Fonds glen-465 - Calgary Mounted Constabulary fonds

With the outbreak of Second World War in 1939 local horsemen in Calgary, Alberta who were ineligible for military service were called together by military and civil authorities to form a corps for home defence duty. The Calgary Mounted Constabulary's main duty was to patrol the Glenmore Dam but it also acted as reconnaissance for army units in training at Sarcee Army Camp. The original officer in charge was Major P.P. Littlewood, and T.P. Brown and Eric L. Harvie were troop commanders. They later succeeded Littlewood as commanding officer. The quartermaster throughout the war was Calgary journalist, Fred Kennedy. The troop served under the combined authority of the military and city police. Members furnished their own horses, paid for their own uniforms and were officially sworn-in special constables. They learned cavalry formations and drill and to shoot with rifles and handguns. The group were on special call for five years but they did not draw pay and were disbanded at the end of the war. For further information see Fred Kennedy's article, "Calgary's Pony Soldiers" in Field, Horse and Rodeo. - vol. 1, no. 9 (March 1963), p. 5-6.