Notes on World War 1

The following is a brief description of some of the historical events and major battles of World War I. Sarnia and Lambton’s sons participated in all of the major battles, and many would lose their lives while fighting in them.

 

• Only three months before the start of World War I, there was a significant day in the history of Sarnia. It was on May 7th, 1914 that the town of Sarnia, having reached a population of 10,000 residents, was officially declared a city. On May 7th, 1914, the Royal Highness Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn visited the municipality from Ottawa accompanied by his youngest daughter, the Royal Highness Princess Patricia of Connaught. The Duke of Connaught, Prince Arthur William Patrick Albert, was the first member of the Royal Family to become the Governor-General of Canada. He was the third son of Queen Victoria, and his daughter Princess Patricia was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. The royal father and daughter arrived in Sarnia by train at the Grand Trunk station at the foot of Ferry Dock Hill in the afternoon, greeted by enthusiastic, cheering crowds and the honour guard of the 27th Regiment with a regimental band. A procession with the Duke and his daughter in a horse-drawn carriage was then led up Front Street, to Christina and Davis Streets on its way to Victoria Park. There, for several hours during the afternoon, hundreds of people participated in the ceremonies while bands played and children waved flags. The guard of honour from the 27th Regiment, in scarlet tunics, white helmets and gleaming accoutrements, the school cadets in bright new uniforms, members of the local First Nations, a corps of khaki clad Boy Scouts and thousands of school children in white, made an effective background for the royal guests. Among the dignitaries were Colonels R. MacKenzie, Colonel R.I. Towers, Sarnia Mayor Joseph B. Dagan and Maude Hannawho was hostess at a reception in Princess Patricia’s honour (Maude Hanna would lose her stepson in WWI – see Neil William Hanna). At one point during the impressive ceremony Prince Arthur, Governor General of Canada, thanked the citizens of Sarnia for the warm welcome extended to his party and then officially proclaimed Sarnia as a city. While at the park, the Duke planted a ceremonial maple tree, using a small nickel-plated spade. City of Sarnia mayor Joseph Dagan then said, “In testimony of our loyalty to the King and your Highness as his representative in Canada, and in the public expression of our affection and regard for all the members of your illustrious family, we have taken the liberty of selecting as a synonym for Sarnia the title of the Imperial City, thus linking the title of the reigning house of the Empire with our young city’s name.” Mayor Dagan then watched his granddaughter, Margaret Diver, present a bouquet of flowers to Princess Patricia. After the ceremony, the Duke and Princess visited the Sarnia Collegiate Institute on London Road, and Sarnia General Hospital where tea was served. They were then taken on a tour of other interesting places in the city, including the Sarnia Reserve. They then returned to the Grand Trunk railway station where hundreds of people again cheered as the train pulled away. Less than three months after the Duke’s visit and Sarnia being proclaimed a city, families in the new city of Sarnia learned that their country was going to war.

 

• An interesting sidenote is that at the outbreak of World War I, Captain Andrew Hamilton Gault offered the Canadian government $100,000 to help recruit, finance and equip an infantry battalion for immediate overseas duty. One of Captain Gault’s enthusiastic supporters was Lt.-Col. Francis Farquhar, who was the military secretary of Canada’s Governor-General, the Duke of Connaught, Prince Arthur. Colonel Farquhar was able to gain the Duke’s permission to name this new regiment raised by Captain Andrew Gault, after the Duke’s youngest daughter, Princess Patricia of Connaught, who had endeared herself to Canadians, and who had visited Sarnia only months earlier in May of 1914. So on August 10th, 1914, the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry was established in Ottawa. Only eight days later, the newly formed regiment had a full complement of volunteers, approximately 1,100 men, the majority of whom were veterans of the Boer War. In September 1914, the Battalion left for France, becoming the first Canadian unit to serve in the Great War. Commonly referred to as the “Princess Pat’s” or “PPCLI”, they have become one of the most well-known and fabled fighting regiments in Canada and around the world, having participated in every major operation undertaken by Canada in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and Peacekeeping Missions including Afghanistan.^2Z Throughout the Princess Patricia’s history, members of the Sarnia community have served in the unit, some making the supreme sacrifice.

 

• World War I was triggered on June 28, 1914 by the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife in Sarajevo. Europe was already a tense powder keg, and that incident set off a chain of events that led to the start of war. War officially began on July 28, 1914, when Austria-Hungary (allied with Germany) declared war on Serbia (allied with Russia, France and Britain). In early August 1914, Germany declared war on Russia, then war on France and Belgium. The front page headlines of the August 3, 1914 London Evening Free Press newspaper read, “Germany, France and Russia at War Britain Thus Far Out of Struggle – Germany Has Invaded Luxemburg and Crossed Border into France; Fighting Goes On Along Frontier”. At midnight August 4, 1914, the United Kingdom, including Canada and Newfoundland declared war on Germany. The front page headlines of the August 4, 1914 London Evening Free Press newspaper read, “BRITISH ULTIMATUM TO GERMANY – London, August 4—Great Britain to-day sent practically an ultimatum to Germany demanding a satisfactory reply by midnight on subject of Belgian neutrality”. Other headlines included on the front page of the newspaper were “France Formally Declares War – Commander-in-chief of French left for Frontier to-day – Nurses for British Army are being Sought in this city,” and “Belgium Refuses Germany’s Ultimatum – War is declared on Belgium by Germany; Who is going the Limit.”

 

• World War I is also referred to as “The Great War” and “The War That Will End War”. It altered the nature of warfare and changed the landscape of the modern world. It employed new technologies, including poison gas, flamethrowers, warplanes, tanks, and submarines, which demonstrated an unimaginable capacity for death and destruction.^2K Over the course of the Great War, over 10 million soldiers were killed, 20 million soldiers were wounded and 8 million civilians died. For our country, it was the bloodiest conflict in Canadian history. More Canadian soldiers died in World War I, than Canadians died in all the other wars combined. However through the great achievements of Canadian soldiers on the battlefields, the world witnessed “the birth of a nation”, Canada.

 

• In World War I, from 1914 until 1917, the Canadian Expeditionary Force was composed of men who had volunteered to fight. At enlistment, volunteers for the Canadian Expeditionary Force completed two-sided Attestation papers that included the recruit’s name and address, next-of-kin, date and place of birth, occupation, previous military service, and distinguishing physical characteristics. Recruits were asked to sign their Attestation papers, indicating their willingness to serve overseas, and to undergo a brief medical examination to determine physical well-being. By contrast, men who were drafted into the CEF under the provisions of the Military Service Act (1917) completed a far simpler one-sided form that included their name, date of recruitment, and compliance with requirements for registration. Military Service Act recruits were selected based in the order of unmarried men or widowers with no children first, married men with no children second, and finally married men or widowers with children. Officers completed a one-sided form called the Officers’ Declaration Paper. Applicants were selected from, in order: single men, then married men without families, then married men with families (initially with wife’s written consent). When the war started, it had more volunteers than it could take. As the war progressed, it became tougher, as stories from the Front came home. The army began loosening restrictions, lowering the minimum height and chest measurements, dropping dental and eyesight standards, and no longer requiring men to get their wives’ permission to enlist.

 

• It is estimated that between 15,000 and 20,000 underage Canadian youths, some as young as ten, volunteered to serve in the First World War.^2J They either evaded or went with the blessing of their parents, or they fooled recruiters. The reasons for joining varied, such as wanting to be part of this “great adventure”, wanting an opportunity to travel and earn money, wanting to escape a difficult home life, or wanting to be with their fathers who were also serving. There were a variety of reasons why underage youths (under the age of 18, later changed to 19) could “get away with” joining the Canadian military. These include: no requirement necessary to prove one’s age with a birth certificate at enlistment; a sheer lack of eligible men; a large number of unemployed youth seeking a financial means; and regimental recruiters filling quotas. Single men were the first applicants selected; as enlistments waned, the Militia lowered its recruiting standards and policies; if rejected by one recruiter, the youth would approach a different recruiter; and, even though they had lied about their age on their attestation papers, it was considered a “legally-binding” document. While some of the very young were siphoned off for special training units in England – including the largest, called the Young Soldiers Battalion – thousands of underage boys served in the trenches alongside their elders, and fought in all the major battles. For some, once it was discovered that they were underage, they were assigned non-combat roles such as “runners”, delivering food, water, and ammunition to the soldiers on the Front lines, or as buglers, in the trenches ready to sound the alarm in case of a gas attack. By the Great War’s end, an estimated 2,300 underage soldiers were killed in action.^2J In both World War I and World War II, a number of Sarnia’s young men that enlisted for service were underage. Some of these boys made the supreme sacrifice. For example, in September 1915, fourteen-year old Robert Batey of Sarnia, signed up to serve in the Great War. One year later, at the age of fifteen, Robert Batey would lose his life during fighting in Somme, France.

 

• At the start of the war, men from all classes, occupations and ages rushed to enlist at armories and militia bases across the country. For these first volunteers, there were strong feelings of patriotism – many were British born, along with the attraction of travel and adventure, the benefit of regular pay, and a desire to follow friends and family in what was thought was going to be a short war, likely over by Christmas. Colonel Sam Hughes, the Minister of Militia and Defence decided to organize volunteers into newly consecutively-numbered infantry battalions. Hughes, a powerful and controversial figure (advocate for the Ross Rifle), was also the man behind the creation of the primary training base for the First Contingent in 1914 at Valcartier, Quebec. After enlisting, all volunteers travelled to Valcartier for equipment, training and preparation for war. Originally a small piece of farmland in the area was bought and expropriated to increase the size of the base. One month after war broke out, over 32,000 volunteers arrived at the hastily prepared primary training base camp at Valcartier. They shared the camp with 8,000 horses.^{2I, 3R}

 

• After leaving the Port of Quebec on October 3rd, the 1st Contingent of the Canadian Expeditionary Force arrived in England on October 14, 1914 in some 30 ships. Nearly 800 of the soldiers who sailed in the First Contingent were American born, though the United States didn’t enter the war until April 1917. By December 1914, the first Canadian troops were in France, comprised of the 1st to the 17th Infantry Battalions, plus the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.

 

• In the long, harsh winter of 1914, the First Contingent of Canadian troops underwent rigorous training on Salisbury Plain, England. The miserable winter they experienced in the mud, cold and rain was one of the wettest on record. It was so miserable that the Australians and New Zealanders decided to train in Egypt. The Canadians trained with route marches, musketry lessons, drills and trench digging. In February 1915, the 1st Canadian Division embarked for the trenches in France.^{D, 3R}

 

• Following his inspection of the Canadian First Contingent, on February 4, 1915 on Salisbury Plain, His Majesty King George issued a farewell to the troops, to be read to all units on board ship, after their embarkation for France, on their way to the Front. Here is the text of the farewell:

 

Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and Men:

At the beginning of November I had the pleasure of welcoming to the mother country this fine contingent from the Dominion of Canada, and now, after three months of training, I bid you godspeed on your way to assist my army in the field. I am well aware of the discomforts that you have experienced from the inclement weather, and abnormal rain, and I admire the cheerful spirit displayed by all ranks in facing and overcoming all difficulties.

 

From all I have heard and from what I have been able to see at today’s inspection and march-past, I am satisfied that you have made good use of the time spent on Salisbury Plain. By your willing and prompt rally to our common flag you have already earned the gratitude of the mother land. By your deeds and achievements on the field of battle I am confident that you will emulate the example of your countrymen in the South African war, and thus help to secure the triumph of our arms. I shall follow with pride and interest all your movements, and I pray that God may bless you and watch over you.

