5th Battalion

The Flagbearer

/ Matthew K Barrett / Leave a comment

Lieutenant Colonel Paul Tudor, D.S.O.Tudor&
Major Ian Laurie Crawford, D.S.O.
&
Major John G. Anderson, M.C.
JGAnderson5th (Western Cavalry) Battalion

Major L.P.O. Tudor, D.S.O. to be acting O.C. as from 29-6-17. Major I.L. Crawford to be C.O. during temporary absence of Major L.P.O. Tudor, D.S.O. on leave from 29-6-17. Major J.G. Anderson to be 2nd in Command while Major Crawford is acting as C.O. 29-6-17.

(5th Bn. War Diary, 4 July 1917)

Following the promotion of Hugh Dyer to brigadier general at the end of June 1917, Lorn Paulet Owen Tudor assumed command of the 5th Battalion. A native of England, he was born on 3 July 1876. He had served for three years in the Royal Buckinghamshire Yeomanry before moving to Canada and joining the British Columbia Horse. At the time of his enlistment with Lieutenant Colonel Tuxford’s 5th Battalion in September 1914, Tudor worked as a rancher in Saskatchewan.

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The Independent

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Brigadier General Hugh Dyer, D.S.O.
5th (Western Cavalry) BattalionDyer

I thank you for the unanimity with which you have chosen me as your candidate, for without unanimity we cannot get anywhere. Let there be no mistake. I am not agreeing to run as the representative of any particular party. I am not agreeing to run as a representative of any one class or sect. I will not be tied to any hitching ropes. I will not be haltered by any party. If you elect me, you will elect Hugh Dyer. If that is satisfactory to you, I, on my part, pledge myself to do everything in my power in your interests, and will not spare myself as your representative in the house of commons.

(Dyer speech, Winnipeg Tribune, 21 Oct 1921, 2)

Nicknamed “Daddy Dyer” by his men, Hugh Marshall Dyer was the second CO of the 5th Battalion and commander of the 7th Infantry Brigade. Born in Kingstown, Ireland on 28 January 1861, he immigrated to Manitoba in 1881 and built a farm in Minnedosa where he lived for the rest of his life.

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The Commander

/ Matthew K Barrett / 3 Comments

Brigadier General G. S. Tuxford, D.S.O.
5th (Tuxford’s Dandies) BattalionTuxford

On the 24th [April 1915] Major Hilliam, my adjutant, called me out about 4 o’clock in the morning to witness a huge wall of greeny, yellow smoke that was rolling up the hillside. We had no idea what it was, but thought it might have something to do with the reported gas attacks of the preceding day. We were not long left in doubt.

(Tuxford, “After Action Report,” 10 Mar 1916)

Born in Wales on 7 February 1870, George Stuart Tuxford was a Moose Jaw homesteader, rancher and militiaman. In August 1914, he received authorization to raise two mounted units from the West. He later explained, “In the one battalion I placed the 12th, 16th, 27th, 29th, 30th, 31st, 35th (Light Horse) and Corps of Guides. This battalion became the 5th Canadian Infantry Battalion, and later on being asked to select a name for the battalion, I could think of no better than that of Western Cavalry, and as such they remained the 5th Battalion, Western Cavalry.”

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