trenches encountered by the Patricias would have been not so dissimilar to this ditch.

A pattern of two or three days in the line, rotating with two or three days rest was established for the first month. Unaccustomed to the reality of trench life, the first company of men to experience their rotation of 72 hours were in such a state of shock and exhaustion by the end they had to be lifted out of the trenches as they were too weak to pull their feet out of the mud. At one point the Company Commander had called for relief stating that his men were “nearly perished from cold and hunger”. He received only vague reassurance that relief would come by morning but in fact relief didn’t arrive for two more days. The Regiment had suffered only three killed and seven wounded on their first rotation but two additional men died simply from cold and exposure. With swollen feet and dysentery, 20 of 150 were sent directly to hospital. 

The appalling conditions in the Ypres Salient during that first winter were unparalleled throughout the rest of the war. At no other time in history had anyone waged war in the sodden fields of Belgium in January. Armies in previous centuries understood the wisdom of wintering in safe quarters until spring brought drier ground. Even with diligent foresight it would have been difficult to properly equip soldiers of that era to withstand the miserable conditions that winter. However, the inadequate equipment issued to the Canadian soldiers in 1914 made matters worse and left the Patricias in a critical situation by the end of the first month in the line. With the boot shortage and many men having worn through the soles of their boots completely, the army found itself overwhelmed with the new problem of “trench foot”. Colonial forces were among the hardest hit. 

The Canadian Defence Minister had been in charge of procuring equipment contracts for the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Many of Sir Sam Hughes’ decisions, though, were not only politically controversial but outright disastrous for the men at the front lines. The Ross rifle, the MacAdam Shield Shovel, their boots and webbing, and the Colt machine gun were all Canadian items which lacked in quality and functionality and compromised the safety and effectiveness of soldiers on the line. All were ultimately replaced or abandoned.

The Patricias suffered 70 battle casualties in the first six weeks of warfare. The battalion was, on average, 150 men under strength in those first few weeks due to exposure and many hundreds more due to sickness. 

JANUARY 6TH, 1915, PPCLI BECOME THE FIRST REGIMENT IN THEIR DIVISION TO ENTER THE FRONTLINE TRENCHES

The weary battalion reached their destination near Dickebusch in the early afternoon of the 6th. There they rested their worn feet in a rain soaked field until after dusk. After a hearty meal they moved forward to relieve the 53rd Regiment of the 32nd French Division at the front.

The boots issued to all Canadian soldiers had been developed from a pattern used in the Boer War and were unsuited to the harsh conditions of France and Belgium. When suggestions to strengthen the soles had been considered for use in Europe the Director General of Clothing and Equipment had reported that "the British army boot appears much too heavy for wear in Canada". With the exceptionally cold and wet winter, and only one pair available per man, the boots were never given an opportunity to dry and the stitching rotted away.

When the crisis in footwear became apparent, Lieutenant General Alderson, Commander of the Canadian Contingent, ordered that British regulation boots be issued immediately, and each unit commander was required to render a certificate "that every man is in possession of a service pair of Imperial pattern Army boots" before the Division moved to France. The Patricias would not get new boots in time for their first experience in the trenches.

War Diary Entry: 

Wed, Jan 6, 1915 METEREN, FRANCE

6.1.15 Marched from METEREN to DICKIEBUSH (DICKEBUSCH) via BAILLEUL, and LOCRE. Lack of boots much felt many men marching with no soles at all to their boots. 

DICKIEBUSH

2:30 pm

Arrived DICKIEBUSH and rested till 5 pm. At 4 pm Major HAMILTON (A.H.) GAULT returned to Bn with general instructions with regard to taking over the trenches from the 53rd French Regt. 63rd Brigade 32nd Division. Bn marched from X roads 1/2 mi. S.W. of DICKIEBUSH via DICKIEBUSH to road junction 1/4 mi. N.W. of VIERSTRAAT. 

When the Right Half Bn under Major GAULT took over the 2 sections on the right. The Left Half Bn marched to LA BRASSERIE & took over the remaining 2 sections. Time was lost owing to no guides having been provided by the French. Taking over completed at midnight without incident. Line held by the Bn extended 1150 yds as per attached sketch. Trenches were found to be in a very waterlogged condition: no brasiers & few dug outs: distance from GERMAN LINE 40 yds on our LEFT, 200 yds on our RIGHT. Work of bringing up ammunition to scale of 250 rds per rifle as well as rations continuing till 3 a.m. 7.1.15. 