 

• Shortly after the First Contingent left for England, recruiting for a second contingent began. The Second Contingent sailed for England in the spring of 1915, in separate transports, and was comprised of the 18th through the 32nd Infantry Battalions. As the war progressed and casualties began to mount, it became necessary to replace losses in the field. New Battalions were now being trained and sent to England as fast as possible. Upon arrival, most of the new Battalions were absorbed into reserve Battalions. From there, troops were sent to where they were needed, either as reinforcements for the 1st and 2nd Divisions or to the 3rd and 4th Divisions as they were being formed in England. The 3rd and 4th Contingents were comprised of the 33rd through the 260th Infantry Battalions. Sarnia fathers and sons were a part of each Contingent.^2T

 

• When the First World War began in 1914, there was widespread suspicion in Canada that immigrants from enemy countries – Germany, Austria-Hungary (Ukrainians, Czechs, Slovaks), and later Turkey and Bulgaria– might be disloyal. Labelling them “enemy aliens,” the federal government (War Measures Act) passed regulations which allowed it to monitor and even intern some of these immigrants. The fear was that these “enemy aliens” could go home to fight for their armies against Canada or sabotage the country from within. On October 28, 1914, all enemy aliens were ordered to register at a local office. During the course of the war, approximately 80,000 enemy aliens registered in Canada. Of those, by the end of the war, approximately 8,600 men would be interned at 24 camps and stations across Canada. They endured hunger and forced labour, including helping to build landmarks such as Banff National Park. A few hundred women and children were also interned. In Ontario, camps were located in Kapuskasing, Sault Ste. Marie, Niagara Falls, Toronto, Kingston and Petawawa. ^{2I, 2N,3R, 3T}

 

• When the First World War broke out, it was thought that the best way to recruit soldiers was to create units based on a specific geographic region or ethnic origin. In Sarnia and Lambton County, many of the men that enlisted did so with the First Contingent, and later in infantry battalions such as the 18th Battalion (Western Ontario), the 34th Battalion, the 70th Battalion and the Lambton 149th Battalion. Once the Canadian Expeditionary Force was shipped overseas, these “feeder” units would be disbanded and the soldiers integrated into regular British army units. A number of Sarnia/Lambton men also joined other units such as the Canadian Mounted Rifles, the Canadian Field Artillery, the Canadian Army Medical Corps, the Canadian Machine Gun Corps, the pioneers, foresters, railway ordnance and service formations of the 1st Contingent (enlisted by Major Bentley) and the 2nd Contingent.

 

• The 18th Battalion (Western Ontario), CEF recruited and was mobilized in London, Ontario. It was authorized on November 7, 1914, and embarked for England on April 18, 1915. The Battalion would arrive in France on September 15, 1915, where it fought as part of the 4th Infantry Brigade, 2nd Canadian Division. The 18th Battalion fought in until the end of the war, including in battles at Mount Sorrel, Somme, Arras, Vimy, Hill 70, Ypres, Passchendaele, and Cambrai.

 

• The 34th Battalion was authorized on November 7, 1914, recruiting and mobilized in Guelph, Ontario. The 34th left for England on October 23, 1915. It provided reinforcements to the Canadian Corps in the field until November 27, 1916, when it was reorganized as the 34th Boys Battalion, CEF. The battalion was disbanded on July 17, 1917.

• In September 1915, the following recruitment advertisement was carried in the Observer newspaper for a time:

 

YOUNG MEN ARE WANTED!

Recruiting is now open for the 70th Battalion Canadian Expeditionary Force.

Recruiting Stations for Lambton County are located in Sarnia, Petrolea, Alvinston, Watford, Forest and Thedford.

1. Recruits to be of good character and physically fit for service.
2. Age from 18 to 45 years: minimum height, 5 feet 2 inches.
3. Transportation will be furnished to Recruit from Recruiting Station to Camp in London.
4. Pay $1.10 per day for Privates, and board, lodging and uniform supplied. Separation allowance for dependents of Privates $20.00 a month.

  Dependents include only:

1. a) Wives.
2. b) Children of a widow if in care of a guardian.
3. c) Widowed mother, if the son is unmarried and her only support.

The Patriotic Fund supplements these amounts for soldiers having dependents.

Consent of wives, parents or guardians is no longer necessary.

The foregoing is a copy of a circular issued by the officers in command of the 70th.

Seven of the thirty-three officers to complete the 70th Battalion are Lambton men.

Five of the seven fill the higher commands, including the colonel, two majors and two captains.

They look to Lambton to rally to the colors and furnish a quota for which the county will have reason to be proud.

WILL YOU BE ONE?

• The 70th Battalion was authorized on August 15, 1915 and was based out of London, Ontario, recruiting in Essex, Kent, Middlesex and Lambton counties. In October 1915, the Observer reported that, “nearly all members of the 70th Battalion were Sarnia lads.” The 70th Battalion left for England on April 25, 1916, where it provided reinforcements to the Canadian Corps in the field until July 7, 1916. The 70th Battalion’s commanding officer was Lt. Col. R.I. Towers from April 15, 1915 until July 6, 1916. Lieut.-Col. R.I. Towers, who was a Sarnia barrister, vigorously objected to the dismemberment of his unit, but the plan was carried out. Its personnel was absorbed into the 39th Battalion, C.E.F., about half initially remained in England and half were sent to the firing line in reinforcement drafts.

• In April 1916, the 70th Battalion departed for overseas from London, Ontario. Hundreds of Sarnia citizens travelled to London to bid farewell, as its commander (R.I. Towers) and many of its members were from Sarnia, as well as Point Edward and Lambton County. The London Free Press reported that for its citizens, “half of the city must have turned out to honor them on their departure from her borders.” Troops marched to entrain through the downtown streets lined with crowds scores deep, to the station platform, surrounded by throngs of immense crowds. Following is a portion of the report on the battalion’s departure:

 

The Gallant 70th Departs

…. On either side of the street, the crowd awaited, and for blocks away one could tell by the nearing cheers of the crowds, as well as by the classic strains from the band, the approach of the gallant battalion leaving London… Guests thronged to hotel windows and waved a hearty god-speed to the heroic hearts in khaki marching past…. Friends and relatives of the 70th men were admitted through the lines and directed to the coaches allotted to the platoons and companies of which

those dear to them were members. There were touching scenes of farewell and tears that broke from quivering eyelids, brave though they tried to be. There were little children weeping and would not be comforted by assurances that “daddy was going to Toronto to buy baby a teddy bear.” There were mothers and sisters, wives and sweethearts, whose hearts anguished near to breaking, and fathers and brothers, who found it difficult to remember that though women may weep, far sterner tasks wait for the men to shoulder….

Little interesting touches deep fraught with human interest were to be observed on all sides. Away back from the lines deep in the crowd, an aged man in khaki was playing an euphonium, “Auld Lang Syne,” “O Canada,” and “Keep the Home Fires Burning.” While the battalion was marching to the station, one of the popular lieutenants observed on the sidewalk a Chinese laundryman who had once done the lieutenant’s washing. For a moment, the lieutenant stepped out of the line. “Hello, Wong Ling,” he said, “surely you were not going to let me go away without saying good-bye.” The almond eyes of the laundryman brightened to a pathetic brilliance as he warmly clasped the young officer’s hand….

 

• The Lambton 149th Battalion, the only unit raised exclusively in Lambton County, was based out of Watford, Ontario and began recruiting in on November 26, 1915. They set a goal to recruit 1000 Lambton able-bodied young men of military age who were physically fit for war service. As part of their recruitment effort and training, in mid-January 1916, the Sarnia company of the Lambton 149th Battalion, over 120 young men, went on a three day march south of Sarnia. Leaving the Sarnia armories, marching along the river, they travelled through Corunna, Courtright to Sombra. In each village, the young men were welcomed by cheering citizens; there were patriotic speeches, dinners served and an evening of entertainment. On the third day, the company marched from Sombra back to Sarnia. Just over three months later, in early March 1916, the 149th already had close to 800 volunteers signed up to fight. Recruits trained at Camp Borden. The 149th commanding officers were Dr. Lt. Col. R.G.C. Kelly (from Nov. 26/15 until he died of stroke on Dec. 12/15); then Dr. Lt. Col. Thomas P. Bradley (gave up command to go to the Army Medical Corps on Dec. 26/16); then Lt. Col William Wallace MacVicar (until the unit was disbanded in England).

• In late May 1916, the Lambton 149th prepared for their journey overseas. Two days before leaving, on May 26, 1916, the 800-man battalion paraded through the streets of Petrolia, where they were cheered by a crowd of thousands and a reception was held in their honour. The next day, Saturday May 27, the battalion marched through the downtown streets of Sarnia, part of a “Grand Mobilization” weekend of events. Front and Cromwell Streets were so densely packed with people that it was difficult for police to clear a passageway for the troops to move along. The following is a portion of the report on the parade:

 

Sarnia Entertains the Boys of the 149

… As the battalion proceeded along the streets it was followed by a surging mass of humanity – men, women and children, automobiles, carriages and in fact every kind of vehicle that could be pressed into service. Front Street had been gaily decorated with flags and bunting for the occasion and presented a pleasing sight to the eye. The decorations and the multitude of people all going to show that Sarnia citizens were indeed proud of Lambton’s 149…. In the march past, the battalion, nearly 800 strong, presented a soldierly appearance that was most creditable. The steady swing and even tread of the troops to the inspiring strains of the band was a pleasure to behold and each company as they passed along the streets was greeted by cheers and hand clapping from the friends who had gathered to do the boys honor….

 

• On the Sunday morning of May 28, the battalion paraded to Victoria Park for a special church service. In the early morning hours of Monday, May 29th, 1916, the force of 800 volunteers of the Lambton 149th Battalion left Sarnia for training camp at Carling’s Heights near London, Ontario to train for the front. They paraded from City Hall to Front Street, to the Cromwell train station. The following is a portion of the report on the battalion’s departure:

 

Bands Play, Women Weep, 149th Gone Farewell

Here’s luck to the boys from Lambton

That heard their country’s call

Shouldered a gun to fight the Hun

Offered their life, their all

 

We’re proud of our border county

That mustered the one-four-nine

May the deeds they do live history through,

And their valor ever shine.

 

… The band played “We’ll Never Let the Old Flag Fall,” and many of the soldier boys joined in the refrain, while mothers, wives, sisters and sweethearts did their best to keep back the tears. The Battalion swung smartly along the street, the steady tramp, tramp, being drowned by the cheers of assembled hundreds. But there was no glitter of gold or brass, no tinkle of accouterment, for these men were on their way to war, and Sarnia was saying goodbye to Lambton’s 149. Lean, brown young men were in the majority of those in the khaki clad columns of fours, though here and there was a head marked with gray – veterans going forth for their country again. And all along the streets were young and old, all assembled with the one object in view – to honor the soldier boys and bid them farewell and God speed….

While the men were boarding the special train, the band played “Auld Lang Syne,” “The Girl I Left Behind Me,” and “The Red, White and Blue.” There were many tear-stained faces among the crowd but it was not all sadness. The 149 is not a conscript legion being driven into strife but is composed of free men who have heard and answered the call of their country. Other soldiers have left Sarnia but the 149 is distinctively a Lambton product made up almost entirely of men from Lambton and Sarnia. So with the tears and cheers, was mingled patriotism and though the sacrifice was great – the greatest that could be made – many a woman covered her heart break with a smile….

… And when the last section drew away from the Cromwell Street depot as the clock in the Post Office building tolled seven, there was much cheering, and then a great silence.

On their way to London, the 149th Battalion stopped over in Watford, where they paraded down the main street, and lunch was provided for all of the men by the people of Watford.

• In June 1916, Corporal Sinclair Battley of the Canadian Army Medical Corps wrote to the Sarnia Observer providing information on the disposition of Sarnia boys at the Front. The following is a portion of that letter:

 

Editor of Sarnia Observer, Dear Sir,

I am writing you a short account of the disposition of the Sarnia boys at the front, as far as my knowledge goes, thinking that their friends might be interested in getting information concerning them. Those who left to join the first contingent have been scattered to many units and along with the men who came later, give Sarnia a representation over practically every part of the war area. As to the first battalion men I have little knowledge, except that with the exception of those who returned – they are still at the front…. I met in France a number of the Sarnia boys from No. 3 Stationary Hospital after their return from Lemnos. A tougher and more healthy crowd of fellows it would be hard to find. The work on the island evidently having agreed with them, although of a far more strenuous and exhausting nature than we ever had to endure in France….

 

While passing through Shorncliffe I met most of the Sarnia officers and men of the 70th Battalion. They are working hard and preparing to take their places in the firing line. Everyone is bronzed like an Indian and in the best of health. I did not see the Sarnia artillery men in Shorncliffe as they have a special camp. There are many well known Sarnia boys in the artillery and other branches at the front and in England….

