$55.00 CAD
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Nice photo of Princess Patricia soldiers lining rails on deck of ship. One is holding an ‘Australia’ pennant. Also see some women and one young girl. This regiment was the first sent by Canada to fight in Europe during WW1.
Text in french on back:
“…je t’envoie cette carte c’est le départ de 250 soldats qui vont droit en France, ils appartiennent au régiment de princess Patricia presque tous ses soldats on fait la guerre du transvall par le morceau du journal que je t’envoi. Tu vera le monde qui sont venue leur souhaiter un bon voyage. Nous avons encore plus de 2000 soldats à Victoria. Vancouver a en a bien plus…”
“… I am sending this card, it is the departure of 250 soldiers who are going directly to France, they belong to the Princess Patricia regiment, almost all of these soldiers fought in the Transvaal war based on the piece of newspaper I am sending you. You will see all of the people who cam out to wish them bon voyage. We have another 2000 soldiers here in Victoria. Vancouver has even more…”
Undated, the photographic paper used confirms date 1904-1918.
Not mailed.
Some slight yellowing along edges on back.
(Red text is an electronic watermark that is not physically part of the photo for sale).
At the outbreak of World War I, when Canada was lacking regular military forces, the then-Captain Andrew Hamilton Gault raised the Patricias. The government temporarily accepted his offer on August 6, 1914, and officially authorized it on August 10, 1914.
... asked the Duke of Connaught for permission to name the regiment after his daughter. The name Light Infantry in the battalion name was chosen by Captain Gault, who served during the Second Boer War and liked the impression of an irregular force that the name inspired.
Due to the patriotic outpouring following the August, 4 declaration of war, some 3,000 applicants were recruited within eight days. By August 19 a full complement of 1,098 had been selected, of those, 1,049 had previously served in South Africa or in the British Army.
The regiment left Ottawa on August 28 and boarded the SS Megantic in Montreal, Quebec. However, because of enemy action in the Atlantic Ocean, the regiment had to deboard at Lévis, Quebec. During the period of Training at Lévis, following extensive tests on the Ross rifle, the Patricias issued the first of what would be many damning reports of the suitability of the Ross rifle for combat. The regiment finally left on September 27 from Quebec City on board the Royal George for England in company with the rest of the first Canadian contingent.
WIKIPEDIA
