95 Not all officers survived the war, with 35 out of 345 in the study dying during the war. LieutenantColonel Stanley D Gardner (CO 7th and 38th Battalions) was one of those killed in action. Hewas also a rarity in that he led two different battalions during the war. Gardner was tall, thin, and an accountant from Vancouver. Born in England, he served in the Second Anglo-Boer War with British forces before emigrating to Canada in 1910. At the start of the war, he was a captain in the 6th Duke of Connaught’s Own Rifles Regiment in Vancouver. Seriously wounded in the lungs at Festubert in 1915 while serving as the 7th Battalion’s adjutant, he was not fit for active duty until he took over the unit in July 1916. Gardner remained in charge until early October 1916, when complications from his wound forced his evacuation to England. He subsequently returned to lead the 38th Battalion, replacing Edwards in August 1918, and died from another serious wound at the end of September 1918.7 Lieutenant-Colonel N. Roy Robertson (CO 9th Engineer Battalion) was an example of Militia officers prospering in the technical arms. Born in Ontario, Robertson practiced law in Vancouver at the start of the war. He also served in the Militia as a lieutenant in the engineers. While it was unusual for a barrister to be in the engineers, he had earned an engineering degree before law school. Joining the 2nd Field Company in the First Contingent, as a lieutenant, he steadily rose in rank, until he commanded the 9th Engineer Battalion from May 1918. He was a rare combat officer in surviving the war untouched by disease or wounds. Only 20% or 68 of the study officers escaped injury, illness, death, or wounding. The preceding four officers were just a small sample of the 235 Militia officers who played a critical role in making the Canadian Corps and Canadian Cavalry Brigade elite formations. Their wide diversity of backgrounds, experience, education, and social position helped craft an organization capable of learning and improving with each engagement. 14 15 16 17 18 The GreatWar 7 Distinguished Officers at Ypres and Festubert, RG24 v7000, LAC; S.D. Gardner Correspondence File, 6-G-81, RG9 III-A-1 v149, LAC.
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