Sarnia may well feel proud of her sons, for they are ably representing her in this time of national peril in every branch of the service and on every portion of the British military areas. Little did we think when we left Sarnia on that memorable August morning in 1914 that we were to be amongst the pioneers of Canada in the greatest struggle the world has known and we are all proud that we were privileged to be amongst those first representatives, not only of Canada but also of Sarnia.

Sinclair Battley

• On July 8, 1916, the Lambton 149th Battalion along with seven other units; the 118th, 135th, 142nd, 153rd, 161st, 168th and 186th, left for Camp Borden for further military training. The men remained there until March 1917. During this time frame, many of the men were posted to other units to fill them out. These other units went overseas before the 149th. Upon completion of training in late March, the Battalion returned to London, were billeted at Queen’s Park, and had time to visit their parents, wives and children. The 149th then boarded a troop train to Halifax, arriving there to march directly onto the waiting troop ship, the SS Lapland, setting sail for England on March 29th, 1917. An uneventful trip overseas followed until, as the Lapland began its entry into Liverpool, twelve miles from its dock, the ship struck a mine off the Mersey Bar Lightship. The front portion of the vessel began filling with water, yet it made it to its dock, and all the troops disembarked with no casualties. Once in England, the 149th was split up and its members were then absorbed into the 4th and 25th Reserve Battalions on April 8, 1917.

• Sarnia’s mayor in 1915 was William R. Paul. With more than 1000 of the City’s 10 000 residents heading to war, he did something quite unique and progressive. Mayor Paul decided something had to be done to protect the economical security of the loved ones left behind. He decided the municipality should buy life insurance for every Sarnia soldier. Council went along with the proposal, and a deal was struck with the State Life Insurance Company of Indianapolis. With more than 100 of the city’s young men losing their lives while serving over the course of the war, many local families needed help with the day-to-day costs of running a household. Council granted an allowance of $10 per month to the wives or mothers of enlisted men. Families received $2 per month for each child of a soldier. In 1915, this was a significant amount of cash. The City was under no obligation to provide such assistance. Mayor Paul did not seek re-election in 1916.^g

• In early May 1915, there was a public meeting held in Sarnia, presided over by Mayor William R. Paul. At that meeting, in a unanimous vote, it was decided that Sarnia would purchase a motor ambulance for use by the Canadian contingent, something that a number of other cities had also done. It was decided a committee would canvas the city for subscriptions to provide the necessary funds. By the end of the month, over $3,100 had been collected for the purchase of a motor ambulance – a Sarnia Ambulance, which would be sent to France.

• The $3100+ raised by the citizens of Sarnia was donated to the Canadian Red Cross Society for the purchase of a motor ambulance and supplies which would be sent overeas. A motor ambulance was purchased from the McLaughlin Buick Firm in Oshawa. The fully equipped ambulance was sent to the Red Cross in England in September 1915. Along with the ambulance, also delivered were cans of tobacco, pails of jam, socks and beds for hospitals. The ambulance was used for a time in England, and then sent on to the Front in France.

• Dr. W.A. Henderson was a Sarnia doctor who served for over a year with the British Army Medical Corps, in England, Egypt, Gallipoli and France. Dr. Henderson was originally from Scotland; he had six brothers and two sisters, and his family would reside in Sarnia. He would serve in the city council for several years, and was elected mayor of Sarnia in 1911. As mayor, he was the driving force behind the creation of Sarnia Harbour by the Federal Government, and he led the way in getting the city to move from wooded sidewalks to concrete ones. During WWI, while serving in various hospitals and clearing stations throughout Europe, he wrote letters home and to the Observer describing his experiences. In May 1916, he sent the following letter, from “Somewhere in France” after he saw a little piece of Sarnia there:

 

The Sarnia Ambulance “Somewhere in France”

The reference in The Observer to the Sarnia Ambulance from time to time caused me to have a glance at all such craft in my travels. At all the unloading places in England, Scotland and Wales, I looked in vain. When I came to France a month ago I resumed my search and after 20,000 miles travel was rewarded by seeing “Sarnia, Canada” much to my surprise, on the ambulance into which was being placed two of my patients. It was at Etaples, pronounced “A-Top,” some miles south of Boulogne, where is situated many hospitals. The driver, Russel Parsons by name told me while I went for a ride to the hospital with him, that it has done splendid work and is on the road daily. From inspection I could see it is still undamaged, has been in no smashes and in fact is in perfect condition. The engine is running very smoothly and strong and the driver likes it very much. On the side in large block letters is “SARNIA, CANADA,” and on a nickel plate in front are the words, “Sarnia, Ontario, Canada.” The army number is 815. At other places in France I had seen one marked from the “Women and Girls, Peel County, Ontario,” and one donated by Bracebridge, so I was pleased to see also the one donated by the citizens of Sarnia.

Yours sincerely, W.A. Henderson

 

• In another May 1916 letter sent home, from Rouen, France, Dr. W.A. Henderson described his months of work on an ambulance train, trains that transported wounded soldiers that had returned by ship from France or the Mediterranean to the English coast, where they were brought to various British hospitals. He described it as,

…just imagine, if you will, a hospital complete in every detail, with twice the accommodation of the Sarnia general, and it all on wheels…Like a city hospital, too, it must be amply supplied with food (a wounded Tommy has a twenty-four hour appetite), water, lit, kept scrupulously clean, with sanitation carefully carried out, and the patients all nursed and medically treated as required… On the train, he …rendered such surgical and medical aid as is required, such as dressings, dealing with secondary hemorrhages, comforting diseased patients, dispersing medications, tending to fracture cases and the badly wounded so they suffer as little as possible. Dr. W.A. Anderson also described some of the conversations he had with the wounded:

As you go about you get much information first hand, of what is going on at the front, and what life is like in the trenches. You get also many interesting stories of close calls and deeds of valour done. One Scotch lad told he was in a trench with other men when the Huns exploded a mine under them. He was blown clear out of his trench into the German trench 12 yards away. The Germans thinking their own trench might be injured in the explosion had evacuated it for the moment. All the lad felt was a sore arm, and realizing where he was, he got up, climbed out and put his back to his own lines. Many bullets whistled about but only one hit him, and that through the fleshy part of the hip. When I asked him what he did when the bullet hit him, he said:”I clapped my hand over the sore spot and ran all that harder.” He got safely back to the dressing station, where it was found his arm was broken, but the bullet wound, was a nice clean thing, the bullet having gone clear through. He said as soon as his arm was better he wanted to go back.

We got many such stories… then, too, you often get much food for thought. This for instance; in passing through the train one day I saw a man looking very down hearted and thinking to cheer him up a bit, I sat down beside him. He had reason to be down-hearted for he had lost both legs. We tried to talk to him of his having done his bit, and of his service to his country and such like, but he said, “Yes that’s fine now, but a few years after the South African war I knew a man, in the same plight as I am now, who had to beg from door to door and was often refused a slice of bread, and was frequently spoken to harshly, and in a year or two it will be the same way with me, for men soon forget.” It was a hard argument to combat, but surely as long as we live, we will never refuse to help the brave fellows who have been maimed in our defence or fail to help the widows and children of those who bled and died.

 

Dr. W.A. Anderson would return to Sarnia in August of 1916. He gave a number of lectures in Sarnia and Lambton County telling of his first hand experiences. Only two months after his return to Sarnia, he died suddenly at the age of 45. He left behind a wife and two children.

• On April 7th 1916, Mrs. Margaret McCrae who was in Newcastle-on-Tyne, England wrote a letter to the Sarnia Observer. Mrs. McCrae was a Sarnian working in England. One of the things she was doing while there was sending supplies to Canadian soldiers who were prisoners of war. The following is a portion of her letter:

 

To the Editor, Sarnia Observer,

As I have received considerable money from Sarnia people for my work in connection with Canadian prisoners of war, I am sure they will be interested to have a report from me, showing how the work is progressing. I still send parcels of food to the same twelve Canadians, not having added to the list, as this is all I can undertake to look after properly with the subscriptions I have received, and in any case, this, with my other war works, keeps me fairly busy. Since I started this work I have received donations amounting to $150 and have sent 118 parcels weighing 11 pounds each (which, by the way, is well over a half ton of food)…. I received the names of these prisoners from the Canadian Red Cross in London, and I am under obligation to send parcels to these men, and no one else is given these names…

So many people at home seem to think the prisoners do not receive parcels sent. This is quite a mistaken idea, as everything I have sent has arrived and I hear constantly from these men, as each parcel is acknowledged by date and these letters are genuine, without a doubt. Since the U.S. intervened, there is much improvement in camps and delivery of parcels. Most of my men have sent me snap shots of themselves, and some views of camps, which appear very dreary, bare places. Thanks to the Canadian Red Cross, all Canadian prisoners are now well supplied with clothing of all kinds. One thing I never fail to send is the best beef dripping, as there is absolutely no fat of any kind at the camps, and they all like this….

I am now the official Canadian Red Cross visitor to the military hospital here, and on my first visit last week, saw twenty-six Canadians in various stages of recovery, had a thoroughly interesting time with them. They were so glad to have a real Canadian as visitor, as up to this, it had been an English lady, and we discussed everything pertaining to Canada and Canadians. One man who had arrived the previous day was very “down.” He nearly wept when I told him I came from Sarnia. He helped build the tunnel and felt a decided proprietorship in it. Another man from St. Marys, had worked on the telephone in Sarnia, and asked me if I knew several people, of course I did…

I am still making munitions on Saturdays, along with about one hundred other ladies, from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., and hope every shell we turn out will accomplish its purpose. It is very dirty but interesting work and there is considerable

satisfaction in it. This has been a bad week for zeppelin raids, as these unwelcome visitors have come to this locality four nights in succession. Fortunately the bombs were dropped some distance from us but the noise is terrific and thousands of windows were smashed, blocks away from where the bombs fell. We had a flying visit of 24 hours from Dr. Henderson this week which we all enjoyed very much. He had the zeppelin experience to a certain extent, and saw the damage next day. In one raid 20 were killed and over 100 injured. It is decidedly nerve racking when all lights are turned out, trains and trams stopped and we sit in darkness, wondering if the zeppelin has designs on our house and the next bomb dropped will be dropped here. There is little chance for anyone near them when dropped.

We all feel sure things are coming out right for the allies, though there is certainly no immediate prospect of the finish… I hope I have not wearied your readers with this lengthy letter, and assure all those who are assisting me in feeding these brave Canadians, that they are receiving my grateful thanks, and also thanks of the men in German camps. Thanking you for your kindness in publishing the above, I remain, yours sincerely.

Margaret McCrae

 

• The Great War was concentrated along the “Western Front” (through Belgium and France) and the “Eastern Front” (through Germany, Russia and Austria-Hungary). However there was also fighting at sea, in Turkey, Albania, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Mesopotamia and Palestine, and the Italian front.

