Farquhar and Gault moved expeditiously to mobilize the regiment. The day after authority was granted, August 11, 1914, the two men began an aggressive recruitment campaign. Due to the patriotic outpouring following the August, 4 declaration of war, some 3,000 applicants were recruited within eight days. By August, 19 a full complement of 1,098 had been selected, of those, 1,049 had previously served in South Africa or in the British Army. Lieutenant-Colonel Francis D. Farquhar, DSO, became the first commander of the battalion. The regiment's first formal parade was conducted on August, 23 in Ottawa during which Princess Patricia presented the regimental standard.