A canadian veterinarian overseas in the first world war

In the First World War, horses were an integral part of warfare and while technological warfare was making its debut, conventional wisdom decreed that cavalry horses and pack animals had to be kept in good shape for any hope of victory. Veterinarians were important people and in the armed services they were always in short supply. One Canadian who served in the veterinary corps was William Rutledge Stubbs, the son of a veterinarian, enlisted in 1917 as a commissioned officer with the Canadian Expeditionary Force. As a captain, he served in France, in 1918. The letters he sent home during his service offer some insight into the problems faced by a young veterinarian, and in a more general way, into the life of the Canadian soldier overseas.