• During World War I in France and Belgium, on the “Western Front”, the forces of France, Britain, Canada and their allies fought the Germans. Trenches stretched hundreds of miles throughout northern Europe. From their opposing complex series of trenches, they faced one another across a deadly “No Man’s Land” of barbed wire, exploding artillery shells, grenades, sniper fire, poison gas attacks, buried land mines and machine-gun fire. Frontal attacks against enemy trenches led to terrible losses. Adding to the hardships were poor weather such as incessant heavy rains, wind, bone-chilling winters and hellishly hot summers, the smells of rotting corpses, stagnant mud and human waste, along with rat infestations, lice and diseases such as typhoid, dysentery, trench foot, gangrene, meningitis, influenza, tuberculosis and pneumonia. Complicating things for Canadians soldiers, many were issued the Canadian-made Ross Rifle Mk. III, which turned out to be unsuitable for the conditions of trench warfare. On the western front, one Canadian in seven who served was killed.^{F, 2I, 3S}

• Trenches were dug in a zigzag or stepped pattern so that if an enemy jumped in, he couldn’t fire all the way down the line. At first, the trenches were little more than glorified ditches, but as the fighting continued they became more elaborate. The front-line trench, or firing trench, was topped with barbed wire to slow down attacking enemies and sandbags to provide cover. It was backed up by support trenches and reserve trenches running between them. Each dawn, the usual time for an enemy attack, soldiers woke to climb up on the first step and “stand-to,” guarding their front line trenches. Following that, the day involved a number of chores such as cleaning equipment, filling sandbags and repairing duckboards. With the onset of dusk, the morning ritual of “stand-to” was repeated. At nighttime, under the cover of darkness, soldiers often climbed out of the trenches and moved into No Man’s Land, to repair barbed wire, dig new trenches or gather intelligence. Outside of formal battles, snipers and shells regularly killed soldiers in the trenches, a phenomenon known as “wastage.”^{F, 2I, 3S}

• Many factors helped persuade soldiers to fight – the bonds of friendship, loyalty, and community, based on shared experience and common dangers were principal among them. The military understood many of the challenges to morale and the discomfort caused by life in the trenches. It tried to provide soldiers with the comforts necessary to sustain morale. Letters and periodic care packages with food, cigarettes, magazines and clothes from home were an important link to loved ones. Soldiers’ letters – though censored by their officers or commands behind the lines, allowed them to tell of their lives in the trenches. Bully beef (tinned corned beef) and “hardtack” biscuits were a staple of the soldier’s diet. Army-issued rum became a beloved part of trench life. When rum was available, soldiers received their daily ration consisting of a “tot,” about two ounces, morning and night. Rum was a reward, a medicine, and a combat motivator. It helped soldiers to stay warm in their dank trenches, to sleep after the day’s horrors, and to quell their nerves ahead of battle.^{2I, 3R}

• World War I was known as a “trench war” with most battles waged by the infantry. Battles tended to be prolonged, futile affairs, bogged down by attacks and counter-attacks, a static war of attrition, often ending in stalemates, with losses and gains sometimes measured by only a few hundred meters. The number of wounded and fatalities in this type of warfare tended to be quite high on both sides. The following are a few stories and letters of several Sarnia/Lambton boys who fought in the trenches, which provide a glimpse of the horrors that they witnessed and experienced:

 

– Private John Carolan was born in Ireland, and spent some time in Sarnia working as a fireman on the Great Lakes. On April 23rd, 1915 at Ypres, fierce pounding by the German artillery had smashed a gap in the British defence lines. John was with his unit of the 1st Battalion that had rushed to fill the gap. John had just passed the position from where his late commander was cheering on his force, when John was wounded in the head. Here is a portion of his John’s description of his former commander who fell in the battle, and his description of the experience:

Colonel Becher was the bravest man in the unit. His troops would have followed him anywhere, or even into hell itself, and surely those engagements that we came through were as bad as the infernal regions. There was nothing the men wouldn’t do for him, and there was nothing he would ask a soldier to do that was not a matter of plain duty. He wouldn’t send a man where he would not go himself. No wonder the men worshipped him.

An accurate and realistic description of the fierce engagements at Langemarck, Ypres and Hill 60 is almost impossible. The terrible crash of artillery, the ceaseless rattle of fire arms and machine guns and the deep reverberating boom of the “Jack Johnson,” the men falling all around in a veritable hail of lead, the sudden “Up and at them!” that carried all before it, the dogged retreat when every foot of ground gained was held tenaciously and given only at a tremendous cost to both sides – all these were terrible phases of the conflict that were indescribable.

 John Carolan would return to Canada after recovering from his wound.

 

– William “Harry” Jennings was born in Forest, Ontario in 1883. He enlisted in August 1914, and served overseas in France, with the Canadian Infantry, a member of the Princess Patricia’s Light Infantry. On a night in February 1915, he and three others were carrying ammunition into the trenches when they were hit by German machine gun fire. One man was killed; Harry and another man were wounded. Harry was hit in the head, fracturing his skull, causing temporary paralysis. The other wounded man dragged Harry through 50 yards of knee-high mud to safety. Harry was eventually brought to a hospital, operated on and given time to recover. The following is a portion of a letter written by Harry to his mother while he was recovering in a hospital in England:

My Dear Mother,

… Now just a word to the war. It is absolutely worse than the people ever imagine. The weather is not as cold as Canada of course but it rains or sleet every day nearly. Raw and miserable and the trenches are a terror. Actually water over the knees have I stood in for 2 days and nights and kept my back humped up and my head down below the trenches all the time. And then when we come out had to cut my boots off my feet. They were so swollen. This is what the papers don’t tell and are not allowed to tell, so don’t show this letter around. And Belgium, village after village, and they are only a matter of a few miles apart here absolutely blown to pieces. And the people where they are, goodness only knows. And France isn’t much better a country of old, young and cripples If people only realized what a war such as this meant to the country, where it was waged it would mean that the world would turn to socialism in no time. Thank goodness you live in North America….^PP

Harry Jennings would return to the front and eventually return to Canada before the end of the war. He would die in May of 1925, of “influenzal brocho pneumonia, related to his service.”

 

– Leonard Francis Allingham was born in Courtright, Ontario and raised in Sarnia. Prior to enlisting, he was employed with Imperial Oil Company in Sarnia. He enlisted in September 1914 with the Canadian Infantry, 7th Battalion and was later transferred to the Canadian Army Medical Corps, No. 14 Field Ambulance Corps. The following is a portion of a letter that he wrote in late April of 1915 from France, to his mother Mrs. John Allingham, of 402 Wellington Street, Sarnia:

Dear Mother,

I received your letter yesterday and was glad to hear form you. Things are getting a little hotter around where we are now. Bullets and shells whizzing through the air everywhere. You can tell Clarence things are just as hot as they put in the papers, about the battles. I guess you will have the news of the battle (April 27) we are in. We were four days dressing the wounded without a wink of sleep and we are back for a rest. The boys that were left out of the battle turned around and volunteered to go back at the Germans, again, after being in battle for five days. I guess there isn’t many left of the Sarnia boys (poor fellows). They wouldn’t give in until there was hardly enough of them to make a company out of each battalion. There is a few killed and wounded out of our bunch. Some of them are from Sarnia also…

We were all separated into stretcher squads and sent out to collect the wounded that couldn’t walk. If anybody wants to go through purgatory once they only want to be in a battle like this one which our boys went through…. Our bunch worked like heroes and there is some news that one or two of us are going to receive a Distinguished Conduct medal. They certainly deserve it. When they double across field under shell fire after wounded. Well mother dear, this is all the news I have to say for now. If I told you all the news it would take a newspaper to write it on….

Leonard Allingham would be wounded in action on June 22, 1915. He would survive the war and return to Sarnia.

 

– Ulysses Theodore Mays was born in Bellefontaine, Ohio, but was residing in Sarnia at the time of his enlistment, in September 1914. He became a member of the Canadian Infantry, 1st Battalion. The following is a portion of a letter that he wrote in early May of 1915, to his wife Mrs. Mary Mays of 409 George Street, Sarnia:

Dear Wife,

You have probably read the account of the great dash the Canadians made, but the half has never been told. I am thankful to say I am well and among the living. I have been in three countries now, England, France and Belgium, and hope to be in Germany. We are now in a rest camp and expect to be here two or three weeks. I am glad to get away from the roar of the guns. I have not seen Tod Fleming since. He was killed or wounded, I don’t know which. We lost so many of our boys, but they died heroes. We charged the Germans in a regular hail of shot and shell. It did not seem as though anyone could possibly live under the fire, but a few of us are left to tell the tale, but for how long we don’t know….

Ulysses Mays would survive the war and return to Sarnia.

 

– Charles Marr Paul was born in Sarnia, the son of Mr. and Mrs. George Paul of 149 North Brock Street, Sarnia. He would enlist in September 1914, becoming a member of the Canadian Infantry, the 8th Battalion of the 90th Winnipeg Rifles, nicknamed the “Little Black Devils”. The following are portions of two letters that he wrote to his mother in Sarnia, the first one in mid-April of 1915 and the second in late May of 1915:

Dear Mother,

Well, mother, we have been over here two months now. We are getting well acquainted with the country…. Our company was in the reserve line and the rest in the front line, which was only 40 yards from the enemy at some points….we were open to fire on every side…We got to the position all right without mishap but it sure was dark and foggy as well.  I was in a dug out with four other chaps and there was barely room for four, so we were just crowded enough to be uncomfortable. The shelling was by far the heaviest we have seen. They shelled the trenches steadily and dropped shells by dozens all over the show…. We lost several men in the trenches….The shrapnel was whizzing above our dugout at time in quite an unhealthy manner. We had to stay right in the dugout and we could not light fires so the cocoa we took with us and such could not be used. There was a grave just outside our dugout having two German helmets on it, and there were plenty of German rifles and bayonets, etc., lying about. There had been a good many buried altogether too near the surface, and well, everything seemed to stink of bodies. The hot weather was responsible. There was one of the biggest battles of the war fought there about Christmas time, and that accounts for bodies being improperly buried…

My Dear Mother,

I have not had a chance to write you for some time. We have been on the move a good deal and at the firing line and reserves quite a while and they would not take any mail, so of course, I could not write…. We are now back for a couple of days rest. We have had another bad cutting up, though some of the other battalions got it worse than us. It has been a very hard place we have. We were up against heavy guns and plenty of them. Big ones that when they burst make holes in the ground ten or twelve feet wide. They threw these shells right into our trenches. One day they kept up a steady bombardment all day and it was a wild old time we had believe me. While in the reserves we were on fatigue burying dead and fixing up trenches which were captured from the Germans. We got little rest. If we were not busy at work we were digging ourselves in the fields to keep out of shell fire….

Charles Marr Paul would survive the war and return to Sarnia. During the war, he was credited with saving numerous lives. Early in the war, his Battalion held the line during a German poison gas attack at Ypres, Belgium. Charles Paul would receive the Military Medal for courage and gallantry under fire for his efforts at Ypres. Later he earned a Meritorious Service Medal for saving more lives during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. His unit would also participate in the Battle of Vimy Ridge and Passchendaele. He would return to Sarnia with his British bride Frances Paul (nee Williams) and raise eight children. He would work as a Senior Customs and Excise Examiner at the Ferry Docks in Sarnia. Charles Marr Paul is connected to another Sarnian, Michael Paithowski, a member of the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve who is included in this project (World War II section).

 

– Garnet David Dawson was born in Sombra Township, the son of Mr. and Mrs. David Dawson of Sarnia. He enlisted in September 1914, becoming a member of the Canadian Infantry, 1st Battalion. In a letter home to his parents, he described the marksmanship of the German soldiers, telling how he held a milk can up on the point of his bayonet and in five minutes the receptacle was pierced by 25 bullet holes. The following is a portion of that letter:

Life in the trenches is not a pleasant one. We bury our dead and get food supplies into the trenches at night. I must say the Germans are good soldiers. At night the enemy opens fire at our trenches to test our strength, and the violence of fire we return aids them in deciding if they are able to make a successful night attack on us. We have not had our shoes off for 14 days, and we were three days without food. Our losses have been heavy, and out of our company of 250 there are 20 left. I hardly know how it is that I came through. You ought to see this country. It is hard to imagine its true condition. The cities of France are blown to pieces. We succeeded in taking this week three lines of German trenches, but lost them again in a bitter engagement. The fields that surround us are literally covered with the bodies of dead soldiers. We hope for the end, but we can not tell how long the war will last.

 

– The following is a portion of a story from the Sarnia Observer, printed in late December of 1915, which explains to Sarnia citizens back home the process of “digging in.”

It is practically impossible for soldiers to remain in the open and live under modern artillery fire. When a column of soldiers advance until they can go no further they hold the ground they have gained by burrowing into the earth. Each soldier lies flat on the ground and, by means of trenching tools, or failing them his bayonet, makes a shallow trench at his side, carefully placing the loose earth in a pile at his head. This hole is sufficiently deep to safeguard him from stray bullets, and under cover he begins to dig another and deeper trench at his side. This is known as a “lying down” trench, and, being about 2 feet deep, hides the soldier’s body from the enemy when he crawls into it.