The defensive position occupied by PPCLI on January 6th, 1915

The section of the line the Patricias were called to occupy was three miles south-west of Ypres at Vierstraat. Gault had gone ahead with an advance party, an officer and three NCO's from each company, studied the maps and was briefed by the French general. He surveyed the trenches the evening before and was appalled by the conditions his men would be facing. 

Constructed by the French in haste, this was not a sophisticated trench system. Rather the Patricias would be occupying crude ditches in the mud, too wide and too shallow to be of any protection from shellfire. There were gaps between platoon positions and there were no communication trenches leading to the rear. The enemy was less than 50 yards away in some positions and it would be impossible to move either in or out of the trenches in daylight. The Regiment would be greatly disadvantaged with the lower and very unsuitable defensive ground.

The Ypres Salient in January 1915. The dashed lines show the railway network in place at that time

Mid evening of January 6th, 1915, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry marched in close formation slowly and steadfastly into the darkness and unyielding mud toward their position in the front lines. The usual jokes and quips were, for the first time, muttered in low voices and with strained nerves as they observed the conditions around them. The reality of what they were now facing became clearer with the sight of stretcher bearers, the flashes of red in the night and the crack of bullets around them. By midnight they had taken their positions without casualties but on the second day in the line, January 8th, 1915, the Regiment lost it first two men killed in action.

JANUARY 5TH, 1915, PRINCESS PATRICIA'S CANADIAN LIGHT INFANTRY BEGIN THE MARCH TO YPRES

The ringing in of the new year, 1915, heralded the promise of fighting with the constant roaring of guns in the distance. Although there was no relief from the steady rain and bone chilling cold, morale among the men of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry was high as they took pride in facing the first hardships of war. 

On New Years Day, the entire 80th Brigade waited and stood at attention for over an hour in miserable weather for a brief inspection by Field Marshal Sir John French, Commander of the British Expeditionary Force. The Commander-in-Chief’s inspection inspired impressive remarks about the Patricias described in a dispatch a few weeks later as “this magnificent set of men”.  In a cable to Prime Minister Borden following their first tour in the trenches, Field Marshal French reported the Patricias, “fully justified the hope that their magnificent appearance inspired." In a letter to the Duke of Connaught he declared, "When I inspected them in the pouring rain I had never seen a more magnificent-looking battalion, Guards or otherwise." The admiration was warranted. Colonel Farquhar had worked hard to instill a sense of duty, discipline and pride in the men as the first representatives of Colonial troops to march forward into the front line. 

By late fall 1914, the British Regular Army had fought the Germans to a standstill in the low hills surrounding the ancient town of Ypres but at a terrible cost. As the Regiment prepared for its initiation to battle in the first week of January 1915, the British army, now greatly understrength, was struggling to hold on to their defensive position in the Ypres Salient. The French army were in an even more desperate state. The British 27th Division was ordered to support and extend the right of the British line south of Ypres. On the 5th of January the Patricias marched north into Belgium.

War Diary Entry

Tue, Jan 5, 1915 BLARINGHEM, FRANCE

5.1.15 Marched from BLARINGHEM to METEREN via HAZEBROUCH-SYLVESTRECAESTRE and FLETRE. Bn formed the Brigade Advanced Guard. Bn much handicapped from want of boots. 

"(January 5) ...orders were issued to pack all kits for full marching order. All blankets and equipment and quartermasters' stores were piled in the transports and limbers. 

One may imagine the feverish excitement that spread at this prospect of real contact with the enemy. 'Be ready for the firing line'; so read the orders of the day, and everyone was anxious to have that 'whack'.  As rumours had it, (we) were to relieve the French somewhere.

So at 8:30 A.M Canada's foremost battalion was in the road, waiting the order to march. The first day's march covered about fifteen miles. There were but a few short stops, of about ten minutes each. 

It was rather a hard trial on the feet, for the Pats had grown used to turf. The cobblestones seemed uncommonly hard. The boys could scarcely withstand the first day's forced march, and some of them wore the soles of their shoes even with the foot. 

...But the Canucks were game, and brought up the rear of the 80th Brigade with the 'swanky' swing they were famous for. They never dropped a yard in the pace set the K.R.R.'s in front of them. They were more than equal to the stern test!"

Quoted from the book, "Mopping Up", written by Lieutenant Jack Monroe PPCLI

PPCLI Troops at rest