Hussars to ride in First War event in Europe
London, Ont., unit to take part in trek marking 1918 push
It’s a monumental journey for a monumental moment.
Nine Canadian riders — including seven from London’s storied regiment, the 1st Hussars Cavalry troop — are headed to Europe in the fall for a commemorative ride to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. The nine riders and five ground crew will be among more than 60 others from around the world taking part in the centennial expedition, tracing the gruelling trek that Allied forces took pushing the Germans back from Cambrai, France, to Mons, Belgium, along the Western Front during the final 100 days of the brutal conflict. The group will cover that same ground in 10 days.
“We’re following the routes that the cavalry took ... The exact same towns, same villages they went through back in the day,” said Maj. Allan Finney, officer in command of the cavalry troop.
“By doing this, we get a better appreciation of what they went through and we’ll be able to bring that back to Canada and explain that to people.”
Even a century later, the Great War remains one of the deadliest conflicts in human history. More than 18 million people — half of them soldiers — were killed, and another 23 million wounded.
Millions of horses and donkeys were also lost in the slaughter, as a world that still fought on horseback and used beasts of burden to supply armies, faced the bloodbath that modern weaponry brought.
The international group of riders will follow the same route the Allied cavalry took in 1918, covering about 20 kilometres a day. The horses and riders will also stop in villages and towns along the way for special commemoration ceremonies to remember the lives lost in the war.
The trip is being organized by the 1st Hussars Cavalry Fund, fitting since the historic regiment played a major role in the 100-day offensive. Finney estimates the delegation’s trip will cost between $60,000 and $65,000, money the local non-profit is working hard to raise on its own.
A town of 50,000 at the time, London — like all of Canada — paid dearly during the First World War.
A small country with a population of about eight million, Canada sent more than 400,000 soldiers overseas. About 60,000 died. The International Cavalry Association, the group organizing the international ride, is renting horses for the Canadian contingent.
The once-in-a-lifetime event has attracted riders from several Commonwealth countries along with the United States, Russia and Poland.
The Hussars’ team’s nine riders will train this summer for the monumental expedition. “The riding that we have to do is different than what most riders do today,” said Finney, calling it “physically demanding.” “You trot for 20 minutes, you walk for 10 minutes, you trot for 20 minutes then you dismount the horse and you walk for another 10 minutes. And you do that every hour.”
When they take the saddle, Finney said the riders will wear replica uniforms styled after the First World War originals. The saddles they’re riding on date from the First World War as well.
“For me personally, it’s part of our regimental history. I liken it to living history and trying to understand what our forefathers had to go through,” Finney said. “When we come back to Canada, we (will) talk to various schools and communities and tell them about what their great-grandfathers lived and what they did.” The regiment is even employing a saddle maker for the first time in nearly a century to get the vintage equipment ride-ready, said 1st Hussars Cavalry Fund president Lt.-Col. Joe Murray.
The troop will make a video of its voyage overseas to share with the public when it returns home, Murray said.
“We have a duty, I see it as a duty, to mark the centenary of their achievements and sacrifice,” he said.
“If we don’t celebrate this and document it and remember them, who will?”