In May, 1918, the Canadian Headquarters Staff in England was created, with Lieutenant General Sir R. E. W. Turner as Chief of Staff.
Over in France, in the war zone, by agreement with the British War Office, a Canadian section of General Headquarters of the British armies in France was formed in July, 1918. This section was in no way supposed to interfere in purely fighting operations, but through it the Canadian Government obtained control over matters of organization and administration within its own forces.
Lieutenant General Sir Ernest William Turner, V. C. He commanded a Canadian Division in France in 1915 and was Commander of Canadian Troops in England from 1916 on.
PART II—CANADA AT THE FRONT
CHAPTER XI
THE CANADIANS IN FLANDERS—NEUVE CHAPELLE—THEIR BRAVE PART IN THE SECOND BATTLE OF YPRES—THE PRINCESS PATRICIAS
The fleet with the Canadian Expeditionary Force, after a long but uneventful voyage, arrived in Plymouth Sound in the evening of October 14, 1914. The British censorship had maintained such secrecy regarding their movements that the people of Plymouth and Devonport first learned that they had crossed the seas when the transports were in harbor. When the news spread through the neighborhood the townsfolk flocked to the waterside and with cheers and song welcomed the soldiers of the Dominion. This demonstration was repeated on a greater and more enthusiastic scale when the troops later disembarked and marched through the streets.
Lieutenant General E. A. H. Alderson, C. B., was appointed to the command of the contingent, which soon after landing encamped on Salisbury Plain. Here the Canadians spent four miserable months of one of the rainiest seasons on record. They were most of the time under canvas, the roads became quagmires, they were miles from any considerable town, yet despite their discomforts they maintained a brave and cheerful spirit.