Uniforms of the 19th

The uniforms worn by Canada’s at and around the turn of the century was largely a hodgepodge of civilian and obsolete military items. Following the return from the Boer War, the Militia soldiers were still outfitted much as before the outbreak of hostilities in 1899.

Tunics

Tunics worn by the soldiers prior to WW1 were initially of the frock pattern and made of a coarse red serge. In some but not all cases, regimental facings were included on the collar and/or the epaulettes. A known original example of a 19th Mounted Rifle trooper frock shows yellow shoulder straps with the red frock. Unlike officers, the men were largely restricted to only having the one field uniform although the tunic often appears to have been removed in hotter weather. The picture to the right was found at the following link http://cmhg.gc.ca/ and shows a 19th Mounted Rifle Trooper in the red frock with yellow shoulder straps.Officers uniforms were detailed in General Order 80 of May 1908 which is attached at the bottom of this page. Many of the items listed in General Order 80 are pictured below.

Canada introduced a new “Service Dress” in 1903. The initial regulation (GO #73) of having coloured edging on the shoulder boards and pant welts was abandoned by February 1904 when, coincidentally, the rural uniforms were put into stores. The majority of the rural corps were not equipped with this uniform until circa 1911 as a decision was made to hold the rural corps’ uniforms in stores. With the advent of Sam Hughes in 1911, the coffers were opened and the 1903 Pattern Service Dress (SD) was released to the rural corps and militia. For the men, the 1903 Pattern SD consisted of a 7-button high collar tunic with two breast pockets and two side pockets. Trousers were made of the same drab material as the jacket but could also be found in light cotton twill. The wearing of pantaloons was restricted to the mounted service and the material varied. The permanent force received pantaloons of Bedford Cord while the militia received drab serge. At the outbreak of the First World War, Sam Hughes permitted the 1st contingent to adopt solid colour shoulder boards. For the Dragoons and other cavalry, this colour was yellow.

The 1903 Pattern service dress for officers consisted of a 5 button, roll collar tunic. Rank badges and identification was worn on both the shoulder straps and the cuff. In the latter case, worsted lace was used. Buttons were of gilding metal and of regimental pattern. As per the soldiers uniform, initially ¼ inch yellow piping edging was worn on the shoulder flaps. Sam Browns were worn and headdress was the Cap, Forage made in the yarn-worsted cotton. Tunics were made of the same serge material as worn by the men, however breeches for the officers were made from Bedford cord. Leggings were brown leather and usually of the Stohwasser pattern and ankle boots were plain brown leather with plain toe caps. Despite the attempts for consistency, a variety of legging patterns have been portrayed in contemporary photographs. In many cases, photos show officers wearing tall boots with Service Dress. These boots were routinely of the Strathcona pattern. Spurs were annotated as Spurs - Jack, Steel.

In 1912, the Canadian militia adopted a new pattern of officers’ tunic. The tunic was similar in appearance to a civilian suit and was four button. The collar was rolled down and included lapels. Solid coloured shoulder straps were authorized and for the cavalry, were yellow. The coloured shoulder straps did not remain and were eventually phased out prior to the advent of WW1.

Naturally, officers had more that just service dress in their closets. In accordance with the 1907 Dress Regulations, pre-war Dragoon officers were also required to purchase Undress and Full-dress uniforms.

Headdress

The 19^th Alberta Mounted Rifles, like most western Militia units, demonstrated very little consistency in their choice of headdress. This was particularly true during the period of 1905-1911. The earliest examples of hats worn by the troops included the Colonial Pattern or slouch hat, civilian pattern cowboy hats, and the Stetson. Photos of A Squadron, Canadian Mounted Rifles circa 1906 seem to indicate that both officers and men initially wore the “Colonial Pattern” slouch hat. Issued in May of 1908, General Order 80 identified the Hat – Felt, Stetson, Stiff Brim as the approved headdress for the 19^th Alberta Mounted Rifles. Despite this edict however, photos from the period illustrate a consistent mix of civilian and military headdress. A surviving example indicates that the hats were locally procured and marked on the inside with the manufacturer on the head band. One such hat bears the maker: "John B Stetson Co Philadelphia", below this "TP Malone", and below that, "Strathcona, ALTA". It would not be until 1911, that photographic evidence suggest the uniform adoption of the Stetson. Despite the Report of the Inspector General presented by Col W.D. Otter in 1911 (who described the Stetson as “a useless commodity, and an article for abolition”), the 19^th Dragoons would continue to wear the Stetson until the end of WW1 and it was this hat that gained the Dragoons who served in France the nick-name "Les parapluie chapeaux." With respect to officers, several headdress variants were worn throughout this period. With Service Dress, officers are noted to have worn either the Field Pattern Forage Cap or the Stetson. For full dress, General Order 80 instructs that officers were to wear the Helmet – White, with spike. In garrison, Dragoon officers wore the Universal Pattern Forage Cap. The 1907 Officer Dress Regs specified that white covers could be worn in hot weather and also instructed that the band and welts should be of the same colour as the facings. For the Dragoons, this colour was yellow.

During and following war, the 7-button high collar tunic was eventually replaced by the 5-button British SD equivalent. These uniforms were to remain in service until the replacement of the service dress with battle dress in 1939. Sadly, the Stetson disappeared in the interwar years as a staple of Dragoon dress.

Equipment

Stohwassers or puttess were worn with ankle boots although many officers and men are also shown wearing the Strathcona pattern riding boots. Riding breeches were of a variety of patterns including the traditional dark blue breeches with a heavy cavalry yellow stripe. Oliver pattern belts and mounted infantry 50 round bandolier was carried by the soldiers until right up until they reached France in 1915.

The Royal Visit - 1939

The Royal Visit to Edmonton in 1939 was greeted with excitement by soldiers and civilians alike. As Edmonton's only cavalry unit, the Dragoons were called upon to provide an escort to their Majesties King George and Queen Elizabeth. The only problem was that the Dragoons lacked any full dress uniforms. Using their Militia initiative, the Dragoons quickly secured surplus tunics, helmets, and breeches from England. These ceremonial uniforms had been worn by the 6th Inniskilling Dragoon Guards until that Regiment's amalgamation. As beggars couldn't be choosers, the Dragoons crafted helmet plates out of tin plate and locally procured white belts and cross-belts. A cap badge was placed through the center of the tin starburst to add the Regimental touch. The buff facings of the 6th Inniskillings were left intact and indeed, the tunic buttons with the those of the Inniskillings. It is for this reason that many researchers have mistakenly believed the Dragoon full dress colours to be buff vice yellow.

Below are some photos detailing the uniforms that were worn throughout the existence of the Regiment. For further examples, please see the Photo Gallery page.