Everything was now in readiness to handle very speedily troops arriving for demobilization, so that when the first complete Unit, the Royal Canadian Regiment, arrived at the Port of Halifax early in March, 1919, it was demobilized in less than a day. This was made possible by the hard work of the Officer Commanding Dispersal Station B, Major J. G. Johnstone.
This work was kept up by the stations throughout Canada until late in July, 1919, when it was found that the Canadian Corps had practically been demobilized. At first it was thought it would take two years to complete demobilization of our forces, but the whole work was carried on so speedily that the feat was practically accomplished in six months. This in itself speaks well of the splendid organization of the Depots.
No. 6 Depot, besides demobilizing the Maritime troops, demobilized a great number of troops from other districts, viz., the Cavalry Brigade, Engineer and Forestry Units, Railway Troops and several Hospital Units. The work of No. 6 Depot was highly praised by Gen. John Hughes during his tour of inspection, when he stated that No. 6 District was one of the best organized throughout Canada.
One will realize the immense amount of work done by No. 6 District Depot by the results obtained; that is to say, the total number of discharges from April 18, 1918, until the latter part of May 1920, were one thousand five hundred and seventy-eighty (1,578) officers and twenty-seven thousand eight hundred and ninety-six other ranks (27,896), made up as shown in the table below:
| Reasons. | Officers. | Other Ranks. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Medically Unfit. | |||
| (a) Disability due to or aggravated by service | 76 | 2,983 | |
| (b) Requiring further medical treatment of long duration or vocational education | 38 | 507 | |
| 2. Demobilisation. | |||
| All discharged other than above | 1,462 | 24,299 | |
| 3. Struck off Strength. | |||
| Deaths | 2 | 17 | |
| 1,578 | 27,896 | ||
| Transferred to other Districts | 8 | 58 | |
It will be very gratifying to Nova Scotians to know that the whole Staff of No. 6 District Depot were made up of Nova Scotia officer ranks, all of whom saw service at the Front, and it is sure when the records of the District Depots are compared that No. 6 District Depot will be well to the forefront.
Officers on strength No. 6 District Depot when organized:
| Officer Commanding | Lieut.-Col. W. B. Roscoe, D.S.O | C.M.R.’s. |
| Second in Command | Major A. B. Bucknell | 15th L.H. |
| Adjutant | Capt. J. L. Davie, M.C | 21st Bn. |
| Assistant Adjutant | Lieut. J. A. Ross | 85th Bn. |
| Quartermaster | Capt. A. A. Clark | 139th Bn. |
| June, 1918. | ||
| Officer Commanding | Lieut.-Col. D. A. MacRae | 25th Bn. |
| Second in Command | Major J. L. Davie, M.C. | 31st Bn. |
| Adjutant | Capt. G. T. Shaw | 21st Bn. |
| Assistant Adjutant | Lieut. A. F. Ferguson | 10th R.R.T. |
| Quartermaster | Capt. A. A. Clark | 139th Bn. |
| Records Officer | Lieut. B. E. Elliott | C.E. |
| Leave and Furlough Section. | ||
| Officer Commanding | Capt. M. S. Hunt | 5th Bn. |
| Second in Command | Lieut. J. Harley | 25th Bn. |
| Details Company. | ||
| Officer Commanding | Capt. F. A. Ladd | 7th Bn. |
| Casualty Company. | ||
| Officer Commanding | Major L. D. V. Chipman | 13th Bn. |
| Company Officers | Capt. A. G. Foster | 7th Bn. |
| Lieut. W. H. Whidden | Composite Bn. | |
| Lieut. H. A. Crawley | 85th Bn. | |
| Lieut. A. A. Crawley | R.C.G.A. | |
| Discharge Section. | ||
| Officer Commanding | Capt. R. W. Dill | 25th Bn. |
| Section Officers | Capt. J. A. Gunn | 13th Bn. |
| Capt. F. A. MacAloney | R.A.F. | |
| Capt. W. Fisher | 25th Bn. | |
| Lieut. G. W. Banks | 38th Bn. | |
| Lieut. I. C. Banks | Composite Bn. | |
| Hospital Section. | ||
| Officer Commanding | Major J. A. Mackenzie | 85th Bn. |
| Section Officer | Capt F. T. DeWolfe | C.G.A. |
| Dispersal Station “A,” Charlottetown. | ||
| Officer Commanding | Major J. W. Stanley | C.G.A. |
| Second in Command | Capt. J. S. Bagnell | C.G.A. |
| Company Officers | Lieut. R. Richie | C.G.A. |
| Lieut. H. E. McEachern | 50th Bn. | |
| Lieut. J. McDonald | C.G.A. | |
| Lieut. J. White | C.G.A. | |
| Dispersal Station “B,” Halifax. | ||
| Officer Commanding | Major J. G. Johnstone | 85th Bn. |
| Second in Command | Capt. M. S. Hunt | 5th Bn. |
| Company Officers | Capt. R. L. Billman | C.G.A. |
| Lieut. J. Bonner | 85th Bn. | |
| Lieut. B. E. Nicks | 13th Bn. | |
| Lieut. J. H. E. Jones | C.E. | |
CHAPTER XXIV.
THE ARMY SERVICE CORPS.
In the lexicon of the Army Service Corps, the word “impossible” does not exist. It was this spirit, insistently inculcated since the organization of the Corps in 1902, that made the accomplishment of the seemingly “impossible” possible by the Canadian Army Service Corps in the Maritime Provinces when the Kaiser let roar his terrorizing thunderbolts in August, 1914.