“A British General after viewing the work of the Canadians in attack at Paardeberg [sic], said:

“Those men can go into battle without a leader, they have intelligence and resourcefulness enough to lead themselves.”

They did not stand beside stones waiting for an order to get behind them and save their lives. They saved their lives first and were living to get the order afterward, I am not trying to reorganize the training of the men of the British Army, nor recommending that they all receive their preliminary training in Canada. I only wish to point out clearly why the Canadians, unaccustomed as they were to the work, were able to cope successfully with the competitors taken from the best regiments of the Imperial service.”

Stanley McKeown Brown (1900) With the Royal Canadians. First Edition. Toronto: Publishers Syndicate Limited.