When war was declared in South Africa, Britain accepted an Infantry battalion of 1,000 men to serve for one year. Canada could have easily given twice that number but no one was willing to pay for them. A Special Service Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment was raised from all across the country. Toronto provided C Company of which 30 men, including the Company Commander, came from The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada. The soldiers were selected, equipped and moved to Quebec to sail to South Africa on October 30, 1899.
Canadian troops received much of the credit for the great victory at Paardeberg on February 27, 1900. From there the Canadians marched on to capture the Boer capital of Bloemfontein but did very little fighting. They continued in South Africa until they reached the end of their engagement period in October 1900. Although the war was still going on, the men of The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada serving with the Royal Canadian Regiment came home.
Battle casualties were light compared to the number of Canadians who died from disease in South Africa. There were 89 Canadians killed in action and another 135 who died of disease. A further 252 Canadians were wounded.
