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20th
Border Horse
was a regiment of cavalry formed in the Canadian
Army as part of the Militia.
Lineage
- 1 Apr 1908: 20th
Mounted Rifles raised at Pipestone, Man.
- 1 Mar 1910: Redesignated
as 20th Border Horse
- 15 Mar 1920:
Redesignated as The Border Horse as part of the Otter
Committee reorganizations of the Militia.1
20th Mounted
Rifles
The first mention of
the regiment, under the title 20th Mounted Rifles, is in the
July 1908 Militia List. No officers are listed but
regimental headquarters is given as Estevan, MB (sic) with
three squadrons, "A" at Estevan, "B" at Carnduff and "C" at
Carlyle, all in Saskatchewan. Amazingly, this entry remained
the same in the next list, all four quarterly Militia Lists
in 1909, and the 1 April 1910 List.
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20th
Border Horse |
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Headquarters:
Pipestone, MB
Predecessor: None
Perpetuates: None
Raised: 1 April 1908
Redesignated as: The Border Horse 15 March
1920 |
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20th Border Horse
Newspapers first reported the organization of the 20th
Border Horse as being headquartered in Estevan with three
squadrons along the Canada-US border.2
The
Militia List for July 1910 gives the following order of
battle:
Regimental
Headquarters: Pipestone, MB
-
"A" Squadron - Reston, MB
-
"B" Squadron - Carnduff, SK
-
"C" Squadron - Carlyle, SK
-
"D" Squadron - Weyburn, SK
Captain J.G. Rattray
was commander of "C" Squadron of the 12th Manitoba Dragoons
at Melita, MB, when the reorganization occured and "C"
Squadron of the 12th became "A" Squadron of the 20th Border
Horse.3
Regimental Band
The Regimental
Band reported an incident in August 1911 in which they
visited Regina and decided to see a show in the evening,
storing their instruments in the local fire hall. The
Leader-Post reported that no sooner had they departed the
hall that "there rose upon the air of the still summer
evening the voices of instruments in agony" as the
firefighters couldn't help but try them out for themselves,
"the whole trouble was that none of them were (playing the
same thing)."4
Pre-war Summer Camps
The regiment attended annual summer camps at Sewell, Manitoba
with other units from
Saskatchewan and Manitoba in June of 1910 and 1911.5 "C" Squadron at this
time was located in Estevan.6 "B" Squadron was at
Carnduff, Saskatchewan.7 A newspaper article in
December 1911 notes the regimental headquarters being at
Pipestone, Manitoba.8
In January 1912, the
reorganization of formations saw the 20th Border Horse
brigaded in the 6th Cavalry Brigade with the 12th Manitoba
Dragoons and the 13th Mounted Rifles, with yet to be
organized artillery and engineer units and No. 11 Cavalry
Field Ambulance.9
The regiment again
attended summer camp at Sewell Camp from 20 Jun to 5 Jul
1912.10 The camp hosted 3,500 men and the 20th
Border Horse was commanded at this time by
Lieutenant-Colonel Rattery.11 The regiment was
scheduled to strike camp on 6 July but this was not done
because of rain and the unit left for home that afternoon,
one source calling it the most successful camp in the
history of the Western Canadian Militia.12
An article in September
1912 notes the headquarters of the regiment was in Melita,
Manitoba.13 At Sewell Camp in June 1913, "D"
Squadron from Weyburn fielded 90 soldiers of all ranks, and
a regimental band fifty strong was also in attendance, while
"C" Squadron reported leaving Estevan with nearly its full
strength on 23 June.14 At summer camp in 1914,
the Alameda (Saskatchewan) Town Band was engaged as the
regimental band at Sewell Camp.15 A
squadron from Lampman, Saskatchewan required a special train
to get their horses to the camp.16 At this time
squadrons were reportedly located in Rosthern, Carnduff,
Estevan and Weyburn.17 "A" Squadron, of Reston,
Manibota, received the Roblin Cup for a rifle shooting
competition at Sewell Camp in June 1914, out of a field of
12 teams.18
Wartime Service
Details of the Regiment were placed on active service on 6
August 1914 for local protective duty. The regiment sent
troops to the 6th Battalion, CEF upon its formation in
September 1914. The 6th Battalion was redesignated "Canadian
Cavalry Depot" in the UK on 6 March 1915 and provided
reinforcements to the Canadian Corps.19
In September 1914, key
appointments were:
20th Border Horse (Reston, MB) - OC Major
T.S. Bullock
-
"A" Squadron (Melita, MB) -
Major G.W. Archibald
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"B" Squadron (Carnduff, SK) -
Major J.H. Elliott
-
"C" Squadron (Estevan, SK) -
Major J.A. Smith
-
"D" Squadron (Weyburn, SK) -
Major F.C. Washington20
In June 1917, temporary orders were
issued to allocate regimental headquarters and "A" Squadron
to Military District 10 while "B", "C", and "D" Squadrons
under the command of the senior squadron commander were
allocated to MD 12, and if a general mobilization occurred,
"A" Squadron would operate independently while HQ and the
other three squadrons would mobilize as a regiment in MD 12.21
Field Force Contributions
Contributed volunteers to the 6th Battalion, CEF.
