WW1 CEF 6th Mounted Rifles collar/sweetheart by Inglis

Nice patina, maker mark: R.J. Inglis Limited (Toronto) is confirmed as one of the makers who supplied CMR badges during WWI, with Sweetheart conversion.

The 6th Regiment, Canadian Mounted Rifles was formed on March 15, 1915, at Amherst, Nova Scotia, recruiting in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, sailing to England in July 1915 and arriving in France on October 22, 1915.

The 6th CMR itself was short-lived being formed on March 15, 1915, at Amherst, Nova Scotia, recruiting men from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. It sailed to England in July 1915 and reached France on October 22, 1915.

It never fought as “the 6th” for long. It served in the field as infantry only until December 1915. On January 1, 1916, the six CMR regiments were converted to infantry and reorganized into the four battalions of the 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade, and the 6th’s personnel were absorbed into the 4th and 5th Battalions, CMR. So the regiment on your badge only had a life of about nine months before it ceased to exist as a distinct unit.

The men who wore this badge went on to fight under the 4th and 5th CMR badges instead, as part of 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade, 3rd Canadian Division. The 5th CMR saw commanding officer and sitting MP George Harold Baker killed at the Wieltje Salient during the Battle of Mount Sorrel in June 1916, and the battalion’s strength was cut by 60% in a single day at Passchendaele, where two of its members were awarded the Victoria Cross, including George Pearkes.