Corps of Guides ( Canada ) The Corps of Guides was an administrative corps of the Canadian Army . Formation . Lieutenant - Colonel Victor Brereton Rivers , a former officer cadet at the Royal Military College of Canada was one of the first of a small band of Canadian Military Intelligence officers serving in an organization that was in effect the forerunner of Canadian Forces Intelligence Branch as it is known today . He carried out the necessary staff work which led to the formation of the " Canadian Corps of Guides " as authorized by " General Order 61 of 01 April 1903 . " This Order directed that at each of the 12 Military district s across Canada there would be a District Intelligence Officer ( DIO ) whose duties included command of the Corps of Guides in his District . The Corps of Guides ( C of G ) was a mounted corps of non - permanent Militia with precedence immediately following the Canadian Engineers . The officers , NCOs , and men were appointed individually to the headquarters staffs of various commands and districts to carry out Intelligence duties . From the authorizing order , it is apparent that one of the functions of the C of G was to ensure that , in the event of war on Canadian soil , the defenders would possess detailed and accurate information of the area of operations . The ranks of the Corps of Guides were filled quickly , and by the end of 1903 , the General Officer Commanding the Militia was able to report that , " the formation of the Corps has been attended by the best possible results . Canada is now being covered by a network of Intelligence and capable men , who will be of great service to the country in collecting information of a military character and in fitting themselves to act as guides in their own districts to forces in the field . I have much satisfaction in stating that there is much competition among the best men in the country for admission into the Corps of Guides . Nobody is admitted into the Corps unless he is a man whose services are likely to be of real use to the country . " The training of the Corps began at once under the supervision of the Director of Intelligence . Special courses stressed the organization of foreign armies , military reconnaissance , and the staff duties of Intelligence officers . Instruction in drill and parade movements was kept to a minimum . Although primarily made up of individual officers and men , there was also an establishment for a mounted company of the Corps with one company allocated to each division . The strength of the company was 40 all ranks . Each Military District was sub - divided into local Guide Areas . The head of this organization was " a Director General of Military Intelligence ( DGMI ) , " under the control of the General Officer Commanding ( GOC ) . " The DGMI was charged with the collection of information on the military resources of Canada , the British Empire , and foreign countries . " " The first DGMI was Brevet - Major William A . C . Denny , Royal Army Service Corps , psc , a veteran of South Africa . " His staff included LCol Victor Brereton Rivers as ISO and two AISOs , Capt A . C . Caldwell and Capt W . B . Anderson responsible respectively for the Information and Mapping Branches , three Lieutenants , a Sergeant and two NCOs . All officers and men in the Districts were Militia . ( As late as 1913 there were less than 3 , 000 men serving in the Canadian Militia ) . This was the basic organization for military Intelligence with which Canada entered the Great War . Capt R . M . Collins , the Secretary of the Australian Defence Department , who had recently visited Canada , reported that : " The Canadian Forces were run by a Militia Council , similarly constituted to the Australian Military Board with the Minister as President and the First Military Member . The Chief of the General Staff ( CGS ) had the responsibility to " advise on questions of general military policy ; Intelligence , and preparation for war ; as well as the education of staff officers . Of particular interest was the fact that there were two Intelligence Officers on the Canadian Staff , assisted by a Corps of Guides element ( consisting of 185 Militia officers ) which had been raised on 1 April 1903 . " A report was prepared following his visit , recommending that provision be made for a Director of Education and a Director of Intelligence , as this was the only way that the many duties assigned to the Chief of Intelligence could be properly discharged . He pointed to the Canadian example as a sound arrangement to emulate . The Canadian Corps of Guides were responsible for the collection of military information , and their duties were described as follows : " The Guides should be intelligent men and capable of active work with a knowledge of the topographical features of the country as well as the roads , the country between the roads , sidepaths , names of farmers , etc . , in the area , and when possible , should be in possession of a horse . " World War I . When the Great War broke out , " the Corps of Guides volunteered for service in a body and a concentration . . . moved to Valcartier as part of the general mobilization " then in progress . It quickly became evident however , " that the Corps could not be employed under the conditions of warfare " for which it had been designed . General Sir Arthur Currie recorded : " The Corps of Guides was absorbed into existing Units and formations . Officers to the number of about thirty were absorbed into Staff posts and various regimental and special duties . Owing to their special training in reconnaissance and scout duties generally , the officers appointed to Staff duties were utilized essentially as Staff Captains for Intelligence and General Staff Officers . Non - Commissioned Officers and men were absorbed into cavalry , horse artillery and various other Staff duties and , subsequently , into the Cyclist Corps which later became the natural channel for the absorption of the Guide personnel . " 1920s . After the war , the Director of Military Operations and Intelligence ( DMO & I ) , Col J . Sutherland - Brown , had planned to convert the C of G Units and to use the newly created Cyclist companies as divisional Troops for security and protection duties . Using the Cyclists for screen protection was the old role of light cavalry Units , however , and traditionally not a function of the C of G . Only a few companies were formed and training was limited . No training was authorized in 1920 , and between 1922 and 1924 , it was restricted to 50 % of the establishment . In 1926 , the company establishment was changed to one Major , one Capt , four Lieutenants , one Warrant Officer level 2 , one Company Quarter - Master Sergeant , one Sergeant ( artificer ) , four Sergeants , eight Corporals , one driver , two cooks , six batmen , and 88 Privates . Equipment consisted of 2 horses , 117 bicycles , and 1 wagon . The horses , wagon , and , at least in the early days , the bicycles , had to be hired for the camp period . The organization was much the same as it had been in wartime , consisting of an HQ of 10 , and 4 platoons of 27 , for a total of 118 all ranks . Junior officer training included normal military subjects , plus instruction in such special - to - corps subjects as characteristics of Cyclists , platoon drill with bicycles , Cyclists in reconnaissance , employment of Cyclists for protection , tactical action of Cyclists , map - reading and field sketching , employment of Cyclists with corps or divisional Troops , the role of the Unit in war , and almost as an afterthought , Intelligence in peace and war . Captains had to know these subjects and , in addition , become proficient in dismounted action and the employment of Cyclists in coast defence . Majors had to have a full knowledge of Intelligence in peace and war . NCOs took a modified version of the subaltern ’ s course . Corps of Guides prize . The Corps of Guides ( Canada ) prize was awarded from 1926 - 1941 ( except 1940 ) to the gentleman cadet at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston , Ontario earning the greatest number of marks in map reading and field sketching throughout his whole course . Between 1941 - 1952 , no awards were made . Thereafter , the Corps of Guides was awarded for surveying and field sketching . End of the Corps . In the 1920s , the role of the Cyclists and the methods used to fill it had lost their appeal . Recruiting declined , and few companies were really active . Among the active were the two in Toronto , through which passed some 855 all ranks between 1912 and 1929 . Small Units cost a great deal to administer for little apparent return . General Order 191 , 1 December 1928 , disbanded the Guides effective 31 March 1929 . The disbanding of the Guides meant that only a small staff was left in Ottawa and in some of the military districts to carry out the Intelligence functions in Canada .