The 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles - ElectricCanadian.com

;ARMISTICE TO DEMOBILIZATION 153marched to Goyck, where they rested long enough to seethe New Year in. The officers had their mess in theChateau de Saffleburg, whose Chdtelain, the Baron vonOldeneel, gave his wines of rarest vintage for the NewYear s dinner, of which he was the genial host.In four days the Battalion moved due west throughLierde St. Martin, Renaix, Herrines to Dottignies, wherethey arrived on January 4th and remained for a month.Dottignies is a small town in a densely populated industrial area on the Belgian frontier five miles east ofTourcoing and Roubaix. The inhabitants were veryfriendly and the Battalion soon became acquainted by theimmediate inauguration of a dance. The Belgian youthswho had been expatriated by the Germans were returningdaily to their former employment in the mills and fields;a football match between them and the Battalion addedto the friendly influences which made the rest at Dottignies so pleasant. About the middle of the month,General Sir Arthur Currie visited the Brigade and explained that the Third and Fourth Divisions had not relievedthe First and Second in Germany because of the difficultiesin transportation and that the Third Division had beenchosen to return to Canada first. This was the last stopof any duration in Belgium. The month was occupiedwith the preparation of nominal rolls, inspections andmedical boards, sports and vocational training, andfinally, on February 6th, they moved to Blandain andhanded over their horses at Renaix. On the 9th theymarched to Baisieux on the Franco -Belgian border between Lille and Tournai, where they entrained the sameevening.The Battalion travelled from Belgium across NorthernFrance, which many knew only too well, to le Havre,where they arrived two days later. Two days and nightsFeb n-in the same train, which was a typical troop-train, gaverise to many humorous incidents on this last ride out ofthe country. The train soon became a personal thing.Early in the trip the men began calling the engine "Rod",and the train "Rod s Train."Rod" became lessmechanical as the journey progressed, he would rear up