A faraway memorial

On a recent trip to Montreal, I was astonished to come across a handsome statue in Dorchester Square in the city centre, which honoured Canadian troops who fought in faraway South Africa in the Anglo Boer War of 1899-1902. I had no idea that Canadians served, and it turns out that the Boer War was the first in which they were sent to fight overseas. At the time, many Canadians were opposed to their country's involvement in a war seen as "Imperial" and waged in a country so distant from Canada's interests. But in the end they agreed to send the Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry, a volunteer force.

The statue, completed in 1907, shows a rearing horse being restrained by a soldier. On the base are copper reliefs and the names of each battle in which the Canadians fought. One of these was the Battle of Paardeberg, where many men were lost.

There are two inscriptions on the memorial's base. The first refers to the raising of the Regiment and hints at the controversy of its mission:
In grateful recognition of the patriotism and public spirit shown by Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal in raising and equipping a regiment of horse for service in South Africa as evidence of his sympathy with the cause of Imperial unity.

The second inscription, on the opposite side, is especially poignant:
To commemorate the heroic devotion of the Canadians who fell in the South African War and the valour of their comrades.

For twenty years, on the 27th of February - Paardeberg Day - Canadians would gather around the Boer War Memorial to remember their countrymen's sacrifice.
They are still remembered to this day as part of country-wide services held on 11th November, Armistice Day, now Remembrance Day.
Lest we forget...