The 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles - ElectricCanadian.com

PREFACEI was commissioned to write this book Ifound it necessaryWHEN to adhere rigidly to a definitepolicy on account of the limits of space. Primarilythe book was written for the men and the satisfaction ofthe next of kin. The Regiment was raised to fight theenemy; those things which helped to advance that causeand were a means to that end were given preference.Despite the necessity of condensation, no time has beenomitted or glossed over without some reference to it, sothat no man, no matter how short his association withthe Regiment, will find a void where his interests centred.All the commanding officers kindly read those chapters of the book which included the time under theircommand. To them the author is especially gratefuland in particularto Lieutenant-Colonel H. D. LockhartGordon D.S.O., who originally proposed this history andthroughout its preparation gave, generously, many hoursof his days and evenings in helping with various details.Also Lieutenant-Colonel W. R. Patterson D.S.O., whoselong service with the Regiment combined with his prodigious memory, was of the greatest assistance.Captain R. Innes-Taylor, formerly Adjutant of theBattalion, gathered together a large amount of information and prepared material which was of the greatestassistance.The Regimental War Diary was my guide; all dates,names and movements were taken from it and I wasparticularly fortunate in having one of the best Diariesof any Regiment in the Great War, to consult. This isverified by the reference to it in the Army Quarterly,October, 1924, which printed extracts and commentedthat, "one Adjutant of an overseas battalion possesseda bright style and used particularly crisp phraseology in3The Adjutant referred to wascompiling hisDiary.