McLaren was to say of his role entertaining Canadian soldiers behind the lines at Ypres Salient and Vimy Ridge:"We held a mirror up to those boys and showed them what they were accomplishing."

In one skit, McLaren rewrote the lyrics of Sir Harry Lauder's popular song Roaming in the Gloaming to register the disappointment of many infantryman with the Ross rifles with which they had been issued: "Roamin' in the gloamin,' Ross rifle by my side, Roamin' in the gloamin,' could nae fire it if I tried, It's worse that a' the rest, the Lee-Enfield I like best, I sure must lose it when I go roaming in the gloaming."