No wonder the "boys" were mad ..... how frustrated they must have been !! just a really bad state of affairs ! First, there were differing views on how the Corps should be transported back to Canada. Gen. Currie favoured returning troops by unit, but despite its practical appeal, this approach clashed with the principle of “first over, first back” — the idea that volunteers who had entered the war early should return before recent conscripts. Currie’s approach prevailed. In keeping units together, the authorities hoped that middle-class officers would keep the working class “rankers” in check. In the days following the Armistice, there were fears that the one-for-all-and-all-for-one spirit of the Corps would revert to divisive class consciousness among the troops. Secondly, the shortage of shipping slowed down the process. Not only were ships in short supply, but many were ill equipped for the task. The poor conditions suffered by returning Canadians on the S.S. Northland caused a scandal, and the resulting commission of inquiry called for basic minimum standards on all troopships. This was laudable, but created more delays. Furthermore, the railway links from Halifax and St. John, the only ice-free ports, were not up to the task of moving the enormous numbers of returning troops. Meanwhile in Britain, fuel shortages and labour unrest slowed down traffic in the ports, making an unusually cold winter even worse. Battle-weary Canadians awaited repatriation at camps where sagging discipline and impatience took their toll. Anger came to a head in March 1919, when reports that the conscript-heavy 3rd Division was boarding ships at Liverpool sparked riots at the Canadian camp at Kinmel Park. Five men were killed and 25 wounded, sparking sensationalistic reports in British newspapers. Although similar disciplinary problems had occurred among British troops, some of the English press published accounts of “crazed Canadians,” linking the unrest to the new spectre of Bolshevism. The incident soured relations between Canada and Britain for a period, but ultimately helped speed up repatriation. In March 1919, over 40,000 Canadians left for home, up significantly from 15,243 the previous month. By April 1, a total of 110, 384, along with 17,000 dependents, had been repatriated. A dockers’ strike in April created delays, but by August there were only about 13,000 Canadians left in England. The task of supervising Canadian demobilization fell to Sir Albert Edward Kemp. A successful Toronto manufacturer, Kemp had been appointed chairman of the War Purchasing Commission in 1915 and later replaced Sam Hughes as Minister of Militia. In 1917 he was sent to England as Minister of Overseas Military Forces and was part of the Imperial War Cabinet. Fairly or not, it was Kemp and his staff who would shoulder much of the blame for the S.S. Northland scandal and other demobilization problems, although under the circumstances, it is generally agreed that they did a good job. http://www.cobwfa.ca/DOCUMENTS/WWI-Kinmel Park Mutiny - Canadian Army.pdf
