To Aid the Motherland

Poignant scenes capture a moment’s relaxation for a Canadian cavalry unit on Salisbury Plain.

These brief scenes of a Canadian cavalry unit’s arrival for training up on the desolate plateau of Salisbury Plain during WWI were filmed by Pathé Frères for its 'Animated Gazette' newsreel. The tents are freshly pegged, kit is strewn about and the men are clearly in high spirits, playing up for the camera. Just months later they would be fighting in the trenches of France and Flanders.