Lt Col William McBain, Valcartier Camp Construction Department, September 1914. He was possibly the land agent who acquired Valcartier for Sam Hughes and the Militia Department. Attached to media are articles on Valcartier, 1914. As Canada organized militia units for overseas it was necessary to create a marshalling and training area for the Canadian Expeditionary Force 1st Contingent (later known as the 1st Canadian Division). Minister of Militia Sam Hughes previously acquired land in Valcartier north-west of Quebec City and in less than a month after the Empire declared war the area was transformed to house thousands of men arriving by train as well as 5,000 horses. It was here that a large number of local militia were merged into overseas battalions for the war. By 8 September 1914, 32,665 men had assembled and were attested (personal details were recorded and the person signed agreeing to serve overseas). At Valcartier they undertook target practice as well as training in other techniques. It would not be inaccurate to say training was “basic” at best and the uniforms and equipment inadequate for what was to come. By 23 September, the new battalions embarked on ships in Quebec and by 1 October 1914, 33 transports were heading into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to meet their 6 British naval escorts off Gaspe. On Aug. 10 the federal government authorized raising a contingent of as many as 25,000 “officers and men who are willing to volunteer for Overseas service under the British Crown.” That same day, under the direction of army engineers and a contracting firm from Ottawa, teams of local lumberjacks in place at the Valcartier site began clearing sections on the east bank of the river. In addition to making space for a huge tent city about 90 metres from the water’s edge (where the glider runway is now located), they also cleared areas for a massive parade ground and rifle range. In addition, some 600 workers were on site building water lines and converting fallen timber into telephone poles, railway ties, and lumber for dozens of buildings and residences for Hughes and the camp’s officers. Ten days later, the first troops started to arrive by train from Montreal, and the Valcartier camp was like a small city in the wilderness. “By the 20th,” Hughes later wrote, “three-and-a-half miles of ranges were completed, and 1,500 targets were put in position. Up to the same date, 12 miles of water mains had been laid in, and 15 miles of drains, open and covered, had been located. “Army Service Corps and Ordnance buildings were constructed, railway sidings laid in, fences removed, crops harvested, ground cleared, streets made, upwards of 200 baths for the men put in, water chlorinated, electric light and telephones installed (and) 35,000 men got under canvas in less than three weeks from the acceptance of the call.” The hectic pace of construction was more than matched by the frantic efforts to organize, equip, and train men from all walks of life with limited military experience. This photo is from the album of Marshall Beck.