Canada immediately despatched two more contingents. But unlike the first contingent which was composed chiefly of foot soldiers, these men were mostly rough riders, good rifle shots, men who could handle themselves on the rough South African terrain. They were called Mounted Rifles. Many of the men in these contingents came from the North-West, (Saskatchewan and Alberta), particularly from the ranks of the North-West Mounted Police. The men in this picture belonged to the "Strathcona's Horse," a contingent containing some 800 men raised at the expense of Canada's wealthy High Commissioner to Great Britain, Lord Strathcona, formerly Donald Smith, a Scottish Hudson's Bay Factor who made a fortune in Canada and was raised to the peerage as Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal in 1897.
The postcard on the left comes from the Canadian War Museum and is drawn from a life-sized model in the collection.
Courtesy: National Library of Canada and National Museum of Man, National Museums of Canada
