Cap Badge - Corps of Guides, pre-1914 The Corps of Guides was an administrative corps of the Canadian Army. The Corps of Guides (C of G) was a mounted corps of non-permanent Militia with precedence immediately following the Canadian Engineers. The officers, NCOs, and men were appointed individually to the headquarters staffs of various commands and districts to carry out Intelligence duties. From the authorizing order, it is apparent that one of the functions of the C of G was to ensure that, in the event of war on Canadian soil, the defenders would possess detailed and accurate information of the area of operations. The ranks of the Corps of Guides were filled quickly, and by the end of 1903, the General Officer Commanding the Militia was able to report that, "the formation of the Corps has been attended by the best possible results. Canada is now being covered by a network of Intelligence and capable men, who will be of great service to the country in collecting information of a military character and in fitting themselves to act as guides in their own districts to forces in the field." The training of the Corps began at once under the supervision of the Director of Intelligence. Special courses stressed the organization of foreign armies, military reconnaissance, and the staff duties of Intelligence officers. Instruction in drill and parade movements was kept to a minimum. Although primarily made up of individual officers and men, there was also an establishment for a mounted company of the Corps with one company allocated to each division. The strength of the company was 40 all ranks. Each Military District was sub-divided into local Guide Areas. The head of this organization was "a Director General of Military Intelligence (DGMI)," under the control of the General Officer Commanding (GOC). "The DGMI was charged with the collection of information on the military resources of Canada, the British Empire, and foreign countries." When the Great War broke out, "the Corps of Guides volunteered for service in a body and a concentration...moved to Valcartier as part of the general mobilization" then in progress. It quickly became evident however, "that the Corps could not be employed under the conditions of warfare" for which it had been designed. General Sir Arthur Currie recorded: "The Corps of Guides was absorbed into existing Units and formations. Officers to the number of about thirty were absorbed into Staff posts and various regimental and special duties. Owing to their special training in reconnaissance and scout duties generally, the officers appointed to Staff duties were utilized essentially as Staff Captains for Intelligence and General Staff Officers. Non-Commissioned Officers and men were absorbed into cavalry, horse artillery and various other Staff duties and, subsequently, into the Cyclist Corps which later became the natural channel for the absorption of the Guide personnel." It was disbanded in 1929. _______________________________________________________ Dan Jenkins, Carleton University The Canadian Corps of Guides was created in April 1903 by General Order 61, and fell under the purview of the Intelligence Department at Militia Headquarters in Ottawa. However, as the Guides were a service of the Active Militia, and not of the Permanent Force, they were not a full-time formation. The Corps was designed to fulfil both a peacetime and wartime role. During active operations it was to act as a combat intelligence force for Canadian armies in the field, and provide commanders with operational and tactical level intelligence. During peacetime it was to prepare for this eventuality, but more importantly, it was to help accumulate intelligence on Canada’s military resources and capabilities, as well as on those of foreign powers, in particular the United States. As with all of Canada’s peacetime military establishments, the Guides suffered from underfunding, understaffing and undertraining. Nevertheless, the Corps of Guides was still able to provide a valuable service in the years leading up to the First World War, and offered its members a background in Intelligence that would prove indispensable in that war.