"B" Troop from Carnduff, Saskatchewan sent a contingent of
45 NCOs and men with three officers to Valcartier on 22 Aug
1914.22
Lieutenant-Colonel J.G. Rattray of the 20th Border Horse was
put in command of the 6th Battalion, CEF at Valcartier but
quickly replaced.23
Rattray was treated
poorly in the confused atmosphere of Valcartier. The 10th
Battalion, CEF was commanded initially by Colonel Dan McLean
of the 106th Winnipeg Light Infantry, and Rattray was chosen
for the 6th Battalion, but found a Colonel Patterson of the
Fort Garry Horse already in command. Rattray then went to
the 10th Battalion until the Minister of Militia, Sam
Hughes, saw him on parade where he was told by Hughes in
front of the entire parade to "get the hell out of here."
The two men had been political rivals before the war.
Rattray went to a staff job, and later commanded the 10th
Battalion in action later in the war.24
Reorganization
As part of the Otter Committee
reorganizations following the First World War, the regiment
was reorganized as The Border
Horse. The regiment officially perpetuated the 6th Battalion, CEF.25
Insignia
Mazeas shows matching cap and collar badges of the design shown in
the infobox above, all of the same size and design with collars not
mirrored, approved by General Order 2/1912. No shoulder numerals are
illustrated.26
Image from ebay via Worthpoint.com
Notes
-
The Regiments and Corps of the Canadian Army (Queen's
Printer, Ottawa, ON, 1964), p.70
-
The Winnipeg Tribune,
5 Feb 1910
-
War Memorials in Manitoba: An Artistic Legacy
accessed online at
Heritage Manitoba: Local World War I Stories Part 3
-
"Music Hath Charms", The (Regina)
Leader-Post, 12 Aug 1911
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The Winnipeg Tribune,
18 Jun 1910, 31 May 1911
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"Estevan News", The (Regina)
Leader-Post, 9 Jun 1911
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(Saskatoon) Star Phoenix,
14 Jun 1911
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The Winnipeg Tribune,
16 Dec 1911
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Edmonton Journal, 4
Jan 1912
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Calgary Herald, 6 Apr
1912
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The (Regina) Leader-Post,
27 Jun 1912
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The (Regina) Leader-Post,
6 Jul 1912
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Free Press Prairie Farmer,
11 Sep 1912
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The (Regina) Leader-Post,
16 Jun 1913, 24 Jun 1913 The newspaper referred to this as "F"
Squadron but does not seem likely.
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The (Regina) Leader-Post,
16 May 1914
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Free Press Prairie Farmer,
17 Jun 1914
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Calgary Herald, 23 Jun
1914
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Saskatoon Daily Star,
29 Jun 1914. Calgary Herald, 26 Jun
1914
-
Hampson, William C. A Catalogue of Twentieth-Century Canadian
Military and Metal Shoulder Titles 1900 to 1999 Part II: Royal
Canadian Armoured Corps (William C. Hampson Publishing, Calgary,
AB, 1999) ISBN 0-9685714-1-7 p.24
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Free Press Prairie Farmer, 23 Sep 1914
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The (Regina) Leader-Post, 20 Jun 1917
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Saskatoon Daily Star, 24 Aug 1914
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The (St. Catharine's, ON) Standard, 9
Sep 1914. The source incorrectly identifies him as "JE Rattray"
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Free Press Praire Farmer, 14 Oct 1914
and Doroah, Michael A. Calgary's Infantry Regiment:
A Pictorial History of The Calgary Highlanders
(Calgary Highlanders Regimental Association, Calgary, AB, 2024).
There were apparently rumours also in November 1914 that Rattray
would return to Winnipeg as second in command of the 20th Border
Horse, but that did not come to pass - Winnpeg Tribune, 13 Nov
1914 (incorrectly calling him JF Rattray). The Edmonton Bulletin
reported on 21 Dec 1914 that a surplus of officers in the UK,
mostly from the 6th Battalion, CEF, did return to Canada on 20
Dec 1914 - about 90 in all, including other officers of the 20th
Border Horse. Rather than accept appointments in the British
Army, they opted to return to Canada in hopes of joining later
Canadian contingents.
-
Love, David W. A
Call To Arms: The Organization and Administration of Canada's
Military in World War One (Bunker to Bunker Books,
Winnipeg, 1999.) ISBN 1894255038 p.274
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Mazeas, Daniel Insignes de la Milice
Canadienne - Canadian Militia Badges Pre 1914
