Researching The Royal Canadian Regiment
The First 51 Recruits
Col. Sjt. L. L. Morash.
The Connecting File, Volume XIV, No. 2; April, 1935
Halifax, N.S.,
February 11, 1935.
EDITOR, CONNECTING FILE,
London, Ontario, Canada:
Dear Sir: On looking through some old records of the good old R.C.R. that I have in my possession, I am passing along to you some extracts which I hope will be of some interest to you and that you may see fit to publish it or at least some of it in THE CONNECTING FILE.
Foundation of the R.C.R. was Infantry School Corps, December 21, 1883.
Signatures of first three Officers:
| Enlistment | |
| Capt. W. D. Gordon | 7 Jan 1884 |
| Lieut. D. Douglass Young | 7 Jan 1884 |
| Lieut. T. D. R. Hemming | 7 Jan 1884 |
The following are signatures of other Officers who signed for recruits on enlistment from time to time:
| Name | Enlistment |
| G. D. Maunsell | 18 Jan 1884 |
| Lawrence Buchan | 2 Jun 1891 |
| R. L. Wadmore | 1 Nov 1892 |
| C. F. O. Fisel | 3 Jan 1896 |
| A. P. B. Nagle | 1 Jul 1899 |
| A. E. Carpenter | 30 Nov 1900 |
| F. A. Lister | 2 May 1902 |
| H. K. Betty | 26 Jun 1903 |
| J. Carlin | 2 Aug 1904 |
This being the 51st Anniversary of the formation of The Regiment, I will give you the names of the first 51 recruits. They are as follows:
| No. | Rank | Name | Enlistment |
| 2001 | S.M. | Thos. McKenzie | 7 Jan 1884 |
| 2002 | Corpl | R. Mayne | 7 Jan 1884 |
| 2003 | Corpl | R. Cochrane | 7 Jan 1884 |
| 2004 | Pte | Wm. Leek | 7 Jan 1884 |
| 2005 | Pte | J. Murphy | 7 Jan 1884 |
| 2006 | Pte | T. Hauk | 7 Jan 1884 |
| 2007 | Pte | E. Foster | 7 Jan 1884 |
| 2008 | Pte | G. Butterwick | 7 Jan 1884 |
| 2009 | Pte | C.S. Nason | 7 Jan 1884 |
| 2010 | Pte | A. Anderson | 7 Jan 1884 |
| 2011 | Pte | Chas. Nason | 7 Jan 1884 |
| 2012 | Pte | R. Mersereau | 7 Jan 1884 |
| 2013 | Pte | G.A. Little | 7 Jan 1884 |
| 2014 | Pte | Edward Jones | 7 Jan 1884 |
| 2016 | Pte | M. Murray | 10 Jan 1884 |
| 2017 | Pte | W.A. Daniel | 10 Jan 1884 |
| 2018 | Pte | L. Pond | 10 Jan 1884 |
| 2019 | Pte | T.M. Torrance | 10 Jan 1884 |
| 2020 | Pte | G. H. Coyle | 10 Jan 1884 |
| 2021 | Pte | F.W. Smith | 11 Jan 1884 |
| 2022 | Pte | John Morrison | 11 Jan 1884 |
| 2023 | Pte | H.V. Longard | 11 Jan 1884 |
| 2024 | Pte | J. Taylor | 11 Jan 1884 |
| 2025 | Pte | J. Stephen | 11 Jan 1884 |
| 2026 | Pte | Wm.W. Walker | 12 Jan 1884 |
| 2027 | Pte | W.C. Time | 12 Jan 1884 |
| 2028 | Pte | A.P. Wheaton | 14 Jan 1884 |
| 2029 | Pte | C.J. Hayes | 14 Jan 1884 |
| 2030 | Pte | J. Cantall | 14 Jan 1884 |
| 2031 | Pte | A. Esty | 15 Jan 1884 |
| 2032 | Pte | J. Jackson | 15 Jan 1884 |
| 2033 | Pte | Wm. Knox | 16 Jan 1884 |
| 2034 | Pte | Wm. Winn | 16 Jan 1884 |
| 2035 | Pte | J.M. Chappell | 18 Jan 1884 |
| 2036 | Pte | W. Sullivan | 18 Jan 1884 |
| 2037 | Pte | J. McMillan | 19 Jan 1884 |
| 2038 | Pte | Richard Holland | 22 Jan 1884 |
| 2039 | Pte | John Williams | 23 Jan 1884 |
| 2040 | Pte | John Gould | 24 Jan 1884 |
| 2041 | Pte | M. McClinchen | 24 Jan 1884 |
| 2042 | Pte | Fred. Allen | 28 Jan 1884 |
| 2043 | Pte | Milton, Hewell | 28 Jan 1884 |
| 2044 | Pte | J.A. Fowlie | 30 Jan 1884 |
| 2045 | Pte | F.G. Fowlie | 30 Jan 1884 |
| 2046 | Pte | A.F. Cameron | 30 Jan 1884 |
| 2047 | Pte | R.W. Smith | 30 Jan 1884 |
| 2048 | Pte | R.W. Bowles | 4 Feb 1884 |
| 2049 | Pte | J.B. Campbell | 5 Feb 1884 |
| 2050 | Pte | A.Henry | 5 Feb 1884 |
| 2051 | Pte | E.P. Doherty | 6 Feb 1884 |
| 2052 | Pte | Richard Estey | 8 Feb 1884 |
No record of Regimental No. 2015.
From 7-1-84 to 6-1-87 there were 176 enlistments.
First four Senior N.C.O's of Regiment:
- S.M. Thos. McKenzie.
- R.Q.M.S. W.W. Walker.
- Col. Sjt. W.A. Daniel.
- Hpl. Sjt. R. Cochrane.
Declaration on Enlistment:
We, whose names are hereunto subscribed, declare that we have taken the oath of allegiance to the Sovereign, and that we voluntarily agree to serve in the Infantry School Corps of the Active Militia Force or for General Service for a period of three years, under the conditions of the Government of the Active Militia Force of Canada, as set forth in the Consolidated Militia Act of 1883, and in the regulations prescribed or hereafter to be prescribed for the same.
