The 4th Battalion,
Canadian Mounted Rifles was authorized on 7 November 1914 as the 4th Regiment, Canadian Mounted Rifles, CEF and embarked for Britain on 18 July 1915. It disembarked in France on 24 October 1915, where it fought as part of the 2nd Brigade Canadian Mounted Rifles until 31 December 1915, when it was converted to infantry and allocated to the
8th Canadian Infantry Brigade,
3rd Canadian Division
The 3rd Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army responsible for the command and mobilization of all army units in the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, as well as Northwestern Ontario including the ...
. The regiment was redesignated the 4th Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles, CEF on 1 January 1916 and was disbanded on 6 November 1920.
[Canadian Forces Publication A-DH-267-003 Insignia and Lineages of the Canadian Forces. Volume 3: Combat Arms Regiments.]
History
The battalion recruited in Militia District 2 in Ontario and was mobilized at Toronto, Ontario.
[Meek, John F. ''Over the Top! The Canadian Infantry in the First World War.'' Orangeville, Ont.: The Author, 1971. ] Most of their recruits came from the militia cavalry regiments from Militia District 2:
The Governor General's Body Guard, the
2nd Dragoons, the
9th Mississauga Horse and the
25th Brant Dragoons.
The battalion had four Officers Commanding:
*Lt.-Col.
S. F. Smith, 18 July 1915 – 6 March 1916
*Lt.-Col.
J. F. H. Ussher, 6 March 1916 – 3 June 1916
*Lt.-Col.
H. D. L. Gordon, DSO, 7 June 1916 – 27 May 1917
*Lt.-Col.
W. R. Patterson, DSO, 28 May 1917-Demobilization
Victoria Cross
One member of the battalion, Pte
Thomas William Holmes, was awarded the
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...
for his actions on 26 October 1917 during the
Battle of Passchendaele. Pte Holmes, then 19, is Canada's youngest Victoria Cross recipient.
Perpetuations
The 4th Battalion, Canadian mounted rifles is perpetuated by
The Governor General's Horse Guards.
Battle honours
The battalion was awarded the following battle honours:
*
MOUNT SORREL
*
SOMME, 1916
*
FLERS-COURCELETTE
*
Ancre heights
*
ARRAS, 1917,
'18
*
VIMY, 1917
*
Hill 70
*
YPRES, 1917
*
PASSCHENDAELE
*
AMIENS
Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...
*
Scarpe, 1918
*
Hindenburg Line
*
Canal du Nord
*
CAMBRAI, 1918
*
Valenciennes
Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France.
It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...
*
Sambre
The Sambre () is a river in northern France and in Wallonia, Belgium. It is a left-bank tributary of the Meuse, which it joins in the Wallonian capital Namur.
The source of the Sambre is near Le Nouvion-en-Thiérache, in the Aisne department. ...
*
FRANCE and FLANDERS, 1915-18
See also
*
List of mounted regiments in the Canadian Expeditionary Force
*
References
Works cited
*''Canadian Expeditionary Force 1914-1919'' by Col.
G. W. L. Nicholson, CD, Queen's Printer, Ottawa, Ontario, 1962
Further reading
*{{cite book, last1=Bennett, first1=S. G. (Stewart Gordon), title=The 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles, 1914-1919, date=1926, publisher=Murray Print. Co, location=Toronto, pages=412, url=https://archive.org/details/mountedrifles00bennuoft
004
Military units and formations of Ontario
Governor General's Horse Guards