“The Dashing Subaltern”: Sir Richard Turner in Retrospect

Authors

Thomas P. Leppard, University of Calgary

Abstract

When war came to Canada in August 1914, thousands rallied to the call to arms. Colonel Sam Huges the charismatic and controversial Minister of Militia and Defence scrapped his department’s meticulous plans for mobilizing the nation’s militia and assumed control with amazing, almost fortuitous, results. By September, 33,000 recruits were training at a hastily constructed Camp Valcartier, Quebec. A month later the first contingent of the legendary Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) sailed for England (the largest military force ever to cross the Atlantic up to that time).

Recommended Citation

Leppard, Thomas P. "“The Dashing Subaltern”: Sir Richard Turner in Retrospect." Canadian Military History 6, 2 (1997)