Alexander Duncan Mc Rae - Military Service

Military Service

In 1912, as a recruit of Major General Sir Sam Hughes, McRae volunteered with the 6th Regiment "The Duke of Connaught's Own Rifles" as an honorary lieutenant colonel. When World War I broke out, McRae went to Europe where his first responsibility was the purchase of horses for the army. He reorganized the Remount Commission and was responsible for the purchase of 8,000 horses. He took over a department known for corruption and dysfunction and has been credited for turning it into a business like organization. Rumours led nevertheless to charges about the conduct of these acquisitions resulting in a royal commission under Quebec Chief Justice Sir Charles Peers Davidson. The commission cleared McRae of wrongdoing and commended him for his performance.

He carried on as director of supplies and services and, when Hughes fell into disfavour in 1916, McRae continued to advance. He was promoted the rank of Major General and in 1917, was made a member of the Order of the Bath. Later in the war effort, he was seconded to the British Government to organize Ministry of Information assisting Britain's Minister of Information, Lord Beaverbrook. For his services, it has been said that the British crown offered McRae knighthood, which he declined, although McRae himself never confirmed or denied that this happened.

He left the army in 1918 two months after the end of the war. Afterwards he had little involvement in the military although, in 1934, addressing the Senate, he predicted correctly that another war would erupt in Europe after touring Europe and interviewing various prominent men in France, Germany and Austria. In World War II his involvement was limited to helping raise financial support for the Canadian Legion and the YMCA. In his later careers he was sometimes an advocate for returned veterans and in 1942 he donated his Vancouver mansion to the federal government for use as a hospital for wounded veterans.