72nd Seaforth Highlanders of Canada - waughfamily.ca

SEAFOETH HIGHLANDERS OF CANADAthe 72nd Battalion, having been relieved by their old comrades in arms, the 78th Winnipeg Grenadiers, swung clearof Onnaing en route for Valenciennes and out of the GreatWar forever.It w.as, of course, without knowledge of the impendingcollapse of Germany that the Battalion moved, on November 6th, from Valenciennes, recrossed the Canal de1 Escaut and settled into billets at Anzin. Energetic reorganization and training was at once commenced, in orderthat when its turn for action came again, all should be inperfect working order.On arrival at Anzin, instructions were received to theeffect that President Poincaire would pay a ceremonialvisit to the recently-captured town of Valenciennes, andthat the 72nd had been selected to supply a guard ofhonour of three officers and 100 other ranks. The President s arrival at Valenciennes was a most stirring sight.Thousands of citizens packed the Grande Place, eager fora glimpse of the highest French official, iafter four yearsof bondage beneath the heel of Prussia. As President Poincaire s car drew up before the Hotel de Ville, the vastcrowd which lined the square and filled every windowoverlooking it, broke into a spontaneous wave of cheering. As the President stepped from his motor-car theguard of honour, to the strains of the Marseillaise, snappedinto the "Present," and the historic city was once more,officially speaking, in French hands.The same afternoon the 72nd supplied an additionalguard of honour to Lieut.-Gen. Sir Arthur Currie, G.C.M.G.,K.C.B., who attended a reception given in his honour atthe Headquarters of the 4th Canadian Division in Valenciennes.On the evening of November 10th the question whicheverybody had been asking, again reasserted itself:"Where do we go in next time, and when?" But therewas to be no next time. As the officers of the Battalion170