The Big Trek of 1915

THE BIG TREK
NIAGARA TO TORONTO
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 1915
By
Lieutenant Colonel William A. Smy, OMM, CD, UE Although troops had assembled in Niagara Camp from the earliest days of the First World War, the camp never developed to a point where it could accommodate large numbers of men over the winter period until the summer of 1918. So each year, after the summer season of training, winter billets had to be found for the units which had undergone training at Niagara during the spring, summer and fall. The first challenge was the winter of 1915/1916. On 16 October 1915, the military staff of Military District No 2 announced that on 25 October the whole of the assembled troops at Niagara (some 10,000 men) would begin a long “big trek” to winter quarters. It was described as “the most extensive military movement that ever has taken place in the Niagara District” and would be the “largest trek since the 189 mile trek from Swift Current to Battleford in 1885.” Full PDF here