In these roughly constructed shelters the troops lie until darkness sets in, when the engineers, with a formidable array of pick-axes, saws, and spades, set to work to enlarge the “lying down” holes until they are deep enough to shelter a standing soldier. The dirt taken from the trenches is carefully piled in front of the shelter to form a parapet which swallows up the force of bullets. A short distance behind the trenches, actually in the firing line, shelters are constructed for the troops to fall back in case of retreat. Barbed wire interlaced with branches cut from trees is placed in front of these shelters, and wooden beams piled with earth cover them to protect the troops below from shells bursting overhead.

 

– In July 1916, Mrs. Thomas Weston, of 257 Tecumseh Street, Sarnia would receive a letter from her husband Thomas. He was recovering in hospital after having five pieces of German shell taken out of his head, received in a charge into enemy trenches during the Battle of Hill 60 in Flanders, south of Ypres. He described for her how they knew the day before they were to charge, and of the heavy artillery shelling the night before, “the noise something awful”, into German trenches only 50 yards away from them. Here is a portion of his letter:

I remember getting hit, shrapnel and machine gun fire was flying all around us and Alf bandaged my head up and that was the last I remember. When I was just going unconscious I heard him crying and telling me to cheer up, for he thought I was dying, but when I woke up again I was lying in a dugout in the captured German trenches with German prisoners that were captured. I only knew that I had an awful headache and the Germans were shelling us to beat he band as they were going to try and get the trenches back. It was then I heard the order and again to stand to, for they thought the Germans were going to make a charge, and I knew that if they did my chance was gone, for the trench would be blown up and I knew I would go up with it and the German prisoners. It was then I thought of you, I saw you as plain as if you had been near by with me and for once I said a prayer. I thought I was going to die and then I fell unconscious again for I was bleeding and was very weak through the loss of blood, and the shelling was so hot and heavy that no Red Cross could get up to me. Then I found myself being wakened up by having some rum forced into my mouth.

When I was being pulled out of the trench I saw some dreadful sights. The dead half filled the trench. I was pulled over them as we had to crawl so as the Germans would not see us and my face knocked against the dead. After I got out of the trenches I was put on a stretcher and put into a motor ambulance and with three others taken to the hospital. I saw them putting dead comrades in shell holes, burying them, 30 in a shell hole. My God, nobody that has not seen or been there does not know and cannot imagine the terrible scenes. There were 30 come through without a scratch out of 150 in our company and as I was being taken to the dressing hospital there were hundreds lying along the road dead.

 

– In April 1916, Arthur Crawford wrote a letter from France to his mother, Mrs. George Crawford, of 153 Christina Street, Sarnia. He described his role in repairing communication lines on the front lines. The following are portions of his letter:

Dear Mother and All,

It is some time since I have written more than a note so will try to give you some idea of what I have been doing lately. After four weeks rest inn France we returned to our position on the firing line. I was again assigned to the dugout for advance linemen. We felt quite at home in the familiar old place and counted ourselves lucky to get back. However Fritz decided that he had been too gentle on our previous visit and tried to liven up things a bit. Every day we had a shower of whiz-bangs and small shrapnel. One fine morning I was peeling spuds in the door of the dugout when suddenly two small shells burst just overhead and I had to fish out several small pieces from the potato pot…

He went on to describe being moved with an advance party to take over new lines up front:

No sooner had we started out to locate the buried lines than Fritz welcomed us with a heavy shower of shrapnel. I thought my time had come, but managed to reach a shelter of a good dugout and stuck there till the things had quieted down a bit. But Fritz seemed to have an unending supply of ammunition and I couldn’t wait all day so during a lull I “beat it” for our new linemen’s dugout. Arrived just in time to join a man going out to repair a line. I donned a shrapnel helmet and we set out. We found two breaks in a buried armored cable and while repairing these were told that another line was out. Before returning to our dugout we repaired no less than eight breaks, had several narrow escapes from flying shrapnel, got covered with mud and I decided that I was in for a lively time…. I was on the job night and day. We lived on cold rations and tea and ate whenever we got the chance… I spent the busiest week of my soldiering career up there and am not anxious to do it again.

But my experience is as nothing compared to what some of our infantry went through. I helped out men who had been under almost continuous heavy fire for forty-eight hours standing in water with practically nothing to eat and absolutely no sleep. Some were almost insane, others all crippled with rheumatism, others dazed and few were normal. It must have been “hell.” I saw mangled bodies and ghastly wounds, ruined trenches and caved in dugouts but these men lived through the actual making of this awful devastation. Truly they have seen “Hell.”

 

• Many young men from Sarnia and Lambton served with cavalry units during the Great War. Some made the supreme sacrifice; for example, five of Sarnia’s fallen were from Mounted Rifle Battalions. Canadian Cavalry Brigades included the Royal Canadian Dragoons, Lord Strathcona’s Horse and the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery. Faced with trench complexes, machine guns, mechanized artillery and barbed wire, there were few cavalry charges on the Western Front, as horse-mounted troop regiments became an outdated mode of warfare. Still, horses and mules were essential components to the army in their ability to wage war successfully. On all fronts and theatres, a staggering 1 million plus horses and mules were listed in service with British and Commonwealth forces. Captain Sidney Galtrey, author of ‘The Horse and the War’ stated in the autumn of 1918, I believe that every soldier who has anything to do with horse or mule has come to love them for what they are and the grand work they have done and are doing in and out of the death zones. Canada sent about 130,000 horses overseas during the First World War, representing well over 10 per cent of the horses used on the Western Front. Eight thousand horses went overseas with the first contingent of Canadians in the fall of 1914. Horses and mules served at the Front, in no-man’s land, in the rear and in the support lines. In the mud, rain, snow, cold, gas attacks and terror, they supplied the soldiers with food, water, and ammunition, and pulled soldiers, guns, large artillery weapons and ambulances. Hundreds of thousands of horses on all sides on the Western front would die from exhaustion, starvation, disease, poison gas, exposure, drowning in mud and water, falling in shell holes, or by being shot and blown up. Estimates vary, but at least 25 per cent of the Canadian horses were thought to have died in the war. After the war, those that survived were sold by the Canadian government to Belgium instead of bringing them home. Only officers’ mounts would get to come back to Canada.^{E, 3L, 3M, 3N and 3R}

• The Second Battle of Ypres, Belgium, April 22 – May 25, 1915: This was Canada’s first series of major battles in the First World War. Ypres was the last portion of Belgium that was not in enemy hands after the initial German advance of 1914 and, as a result, held great symbolic meaning to the Allies. On the first day, April 22, 1915, the raw and outnumbered 1st Canadian Division faced the first use of chlorine gas. As eyewitness George Nasmith described it, “Looking towards the French line we saw this yellowish green cloud rising on a front of at least three miles and drifting at a height of perhaps a hundred feet toward us. The gas rose in great clouds as if it had been poured from nozzles, expanding as it ascended.” Later in the day, on seeing victims of the attack at a Canadian field ambulance, he described, “Lying on the floors were scores of soldiers with faces blue or ghastly green in colour, choking, vomiting and gasping for air, in their struggles with death, while a faint odour of chlorine hung above this place.”^{D, 2I, 3R} In the first 48 hours at Ypres, one Canadian in every three became casualties of whom more than 2,000 died.^D In just over one month, one third of the Canadian force, over 6,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or captured at Ypres, but the Canadians kept the Germans from breaking through.

• In August 1915, Sergeant John Adda MacDonald, with the Canadian Army Medical Corps in Le Touquet, France, mailed a letter to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. A.E. MacDonald of South Brock Street, Sarnia. The following is a portion of that letter:

 

Dear Friends,

No doubt you will be somewhat surprised when you receive this letter from me but I wish to thank you for the papers which you have been good enough to send from time to time. As soon as Capt. Bentley receives them, he distributes them among the Sarnia boys who with faces wreathed in smiles, retire to a secluded place where they devour its contents free from disturbance of any kind, and in this way we are able to keep pace with current events in the far away home town, Sarnia….

Last April we worked day and night for days, especially during the last week of April, when our brave Canadians did such remarkable work at Ypres. At that time our capacity was five hundred and sixty beds, but I have seen seven hundred patients here at one time. More than a thousand patients passed through here in a week at that time. In fact, they were being admitted and discharged at the same time during the rush. If I remember correctly it was during that week that I saw the first wounded Sarnia man, who was Private McLellan, shot in both arms and the head. Some of the patients are brought in, having ghastly wounds and mangled and shattered almost beyond recognition. In spite of this it is very seldom even a murmur is heard.

• Major John McCrae was the field-surgeon and second in command of the First Brigade Canadian Field Artillery in April of 1915. He would be in the trenches during the Second Battle of Ypres. There, he tended to hundreds of wounded soldiers every day and was surrounded by the dead and dying. In a letter to his mother, he wrote of the Battle of Ypres:

 The general impression in my mind is of a nightmare. We have been in the most bitter of fights. For seventeen days and seventeen nights none of us have had our clothes off, nor our boots even, except occasionally. In all that time while I was awake, gunfire and rifle fire never ceased for sixty seconds ….. And behind it all was the constant background of the sights of the dead, the wounded, the maimed, and a terrible anxiety lest the line should give way.

 On May 2, one of John McCrae’s closest friends and fellow Canadian, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, was killed when he left his dugout and was struck by a German shell. His body parts were later gathered and buried that day in a makeshift grave with a plain wooded cross. In the absence of a chaplain, Major McCrae conducted a simple service at the graveside. Wild poppies were already beginning to bloom between the crosses marking the many graves, a fact nnot lost on John despite his grief. The next day, May 3, while sitting on the back of an ambulance waiting for more wounded to arrive, and looking at his friend’s grave among the many others, John McCrae was inspired to write a few lines of verse which would become the iconic poem ‘In Flanders Fields’.

 

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

 

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

 

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

 

John McCrae would later be transferred to a Canadian General Hospital in France and become a lieutenant-colonel. Here the wounded were brought from the Battle of the Somme, the Battle of Vimy Ridge, the third Battle of Ypres and from Arras and Passchendaele. John McCrae was deeply affected by the fighting and losses in France, so much so that in John Prescott’s book In Flanders Fields: The Story of John McCrae, the author wrote of John: “After the battle of Ypres he was never again the optimistic man with the infectious smile”. On January 28, 1918, after an illness of five days, he died of pneumonia and meningitis. The day he fell ill, Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae learned that he had been appointed consulting physician to the First British Army, the first Canadian so honoured. John McCrae was buried with full military honours in Wimereux Cemetery, France, not far from the fields of Flanders. ^{D, 4C}

• Unveiled in July 1927, the Ypres, Menin Gate War Memorial in Belgium, is located on a site chosen because of the hundreds of thousands of Commonwealth soldiers who passed through this spot on their way to the battlefields. It bears the inscribed names of 54,389 Commonwealth Force soldiers who fell in the Ypres Salient before August 16, 1917 and whose bodies have never been identified or found. Since 1928, every night at 8:00 p.m., four buglers from the local fire brigade play the Last Post. Of those are the names of 6,994 Canadian soldiers who were listed as “missing, presumed dead”. At least three young men from Sarnia lost their lives in the Second Battle of Ypres, and at least seven young men from Sarnia have their names inscribed on the (Ypres) Menin Gate Memorial in Belgium.

• The Battle of Mont Sorrel, Belgium, June 2 – 13, 1916: In the summer of 1916, Mont Sorrel was the last remaining high ground in the Ypres salient still in British hands. On June 2, the Germans attacked the Canadian lines (3rd Division of the Canadian Corps) with a crushing bombardment, killing hundreds and capturing Mont Sorrel and two surrounding hills (Hill 61 and Hill 62). A Canadian counter attack failed, and on June 6th, the Germans exploded mines under the Canadian positions and captured the village of Hooge. On June 13, after a heavy artillery bombardment, the Canadians drove back the Germans and recaptured much of the lost ground. Over the two weeks of battle, the Canadian victory came at a cost of 8,000+ killed or wounded. At least one young man from Sarnia lost his life in the Battle of Mont Sorrel.

