72nd Seaforth Highlanders of Canada - waughfamily.ca

SEAFORTH HIGHLANDERS OF CANADAmarches being undertaken at Calgary, Alberta, Fort William, Ontario, and Campbelltown, New Brunswick.Shortly before arriving at Ottawa, word was received thatthe Battalion would be inspected by H. R. H. the Duke ofConnaught. Ottawa was reached on the morning of GoodFriday, April 21st, and the Battalion marched past the Governor-General who was accompanied by Sir Robert Borden.The Duke afterwards came to the railway station where theBattalion was carefully inspected by His Royal Highness andthe officers presented to him. Both he and his staff mademost complimentary remarks regarding the smartness,steadiness and physique of the Battalion. On completionof his inspection he requested that the men should againmarch past him, in order that he might see them again before leaving. This was done on the station platform.The following extracts from a private letter received byone of the officers of the Battalion from a staff officer whowas present, and accompanied H. R. H. during the inspection, bear witness to the favourable impression createdby the Battalion on this occasion, and though writtenconfidentially at the time, the C. G. S. and the writer havekindly concurred in granting permission for its publication in these pages."The C. G. S. saw the 72nd when itmarched through Ottawa, and he told me that he hadnever seen a finer looking battalion. He watched it entrain, and remarked how well the officers bore themselves.Also he told me that the Duke was so struck by its appearance, that he cabled to the War Office suggesting thatit was too good a battalion to be broken upfor draftgivingpurposes."The Battalion again entrained, and on the morning ofEaster Sunday, April 23rd, Halifax, Nova Scotia, wasreached and the men embarked on H. M. Transport Empressof Britain. This ship also carried the 76th Battalion, the87th Battalion, a draft for the Forestry Battalion, and adraft for the Canadian Field Artillery.In addition to the