WW1 Trivia time

[chris vickery]

We have a winner!

Paul, yes the "blue puttees" were the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. The animal was the caribou.

I couldn't resist bringing this up, as last evening I watched a most intriging program on the television. It was a documentary about them as they were formed at the beginning of the war and up until their tragic demise at Beaumont- Hamel.

In fact, I was most angered at the utter contempt for the "colonials", who in the eyes of our British masters, were simply used as cannon fodder for the greater good of the Empire.
The likes of Haig, in my opinion, should have been shot outright for sacrificing an entire regiment in light of his own arrogance and that of higher command who, after the bombardment, insisted that the information given them to be utter nonsense. It was stated that within hours, the regiment had been cut down from a strength or 801 men to 68 at morning roll call.

It is stories like these that make me proud to be a Canadian.