• The Battle of the Somme, France. July 1 –November 18, 1916: Thousands of British, Canadian and French troops hammered German defence lines north of the Somme River in one of the most futile and bloody battles in history. On the first day, July 1, 1916, the Allies made a shoulder-to-shoulder advance across No Man’s Land in broad daylight toward the well-trained and well-entrenched German positions to open the Battle of the Somme. The result would be slaughter—more than 57,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers were killed, wounded or missing—the heaviest combat losses ever suffered by the British Army in a single day. Part of the opening phase on that first day, July 1st, involved the 1st Newfoundland Regiment at the Battle of Beaumont-Hamel. The Newfoundlanders were expected to traverse more than 200 metres of open ground in full view of the waiting enemy, and then a further 500 metres downslope of No Man’s Land through barbwire. Through the hail of machine gun and artillery fire, the 1st Newfoundland Regiment was virtually wiped out, 700+ casualties, a casualty rate of approximately 90%, all in less than half an hour. For five brutal months the Battle of the Somme continued. By the time it was all over, the Allies would have more than 620,000 soldiers killed, wounded, missing or taken prisoner. Of those, more than 24,000 Canadians lost their lives. At least twenty young men from Sarnia lost their lives in the Battle of the Somme. For this incredible cost, or as one Army official referred to it as “mass butchery”, the Allies moved the front line forward about 10 kilometres.

• One of Sarnia-Lambton’s heroes of the Battle of the Somme was George Hunter Stirrett. George Stirrett, the son of Robert Stirrett, was born in Forest, Ontario on March 2, 1891, raised in Petrolia, and lived his adult life in Sarnia. At the age of 23, when he enlisted for service on January 13, 1915 in London, Ontario, he was single and listed his occupation as merchant. He had prior military experience with the 27th Infantry and would train in London, Ontario with future fighter pilot Billy Bishop who became a close friend. William “Billy” Bishop would go on to be the top Canadian and Imperial flying ace in WWI, credited with 72 victories and a recipient of 16 medals including the Military Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross and Victoria Cross. In June of 1915, George Stirrett would proceed overseas as part of the Second Canadian Division. It was during training at Dibgate Plains in England that George witnessed the birth of one of Canada’s greatest flying aces. As George Stirrett recalled:

Training was continued at an accelerated pace. However, the area was very heavy clay and after every rain the horse lines became almost impossible. One day when the mud was very bad, two Royal Air Force planes went over. While Billy Bishop, who hated to be dirty, and I stood in the mud watching them, only a few hundred feet high, Bishop turned to me and said, “It’s clean up there George. And if you were killed, at least you would be clean. Imagine being killed in this mix of mud and horse manure.” Lieutenant Billy Bishop joined the Air Force that afternoon… Lt. Bishop hadn’t told anyone in the Hussars where he was going or what he was going to do so we didn’t know where he was for about two weeks.”^3U

• George Stirrett was initially a member of the First Hussars, 7th Canadian Mounted Rifles, later the Canadian Light Horse rising in the ranks from Corporal to Major. During the Battle of the Somme, George described September 26, 1916 as the day that made the greatest change in his life. On that day, George Stirrett was in command of a sixty-man stretcher party assigned to the 8th Battalion, “Little Black Devils”. The following is part of George Stirrett’s account of what he witnessed that day as German soldiers came out of the trenches to meet Canadian attackers:

It looked like two teams coming from both ends of a rugby field and meeting in the middle. As they met, all machine gun fire stopped. It was impossible to tell friends from enemies with 1000 Germans fighting 1000 Canadians you just couldn’t shoot so they used knives at each other. Until this time I never had any idea of what the infantry had to go through. I didn’t know if I’d go crazy or not… The Canadians forced the Germans back and took the German trenches. Our job now was to clear the field of wounded. As we started, about 9:00 A.M., I wondered as to my sanity. In one shell hole I saw a young man with his lips moving so I knew he was still alive. I reached down and put my hand behind his head and realized my hand was in his brain as the back of his head was missing. I started to go on about 100 yards to locate some more of our parties. I was going from shell hole to shell hole which, at the Somme, almost interlocked. In a shell hole ahead I spotted a boy from Saskatchewan lying wounded. He looked like my younger brother Jack who was with the artillery. I touched the boy and he opened his eyes and asked me not to touch him again. I asked him what I could do for him. “Sergeant Major.” he said “Do you believe in God?” I wasn’t particularly a religious person but my answer was Yes. “Sergeant Major” he said, “will you pray to God for me? I’m going to be with him in a few minutes.” You could not fool with this request. Then he told me to go and help others but I was to come back later and empty his pockets and answer the letters which I would find there. He wanted to be alone.” “What happened to me then I don’t know but all fear was gone, in a trance you might call it. I walked and went any place I wished to that day and night without fear. I came back in about an hour and emptied his pockets. We worked that day, that night, and the next day as stretcher bearers under continuous fire.

George Stirrett led his stretcher crew to successfully bring in hundreds of injured men to safety on that day, but the cost was high. Years later George reflected, “By the next day, I had only 18 of our 60 men who were able to come home to our own lines”. George was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) in mid-October of 1916 for his heroic actions. The official citation to his DCM award stated, “For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He tended the wounded under heavy fire, displaying great courage and determination. He set a fine example to his men”.

• During the final two months of the war, the Germans were retreating and were leaving machine gun crews behind to cover their retreat. It was the cavalry’s mission to find their positions, each day conducting hazardous reconnaissance, suffering heavy casualties. George Stirrett led near-suicidal forays in search of these German machine gun nests. It was for his actions in late September and again in early October 1918 that George Stirrett would be awarded a second medal, the Military Cross (MC). The official citation notes that he carried out mounted patrols to gather accurate information on enemy positions “with great dash and coolness, locating the exact position of the enemy…carried out under heavy fire”.

• After the war, George Stirrett would marry Vera Mary (nee Spurr) in October 1919, and move to Front Street, Sarnia in 1922. He became a Sarnia City Councilor in the 1930’s, was a member of Central United Church and was a president of the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 62. He would die in mid-February 1982 just short of his 91st birthday at the Vision Nursing Home. He was survived by his wife Vera, son Frank, and daughters Mary and Georgina, and 13 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He was buried with full military honours by members of the 1st Hussars of Sarnia and London, the same unit that he had distinguished himself with so many years earlier, in Hillside Cemetery, Petrolia. Sarnia’s armoury on Confederation Street is named in his honour.^{F, J, N, 2G, 3K, 3U, g}

• The First World War was much longer and more expensive than anyone had expected. The effort required to sustain its’ massive armies required huge amounts of capital. To help pay for the war, the federal government issued a series of bonds – essentially loans from Canadians to their government that could be redeemed after five, ten or twenty years, with interest rates up to 5.5 per cent. Victory Bonds were a tremendous success, raising in excess of $2 billion. Another means to pay for the war was a ‘temporary’ wartime measure, a tax on personal incomes, introduced in 1917 under the Income War Tax Act. It remains today as income tax.^{F, 2I, 3R}

• WWI Conscription Crisis: After the great number of casualties at Battle of the Somme, Canada was in desperate need to replenish its supply of soldiers; however, there were very few volunteers signing up to replace them. On August 29, 1917, the Military Service Act was passed, allowing the government to conscript men across the country if the Prime Minister (Sir Robert Borden) felt it was necessary. There was much opposition against the Act, by conscientious objectors, by unwilling soldiers and by many French-Canadians. Exemption from conscription was allowed if a man could prove he was needed in his job, had “exceptional” financial or family obligations, was in poor health, was in school or belonged to a religious denomination that forbade combat service. To solidify support for conscription in the 1917 election, PM Borden brought in the Military Voters Act, (allowing overseas soldiers and women serving as nurses the right to vote), and the Wartime Elections Act (allowing wives, widows, mothers and sisters of soldiers overseas the right to vote – the first time women in Canada were allowed to vote). Conscription was a very divisive issue that brought about a political crisis in the country, polarizing provinces and ethnic groups, and many sought exemption from service. It wasn’t until January 1918 that conscription was brought into force, and ultimately, only about 125 000 men were ever conscripted into the Canadian Expeditionary Force, and only 48 000 were sent overseas, with only about 24 000 of these serving in France. There were a number of Sarnia’s fallen soldiers who were conscripted into service.

• The Battle of Vimy Ridge, France, April 9 – 12, 1917: Vimy Ridge is located in northern France, a long hill that dominates the landscape. Germany captured Vimy Ridge early in the war and transformed it into a strong defensive position, virtually impregnable, with a complex system of tunnels and trenches manned by highly-trained soldiers with machine guns and artillery pieces. Previous Allied assaults on the Ridge in 1914 and 1915 had cost the British and French hundreds of thousands of casualties and had been largely unsuccessful. In the spring of 1917, the Canadians would be tasked with capturing Vimy Ridge. It would be the very first time that all four divisions of the Canadian Corps, with soldiers from every region in the country, worked together as one formation.

• The Canadian planning and preparations for the attack of Vimy Ridge were extensive: strengthening the lines; training on a full-scale replica; tunneling beneath the German lines and filling them with explosives; digging deep subway systems to lay mines or shelter troops; stockpiling supplies and arms; followed by a massive and prolonged artillery barrage for over a week prior to the attack. At 5:30 a.m. on Easter Monday, April 9, 1917, proceeded by a “rolling barrage” of artillery fire, the first wave of 20,000 Canadian soldiers “went over the top”, through a wind-driven snow and sleet into the face of enemy fire. By the fourth day, Canadians had captured the highest features on the ridge – “Hill 145” and “The Pimple”. Of the 100,000 Canadians who fought there, approximately 7,000 were wounded and 3,600 would lose their lives. At least four young men from Sarnia lost their lives in the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

• The victory at Vimy Ridge was the pinnacle of Canadian military achievement in the war, igniting a sense of national pride and a confidence that Canada could stand on its own. In June of 1922, France granted Canada 100 hectares of land surrounding Vimy Ridge for a memorial. Canadian sculptor Walter Allwards’ design was chosen from 160 entries in a national war memorial design competition. Living in Toronto during the war, he experienced first-hand the fear and grief felt by Canadians who had sent their sons and neighbours into battle, some never to return. Below Allward describes the dream that inspired the Vimy monument:

When things were at their blackest in France, I went to sleep one night after dwelling on all the muck and misery over there, my spirit was like a thing tormented…I dreamed I was in a great battlefield. I saw our men going in by the thousands and being mowed down by the sickles of death…Suffering beyond endurance at the sight, I turned my eyes and found myself looking down an avenue of poplars. Suddenly through the avenue I saw thousands marching to aid our armies. They were the dead. They rose in masses, filed silently by and entered the fight to aid the living. So vivd was this impression, that when I awoke it stayed with me for months. Without the dead we were helpless. So I have tried to show this in this monument to Canada’s fallen, what we owed them and we will forever owe them.^{D, 2I, 2J and 3R}
It took 2.5 years to clear the fields surrounding the monument of unexploded bombs, artillery shells and grenades. It took 14 years to create the monument, from design to completion. It was unveiled by King Edward VIII in July of 1936 before a crowd of more than 100,000 spectators. The Canadian National Vimy Memorial sits atop Hill 145, the main height on the Ridge, on land granted to Canada for all time by a grateful France. It stands as a tribute to all who served Canada in battle and risked or gave their lives in the Great War. On it are inscribed the names of 11,285 Canadian soldiers killed in France whose final resting place is unknown, who were listed as “missing, presumed dead”. At least twenty-eight young men from Sarnia have their names inscribed on the Vimy Memorial in France.

• The Attack on Hill 70, France, August 15- 25, 1917: The storming of Hill 70, a strategic position overlooking Lens, was the first major action fought by the Canadian Corps under the first Canadian-appointed commander of the Canadian Corps, Sir Arthur Currie. Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Currie, born in Strathroy, Ontario, is believed by many historians to be one of the best military commanders Canada has ever produced. During the Second Battle of Ypres, Currie’s brigade played a pivotal role in holding the Allied position. He rose to command the 1st Canadian Division in September of 1915 and led it effectively for the next two years, including Vimy Ridge. He was appointed the first Canadian commander of the Canadian Corps in June 1917 and led it to hard-fought victories at Hill 70, Passchendaele and during the Hundred Days Campaign, until its disbandment in late 1919. Hill 70 also marked the first time mustard gas was used against Canadians. It blistered the skin and made the lungs bleed. The objective of the assault was to inflict casualties and draw German troops away from the 3rd Battle of Ypres. This high ground overlooking the city of Lens, France was captured by the Canadian Corps, and held despite no less than 21 German counter attacks over four days. The victory of Hill 70 cost more than 9,000 Canadian lives. At least three young men from Sarnia lost their lives in the Attack on Hill 70.

