Regimental History: "Not Quite Ordinary Citizens": Page 3

The appointment of J.L. Ralston as Minister of Defence in 1926 brought vigorous and competent leadership to the portfolio for the first time since the end of the war. Spending on defence increased from $12,500,000 to $21,000,000 over the next three years. The militia was near the bottom of the military priority list but saw a limited restoration of training. The annual summer camps at Sarcee for Alberta militia units resumed for all ranks in 1929. The 1st Battalion mustered only 146 men, not even company strength, at the camp but even so they had among the strongest turnouts in the country.

The onset of the great depression of the 1930s which hit western Canada particularly hard, brought changes to the regiment. Almost everything that has been written on the history of the Canadian militia during the great depression focuses either on the drastic cutbacks to spending or on the relief camps for the single male unemployed run by the Department of National Defence.

NAC (C-13257).

James L. Ralston, 1936.

Canada's military profited from the appointment of Ralston to the position of Minister of Defence in 1926. Ralston increased military spending by a considerable amount and showed competent leadership in the portfolio for several years afterwards.

City of Edmonton Archives, Loyal Edmonton Regiment Collection.

Sarcee Camps, n.d..

In 1929, the military resumed annual training at the Sarcee Camps, just east of Calgary.

The relief camps were well-intentioned but ultimately resulted in an eruption of violence in Regina in 1935 when strikers from the camps marching to Ottawa to protest conditions were stopped by the RCMP. Looking at the history of the 1st Battalion, The Edmonton Regiment in the 1930s, it becomes clear that there is a much more interesting story here. The battalion was in no sense a welfare organization but it provided a number of kinds of support for many men who were victims of the depression. The seven days of the annual summer camp were the only time militia soldiers were actually paid for the time they spent in uniform and that was a mere pittance. A private got $1.25 a day (horses in the cavalry units got $1.50). In 1934 the regiment spent ten days at Sarcee, the extra three days without pay being contributed voluntarily by the troops. During the rest of the year officers and ncos could sometimes take courses which were paid, although officers donated any money they received to help keep the regiment going. Weekly drill was unpaid but at least provided sandwiches and coffee in a warm room, not to be despised in the depression. Most importantly for men who were unemployed, partially employed or forced to take large pay cuts (and that meant almost everybody in the 1930s) the opportunity to wear the uniform gave them back a measure of their self-respect.

City of Edmonton Archives, Loyal Edmonton Regiment Collection.

Trophy with Rifles, n.d.

Accurate rifle fire was very important for members of the Militia during the interwar period. This trophy promoted competition between different components of a unit. The Winterburn Rifle Range was the location of many of the competitions.

For those with enforced leisure time there were few recreational opportunities. Here too the regiment emerged as an important resource for the community. The bands frequently gave free Sunday concerts and provided music at many public occasions. In 1931 the regiment began sponsoring sports teams. Starting that year with one hockey team, the sports program grew within a couple of years to four hockey and two basketball teams.

The Winterburn Rifle Range just west of the city had been used by all the city militia units since well before the First World War. In 1933 the Department of National Defence transferred title to the property to the Edmonton Regiment, undoubtedly as a cost-cutting measure. For an organization with the vigorous leadership of the 1st Battalion this represented an opportunity. Relying on their own resources, they could improve the property and make it useful. Colonel Ramsey donated money that allowed the purchase of an adjoining property, the Provincial Nursery contributed 300 trees and construction began on the first building, a cookhouse. The buildings were quite rudimentary but they made possible weekend training camps (unpaid, of course) for those interested in improving their qualifications.

In the early 1930s changes were taking place in Canada’s military organization that would affect the future of the Edmonton Regiment. In 1932 the number of militia infantry regiments was reduced from 135 to 91, while the cavalry was cut from 35 to 20. Many of these units scarcely existed except on paper but it was a clear warning that those regiments that failed to show signs of activity were in danger of disappearing. The same year the General Staff began preparing ‘Defence Scheme No. 3' which was the plan for Canadian participation in a major European war. The plan envisaged sending two divisions across the Atlantic to cooperate with British and other Commonwealth units. The three permanent force battalions would certainly form part of the 1st Division but half a dozen militia regiments would be needed to make up the rest. (The Canadian army had now adopted the British divisional structure of three brigades rather than four.) The 2nd Division would necessarily consist entirely of militia units. The militia regiments had to be chosen from across the country, but apart from that consideration priority would go to those rated as most efficient.

Although commanding officers of battalions were not told where their unit stood in this invisible hierarchy and the possibility of war seemed remote, the competitive juices clearly flowed in the Edmonton Regiment. Calgary units must have seemed to have many advantages in the contest to be chosen as part of the first team. Calgary was the headquarters of Military District No. 13 (Alberta) whose General Officer Commanding ranked the units in his area. Calgary had a permanent force unit, Lord Strathcona’s Horse, stationed there so that courses were easily available. Sarcee Camp was just west of the city. Nevertheless, by 1932 when the Edmonton Regiment was having ‘one of the most successful years in its history’, the Calgary Highlanders were reporting a total enlistment of just 173 men. In 1933 when summer camp training for enlisted men resumed, the Edmonton Regiment was at full strength. The following year, there was a shortage of a few officers but the ranks were full, a reversal of the situation in the 1920s.

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