THIS DAY IN RMR HISTORY – 30 August 1914 – “For a few days after arrival at Valcartier the Royal Montreal Regiment was occupied with routine. As Sir Andrew Macphail in his official “Medical Services” observed about Valcartier, “military training in a general sense was negligible.” Thirty-three thousand men, drawn from over two hundred units of the Canadian Militia assembled in the camp and time was necessarily spent in “organizing and reorganizing, issuing clothing and equipment, examining and inoculating recruits, and preparing for reviews.” Work on the ranges was also a feature of Valcartier life, in spite of the prevailing shortages of rifles.
The Royal Montreal Regiment possessed three hundred rifles only, but these were passed from squad to squad and kept in service, with the result that every man was taught how a rifle should be handled and cared for. Special attention was also given to the Machine Gun Section of the Battalion which throughout the month at Valcartier trained diligently under the command of Lieut. R. de V. Terroux.” [1]
[1] R.C. Featherstonhaugh, The Royal Montreal Regiment 14th Battalion C.E.F. 1914-1925, Montreal, The Gazette, Printing Co., Ltd., 1927, pp. 7-8.