• The Battle of Passchendaele, October 26 – November 10, 1917: This region in Belgium was largely made up of flat, low land that was kept dry only with a series of dykes and drainage ditches. Three years of heavy fighting had destroyed the drainage systems. The ground, churned up by millions of artillery shells, turned to sticky mud when wet. Hundreds of wounded soldiers, along with pack animals, were trapped in the quagmire and drowned as the rain filled their shell holes. In 1917, the autumn rains came early and turned the battlefield into a sea of mud. In early October, the Canadians were sent in to relieve battered Australian and New Zealand forces. Overcoming the challenges of horrific fighting conditions, heavy enemy resistance and counter-attacks, the Canadian forces captured their objective, a victory few thought possible. Almost 12,000 Canadians were wounded and more than 4,000 Canadians died at Passchendaele, all for ground that served no tactical purpose. At least four young men from Sarnia lost their lives in the Battle of Passchendaele.

• In December of 1917, a group of citizens from the towns of Lambton County raised money and sent it along with a shipment of socks with notes from home in the toes, to one company of the former 149th Battalion, now attached to the 161st Battalion. Here are some excerpts of the letters sent home by the soldiers after receiving their gifts of socks:

– I am now employed in the quartermaster’s stores. The boys have all arrived from Lambton County and I am to have the pleasure of opening, unpacking and actually issuing the contents to the men. I can assure you that every Lambton boy will receive his share. I hardly suppose all the notes in the toes will be answered, but every pair found a Lambton man. Indeed we did have a good Christmas, thanks to the people of Lambton.

– Yesterday was the day on which the Lambton supplies were given out to the men, and thought you might be interested to hear of the distribution. All the 149th men were to parade to Quartermaster’s Stores after dinner, and each fellow was presented with a pair of socks, and a package of smokes. You may be sure that the fellows appreciated what was done for them, and as you know, a pair of good home knit socks are just about the handiest things in sight…. Nearly every pair of socks had a note or card enclosed, which is a grand idea. I think it makes it seem more like a gift – the personal touch…. We had quite a time comparing the different cards, etc., as they came from all over the county.

– I only hope that our work in France will be good enough to deserve the hard work you have all done for us. I know I feel myself the same as all the other fellows that no hardship is too big to put up with for the people of Lambton. You have done wonders for us and for the time being all we can send is a heartfelt thanks.

The money was a donation for a Christmas dinner for the boys of the 161st Battalion, 212 of them former 149th men. In a letter of appreciation from Quartermaster Captain W.B. Allen of the Battalion, he reported that:

 … the men enjoyed the best Christmas dinner, and the men enjoyed themselves better than any other unit in the 5th division. In fact, more money was raised than expected, allowing the men to get a few extras in the New Years dinner. At the Christmas dinner, the mess hall was decorated with holly, mistletoe and flags, the 161st Battalion orchestra played, the officers and sergeants did the serving and dishwashing, and everyone ate until they could eat no more, from a menu that included soup, roast turkey, potatoes, vegetables, mince pies, plum pudding, Christmas cakes, apples, oranges, grapes, nuts and tea. The boys will have the satisfaction of knowing that they enjoyed a sumptuous feast, even while their thoughts were all of the folks back home and their Christmas.

Now about the socks: The system was that each man is issued two suits of underwear and two pairs of socks when they get to France. When they go into the trenches, one suit of underwear and one pair of socks were turned over to the field laundry. The men are then in the trenches for a week or longer. The trenches may have anywhere from six

inches to two feet of water, and when a man does his four hours watch, his boots and socks are wet. If he has an extra pair when relieved he can go in his dugout and change, which is a great comfort… it means a lot to be dry.

• On the night of June 27th, 1918, the Canadian Hospital ship HMHS Llandovery Castle was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine. It would be one of the most controversial events during the war, the most significant Canadian naval disaster of WWI, and it would become the rallying cry for the Canadian troops during the Last 100 Days offensive. In total, two hundred and thirty-four persons lost their lives in the sinking of the Llandovery Castle Hospital Ship, including fourteen Nursing Sisters. Sarnia’s twenty-five year old Private David Smuck also lost his life in the attack. More detailed information on the Llandovery Castle attack is in the David Smuck section of this project.

• Canada’s Hundred Days, August 8 – November 11, 1918: In this final three-month period, marking the “beginning of the end” of the Great War, Canadians played a critical role in a series of battles beginning with the Battle of Amiens. The Battle of Amiens began in dense fog on August 8, 1918, spearheaded by Canadians, who advanced over 10 kilometres on the first day, shattering three entire German divisions. At least two young men from Sarnia lost their lives on that first day at the Battle of Ameins. That one day battle was followed by a series of victories and advances including at Arras, Cambrai, Valenciennes, and Mons, repeatedly driving the Germans back, culminating in German surrender. Some 105,000 Canadians advanced 130 kilometres, but it came at a high price. In the final three months of war, approximately 39,000 Canadians and Newfoundlanders were wounded and more than 6,800 lost their lives, representing approximately 20 per cent of Canada’s total wartime casualties. It was during this offensive that the highest number of men from Sarnia would lose their lives. At least thirty-two young men from Sarnia lost their lives during Canada’s final Hundred Days Campaign.

• A war story from the Sarnia Observer, November 1918:

French City Thanks Sarnian

An interesting souvenir of the recent advance in France has reached Sarnia in the form of a letter under the seal of the French City Valenciennes, addressed to Capt. Johnston MacAdams, conveying the thanks of the municipality in connection with an incident which took place when the city fell into the hands of the Canadians.

A large part of the fine civic collection of art had been left behind by the Germans, and was found to be exposed to the elements through the damage done by shell fire to the civic building. The Sarnia officer took prompt action, and with the assistance of a party of soldiers, work on the roof was commenced and rapidly completed, and other prompt steps taken to preserve the treasures of art from further damage.

The letter was accompanied by a memento from the city which will doubtless be held in permanent regard by Capt. MacAdams as a remembrance. The letter was signed;

1. F. Billiete, L’Adjoint Faisant Fonctions de Maire de Valenciennes, Valenciennes, France

• As the Great War dragged on, the effort needed by the Canadian government to sustain its massive armies in the field required huge amounts of capital. So Ottawa, opposing the raising of taxes, borrowed money from ordinary Canadians, through the sale of war bonds (called Victory Loans). Publicity campaigns (eg. use of posters) were directed to people’s sense of patriotism, linking buying bonds to the direct support and welfare of soldiers overseas. Canadians’ willingness to loan money to their government by buying bonds was an overwhelming success. In November of 1918, the Observer reported that Lambton residents contributed over $4.2 million in the Victory Loan campaign, which was nearly a million dollars over what was asked for. Sarnia led the way in the county with $2 million alone, along with that raised by residents in Plympton, Enniskillen, Brooke, Bosanquet, Warwick, Moore,

 

Sombra, Dawn and Euphemia. The success of the “victory bond” campaign would be repeated during the Second World War. Today’s Canada Savings Bonds are the direct descendants of these wartime efforts.^{N and 2I}

• It was during the Great World War that the term “shell shock” first came into being, appearing in a British medical journal in February 1915, only six months after the outbreak of the war. Poorly understood at the time and for many years afterward, shell shock meant its victims experienced a myriad of unpleasant symptoms: crying; fear; mutism; nightmares; spasms; uncontrollable trembling; paralysis; and insanity due to the prolonged exposure to the stresses and horror of combat. Military authorities often saw its symptoms as expressions of cowardice or lack of moral character. Like those who were physically wounded, shell shock victims were often treated quickly, with treatments that included shaming, physical therapy, Freudian psychotherapy and crude electroshock therapy. In most cases, the goal of treatment was to return the soldiers to the Front lines as soon as possible to replace the depleting ranks. Doctors would diagnose almost 10,000 Canadians with shellshock during the First World War. For those who survived the war, doctors knew little of what is now known as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), so there were few treatment programs after the war for returned veterans who suffered from it.^{2I, 3P}

• Many of the men who died in war left behind a wives and children. The following poem by Edgar Guest (Detroit Free Press) was printed in the Sarnia Observer in March of 1915, expressing the emotion of a wife’s grief:

 

The Soldiers’ Widow

The babies ask: Where’s papa gone?

And when’s he coming back?

And oh, it hurts to look upon

His little Joe and Jack,

And oh, it hurts so much at night

When all the lights are low!

I wonder was it wrong or right

For me to let him go.

 

They need so much his gentle care,

They look for him each day;

‘Twas I that sent him marching there

And brushed the tears away.

‘Twas I that heard his country call

Nor asked him not to go;

Alone I could have borne it all,

But there are Jack and Joe

 

They look for him both night and day,

So good and kind was he,

They want him now to share their play,

And when they question me

I have to turn away to hide,

The bitter, scalding tear,

It hurts to think that had I tried

I might have kept him here

 

I know his country needed him,

But oh, my heart is sore,

For through the future, dark and grim,

His babies need him more.

And when they ask: “Where’s papa gone?”

‘Tis then it hurts me so,

To think I strapped his knapsack on

And said he ought to go.

• The weapons used in the Great War expanded killing to an industrial scale with the goal of each side being to kill as many as possible, as fast as possible. The First World War was primarily a land war. Trench weapons included rifles and bayonets, grenades, and rifle grenades. For Canadian soldiers, the unreliable Canadian-made Ross rifle was replaced with the British Lee-Enfield rifle, designed to fire 15 rounds per minute. Machine guns, capable of firing several hundred rounds per minute, were devastating weapons. Flame throwers were used in the trenches. Artillery had the most devastating effect in the war; mortars and field guns fired high explosive shells, shrapnel shells, as well as smoke, incendiary and gas shells. As the war progressed the artillery pieces became larger and more accurate in their fire. Soldiers and miners dug tunnels under enemy trenches and planted explosive charges. Tanks, first used at the Battle of the Somme, improved over the course of the war. The first large-scale use of poison gas was used by the Germans at Ypres. Chlorine gas caused a burning sensation in the throat and chest pains, leading to suffocation. Other gases such as phosgene and mustard gas were used, the latter causing blistering skin, vomiting, blinded eyes, internal and external bleeding, and death in days. In the air, planes were used for the first time, initially for spying and dropping bombs. Planes evolved into fighter aircraft, with machine guns and sometimes cannons. In the water, submarines and torpedos, sea mines and depth charges were added to the navies.^{E and 2I}

• A number of medical innovations and improvements were made during the First World War, brought on by the havoc created by the new lethal weapons of war. More than 3,600 Canadian soldiers returned home missing an arm or a leg – and sometimes more than one. The Military Hospitals Commission, responsible for restoring wounded veterans to health and productivity, promised free artificial limbs for soldiers who lost them in the war. They promised to produce the best arms and legs devised anywhere in the world, as well as orthopedic apparatuses such as splints, braces and orthopedic shoes. Early in the war, Canadian Dr. Lawrence Bruce Robertson was credited with performing the first blood transfusions in a British hospital. By war’s end, the prompt transfusion of blood in wounded soldiers saved thousands of lives. Countless veterans returned from war with burns, gaping facial wounds in their faces, missing noses and chins and holes in their cheeks. Innovations in skin grafts and facial reconstruction revolutionized plastic surgery. Advances in X-rays, including mobile X-ray machines that could be brought to surgical stations at the Front, helped to locate bullets, shrapnel, shell and grenade fragments, as well as broken bones. Certain diseases like typhoid could be controlled by the use of vaccinations and treatments for dysentery and tetanus improved. Antibiotics such as penicillin had not yet been discovered, so many soldiers died of infections of their wounds. The most damaging epidemic disease – for Canada and the world – appeared in the latter stages of the war. The Spanish Flu that swept the globe in the spring of 1918 through to the winter of 1919 was undoubtedly given a boost by the war. Soldiers living in close quarters; transatlantic troop crossings; soldiers returning home; refugee populations; malnourishment; and unsanitary conditions all contributed to the spread of the disease. The Spanish Flu killed an estimated 20-40 million people worldwide, incuding approximately 50,000 Canadians.^{2I, 2N, 3R}

• Canada’s population at the start of World War I was approximately 7.8 million. Yet approximately 620 000 men and women served in the Canadian Forces. Very few Canadians had previously been professional soldiers. Canada’s army was largely an army of citizen-soldiers, from every corner of the nation and every walk of life. Of the Canadian men and women that served, over 3,800 became prisoners of war, and over 172,000 were wounded and over 61 000 gave their lives. Of those, 16,000 have no known grave. More than one of every ten Canadians who fought in the war did not return. Between 1919 and 1921, some 6,000 additional Canadian veterans died as a result of the injuries of war. ^{D, E, 2I and 2Q}

• The majority of Canadians who served in the Great War, served in the Army. This included some 2,500 Nursing Sisters who served overseas, attending to the many wounded soldiers on all fronts.

