INTRODUCTION
I regard it as a high privilege to be associated with this book, which has been written by an old officer of the Regiment. I can fully appreciate the magnitude of the task which confronted him when he undertook to examine innumerable documents relating to hundreds of thousands of men and covering a period of several years, and select therefrom all that particularly concerned the Regiment.
I often think that an officer who finds himself in command of a battalion of Grenadiers on active service must be nicely poised between the weight of responsibility and the upholding power of tradition. At first the former seems to be overwhelming, but in time the feeling of confidence and trust in all ranks of the Regiment is so great that the idea of failure can be eliminated.
I think this history will make my meaning clear. As Time marches on with its many inventions, it does not become easier to uphold the traditions so nobly set by our forbears. Gas and high explosives take heavier toll of brave men than the weapons of old, and yet it is still the solid determination of the man that wins the fight, whether offensive or defensive. Although the tale of our great Dead is a long one, and thousands have been maimed in the struggle, the Regiment has borne its part in a manner worthy of it, and in accordance with the parting words of trust of our Sovereign and Colonel-in-Chief.
CAVAN,
Lieut.-General.