Four rows of soldiers of the 196th Battalion standing and sitting; campus buildings in background. A child stands in front dressed in a military uniform.
Demonstration platoon of COTC cadets and officers in uniform with helmets and holding rifles; machine guns in foreground. Taken in front of Saskatoon Armouries portion of the Clinkskill house that was used for an officers' mess and offices (visible at right).
Bio/Historical Note: James Clinkskill owned a large white frame house with a large, two-story veranda overlooking the South Saskatchewan River from 1904 to 1911. The house was located at 152 Spadina Crescent East. In 1911, the Armouries were constructed and a Sergeant’s Mess was built in 1912. The Clinkskill house was used as the Officers’ Mess and as the home of the Armouries caretaker. The United Services Institute, whose members were former members of the Canadian Armed Forces, was located in the former Clinkskill house and hosted many social events. In 1922 a barn was moved into Saskatoon and used as a drill hall. When the Hugh Cairns VC Armouries were built in 1960, the Saskatoon Armouries were sold to Harry Landa for $2000 and removed. The former Clinkskill house was demolished in 1960.
Four rows of officers in uniform and men in civilian dress; members of the first platoon of the 196th Western Universities Battalion that was raised in Saskatchewan.
Bio/Historical Note: "One of the chief prices which Canada paid in the last war for her lack of preparation was the tragic waste of thousands of her best young men killed while fighting in the ranks because they had not been previously trained for a more useful career as officers. It is to prevent such a waste in any possible future war that every Canadian University is now giving facilities to its students to qualify as officers during their undergraduate course. Our own contingent of the C.O.T.C. came to life in January of this year and is already recruited up to a strength of 170." (The Spectrum, 1921) The Canadian Officers' Training Corps was a unit in the Active Militia of Canada. The Corps prepared university students for the examinations for a Lieutenant's or Captain's Commission and the universities granted course credit for COTC work. Senior commissions were held by faculty while all junior commissioned and non-commissioned ranks were open to undergraduates. Interest in the Corps declined in the 1950s and came to an end in 1964.
Elevated view of COTC officers and non-commissioned officers training with field artillery at Saskatoon Armouries.
Bio/Historical Note: "One of the chief prices which Canada paid in the last war for her lack of preparation was the tragic waste of thousands of her best young men killed while fighting in the ranks because they had not been previously trained for a more useful career as officers. It is to prevent such a waste in any possible future war that every Canadian University is now giving facilities to its students to qualify as officers during their undergraduate course. Our own contingent of the C.O.T.C. came to life in January of this year and is already recruited up to a strength of 170." (The Spectrum, 1921) The Canadian Officers' Training Corps was a unit in the Active Militia of Canada. The Corps prepared university students for the examinations for a Lieutenant's or Captain's Commission and the universities granted course credit for COTC work. Senior commissions were held by faculty while all junior commissioned and non-commissioned ranks were open to undergraduates. Interest in the Corps declined in the 1950s and came to an end in 1964.
