5th Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles, CEF

5th Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles
Cap badge of the 5th Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles
Active	1914-1919
Country	Canada
Branch	Canadian Expeditionary Force
Type	Mounted infantry
Size	Battalion
Part of	8th Infantry Brigade
Insignia
Battle patch

The 5th Battalion Canadian Mounted Rifles were a mounted infantry unit of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) during World War I. The unit was raised from volunteers of the 7th and XIth (Canadian) Hussars from the Eastern Townships of Quebec.

Formed in 1915, they were transported to England later that year. In 1916, they converted to an infantry battalion attached to the 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade, 3rd Canadian Division, CEF (later the Canadian Corps). The battalion saw action in France and Flanders between 1916 and 1918.

Battle honours

In 1929-31, well after World War I had ended, Canada assigned battle honours to those units involved in pivotal battles and campaigns during the war. The 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles were accorded the following battle honours:

Battle honours

1916	1917	1918
Mount Sorrel	Arras 1917-18	Amiens
Somme 1916	Vimy 1917	Scarpe 1918
Flers-Courcelette	Hill 70	Hindenburg Line
Ancre Heights	Ypres 1917	Canal du Nord
	Passchendaele	Cambrai 1918
		Valenciennes
		Sambre
France and Flanders 1915-18

During the Battle of Passchendale, the 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles fighting strength was reduced by 60% in a single day.

Two members of the battalion were awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for bravery in the British Empire. These individuals were: George Pearkes, VC, and Charles Smith Rutherford, VC.

Perpetuation

Following World War I, the 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles were perpetuated by the later merged 7th/XIth Hussars, which themselves were eventually merged into the Sherbrooke Hussars, which perpetuates the unit today.

The memory of the original unit was also perpetuated by its original members in the 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles Association. The Association met annually from its formation in 1934 until it disbanded in 1969. The records of the Association may still be found at the Eastern Townships Research Centre at Bishop's University library, Lennoxville, Quebec.

Notes and references

"Canada's Crack Cavalry Corps"
World War I recruitment poster.

External links

• War diaries of the regiment for 29 July 1915 – 28 February 1917, 01 March 1917 – 31 March 1918, and 01 April 1918 – 17 March 1919 can be viewed on-line, courtesy of Library and Archives Canada.

• Eastern Townships Research Centre.[1]

• Land Forces of Britain, the Empire and Commonwealth.[2]

• Brief history of the 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles Association.[3]

• Photo of the 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles on parade in Sherbrooke, 4 June 1915.[4]