• Prior to 1910, the Canadian government had little interest in naval affairs. However, on May 4, 1910, with conflict brewing in Europe, the Canadian Parliament, under the authority of the Naval Services Act, established the Canadian Navy. One year later, on August 29, 1911, by command of the King George V, it was designated the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). In the beginning, it consisted of 350 sailors and two second-hand British cruisers, HMCS Niobe and HMCS Rainbow, with bases divided between Halifax, Nova Scotia and Esquimalt, British Columbia. In May of 1914, the Royal Naval Canadian Volunteer Reserve (RNCVR) came into being (in 1923, it would be renamed the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve – RCNVR). The protection of Canada’s coasts was entrusted to the RCN. With the threat of enemy attack, British Columbia’s premier even purchased two submarines (CC-1 and CC-2) to help patrol the coasts; new ships were built and a number of patriotic citizens loaned or gave their personal yachts to aid in naval defence. By 1918, the navy had grown to over 100 war vessels, with 5,500 Canadians serving in the Royal Canadian Navy, and another 3,000 Canadians serving in Britain’s Royal Navy. Over 150 Canadian sailors lost their lives during the war.^2I

• Canada’s first attempt at an air force was the Canadian Aviation Corps, formed in September of 1914. It consisted of two officers and a mechanic and one biplane which was shipped to England with the Canadian Expeditionary Force. The plane was trucked to Salisbury Plan where the Canadian troops were training, but never flew, as not one of the three members was a qualified pilot. So during the First World War, Canada did not have an air force. However, approximately 25,000 Canadians volunteered to fly in Britain’s Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service, and another 13,000 were part of the air crews. They served at home and overseas as fighter and reconnaissance pilots, aerial observers, mechanics, and flight instructors. Canada produced its share of flying aces, including William Barker, Arthur Roy Brown, Raymond Collishaw and William A. “Billy” Bishop to name a few. Billy Bishop shot down 72 planes during the war, including four German planes during a solo mission in July of 1917, for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. During the Great War, nearly one in four pilots who flew British planes were Canadian, and approximately 1,600 Canadian airmen died in combat while serving in the air force. In September of 1918, the Canadian government approved the formation of a Canadian Air Force, which was comprised of two squadrons. With the signing of the Armistice on November 11, 1918, the government cut air force funding and it was disbanded in 1920. On April 1, 1924, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) was reorganized and established permanently. At its inception, it was heavily involved in civil air operations including forestry patrols, anti-smuggling, forest spraying, mail delivery and surveying. It was not until 1936 that the RCAF would be a purely military operation.^{2I, 2Q, 2S and 3R}

• In 1916, William Alexander Fraser, a Toronto novelist, proposed a tribute in the form of a silver cross, to mothers who had lost sons. “The mothers are the heroines of the bitter home trenches. They suffer in silence with no reward but the sense that they have answered the call with their heart’s blood – their sons.” By December 1, 1919, such an award was approved, taken a step further by including the mothers and widows of Canadian soldiers who died on active duty or whose deaths were later determined to be attributable to their active duty. Officially, the award is called the Canadian Memorial Cross; unofficially it is referred to as the Silver Cross. Many people have termed it, “the medal no mother wants.” The first Silver Cross was presented to Charlotte Susan Wood, of Winnipeg, who had lost five sons in the Great War. When Charlotte Wood met King Edward VIII at the inauguration of Canada’s Vimy Memorial in France in July of 1936, Edward said to her, “I wish your sons were all here”. As they gazed across the former killing fields subsequently planted with uncountable white crosses row on row, Charlotte replied, “I have just been looking at the trenches and I just can’t figure out why our boys had to go through that”.

• The following poem printed in the Sarnia Observer in late September of 1918 expresses the emotion of a mother’s grief:

 

My Son

Somewhere in France there lies my youngest son,

It seems such little time since he was small.

And now his life on earth so soon is done,

His Master needed him. He heard the call,

Within my sleep I dream of him each night,

And wake to find he cannot come to me,

For with the coming of the morning light,

I seem to see his grave across the sea.

I know the sorrow and the bitter loss,

 That Mary felt when on that day at noon,

Her Son was nailed upon that cruel cross,

While all the heavens turned to darkening gloom.

Oh, may I help some mourning one,

Who, like myself, has lost her much loved son.

Myrtle Corcoran Watts, September, 1918.

• In November 1916, the British government announced it would create a keepsake for the families of soldiers who fell in the service of the king. They settled on a circular bronze plaque. Its design featured the figure of Britannia bowing her head and holding a laurel wreath above the name of the fallen soldier. It also included a lion (the symbol of England); two small dolphins (symbolic of British sea power); a smaller lion pouncing on an eagle (the symbol of Germany). Around the edge was written: “He died for freedom and honour.” More than one million plaques were sent out with a scroll and a letter from King George. It was called the Next of Kin Memorial Plaque, but its resemblance to a penny led to it being nicknamed the Dead Man’s Penny, Death Penny or Widow’s Penny.^{2I, 3R}

• On November 7, 1918, Sarnia like the rest of the world, would receive news that the war had ended. The Sarnia (Canadian) Observer large print headline on that day was, “PEACE DECLARED.” The sub-heading was a report out of Washington, “Navy cable censors reported today that unofficial messages had come thru from abroad, announcing that the Germans had signed the Armistice terms delivered by Marshal Foch. No authority was given for the statement, and while it added to the air of expectancy everywhere, officials said nothing except an official dispatch could be believed. Neither the American government nor any of the Allies’ embassies or war missions had been advised even that Marshall Foch actually had presented the Armistice terms. It was assumed however that the German envoys had been conducted through the French lines some time during the day.” Another sub-heading was a report out of Toronto, “One of New York’s news agencies carried the story today that an Armistice had been signed, to become effective at 2:30 today but there is nothing official or corroborative yet.” A related headline stated, “Celebrations in all the large cities – Detroit has received official information that the armistice had been signed at 10 o’clock today, and the hostilities had ceased at 2:00 pm. Celebrations are being held in all the large cities of the United States and Canada this afternoon.” This included a report out of Toronto where, “This city went into furious demonstrations of joy on the report today about 1:10 of unofficial news that an armistice had been signed on behalf of Germany. Whistles were blown continuously and bells rung all over the city. Business was suspended and the streets were crowded with celebrating thousands.” As it would turn out, peace would not become official until four days later.

• The “War That Will End War” ended with the signing of the Armistice of Compiegne not far from Paris, on November 11th, 1918 at 5:00 a.m., though it would not take effect until 11:00 a.m. Officers on horseback then had six hours to inform their troops of the Armistice. After more than four years of fighting, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, the guns fell silent. The Sarnia (Canadian) Observer’s bold headline on that day was, “HUMANITY SAVED!” Two story headlines on the first page of the Observer read, “Ten Million Lives is the Terrible Toll of Most Bloody War in History” and “All Allied Prisoners, Soldiers and Civilians Alike Held in Germany Are To Be Released.”

 This story was on the front page of the Observer was:

Our Gallant Canucks Capture Mons to Finish War Fittingly

London, Nov. 11 – The official statement today says: To Canadian troops fell the honor of capturing the last important town before the armistice put an end to hostilities. Mons, where the British made a brilliant stand at the beginning of the war, was retaken early this morning by the Canadians.

Also in the Observer that day was this article:

Citizens of Sarnia Go Wild On Receipt of News

The receipt of the joyous tidings that had been declared was heralded in this city early this morning, and the streets were crowded with an eager populace anxious to hear a confirmation of the report. Port Huron went wild and whistles on boats, factory, and every noisemaking device was unearthed and the racket kept up for hours. All morning the streets of the city were thronged with an enthusiastic crowd, autos were pressed into use, schools and stores closed, industries were shut down, and people went wild with joy when the news was confirmed that kaiserism and prussianism had been trampled to dust. Their joy knew no bounds, and thousands marched in procession armed with impromptu noise makers, consisting of old cans, drums, and anything from which they could produce a noise. Thousands of flags and firecrackers were purchased by the enthusiasts. Business was at a standstill. Hundreds crossed to Port Huron and engaged in the celebration of their American cousins, who in turn came over to Sarnia to share in the demonstration here. The employees of the Loughead Machine Co. went over the river in full force. At 1:30 a monster parade was held, which was participated in by several thousand joy-madened citizens. This outburst, however, will have no effect on the demonstration that has been planned for the past several days, and which will be held tomorrow evening as originally intended. It will, no doubt, be the greatest in the history of the Imperial City; it will probably eclipse anything ever attempted in Canada. Hundreds of workmen are at work at the old golf grounds building platforms and making preparation for the big event. The committee in charge have everything in readiness, the fireworks and paraphernalia will arrive to-morrow morning and everything will be in readiness. Everybody turn out for to-morrow night.

The next day, the Sarnia Observer continued its report on the impromptu celebration held in the city on November 11th. The following is a portion of that report:

The Great Throng Could Not Wait

The people of Sarnia were so overjoyed at the news of the Kaiser’s downfall that Tuesday (Nov. 12) was too far away to give vent to their feelings, and an impromptu demonstration was held in which hundreds of autos, carriages and vehicles of all kinds participated, and to noise and music of all kinds marched up and down the streets proclaiming the glad tidings of victory. It was a hilarious and spontaneous affair by a people who had awaited for over four years for such a celebration…The fact that no previous arrangements had been made added to the spontaneity of the affair, and men, women and children, old and young, men in khaki, some on crutches and others maimed by German soldiery were out to add their quota to the enthusiasm of the joy maddened crowd. Others with saddened hearts, owing to the loss of their loved ones joined in The Day, and while thinking of their loved ones who would never return, they too, were overjoyed that the great struggle was over and that victory had rested with the armies in which their brave sons, fathers and brothers had given their lives…..

The Sarnia Observer also outlined the details of the planned celebration for that evening. The headline read, “The Biggest Celebration in Sarnia’s History Will Begin At Seven O’clock Tonight.”

 

• One day after the Armistice was signed, on the evening of November 12, 1918, a tremendous peace celebration was held in Sarnia. Thousands of citizens from Sarnia and surrounding communities joined in the celebration, including hundreds of people from each of Corunna, Courtright, Forest, Petrolia and Walpole Island. Cheering crowds packed the darkened streets as a huge torchlight parade, thousands strong, made its way starting at the market square and moving through the downtown to the golf grounds. The noise was bewildering with the sounds of noisemakers of all kinds – such as tin cans, bells, clappers, clinkers, whistles, horns, cymbols, triangles, old saws and anything else that would make a noise. The bewildering noise combined with the music played by seven different bands, including those from Forest and Petrolia. Participating in the celebration were the Collegiate boys procession; the local and very boisterous Chinese community, who even imported a Chinese band from Toronto; Goodison’s Hun Thrasher; the Imperial Oil Company’s Tank float and every truck they had along with hundreds of its employees with torches; a mass of citizens from Port Huron who had come across on the late ferry to rejoice; a number of Spanish War Veterans; First Nations community members who were out in full war dress of feathers and paint; members of the Sarnia Bridge Works; members of the Great War Veteran’s Association; and people in every conceivable sort of costume. The immense line of flaming torches stretching through the darkness was described as “a sight of magnificent grandeur” made even more unforgettable by the confetti and fireworks rocketing skyward in countless streaks of flame and falling in brilliantly multi-coloured showers. By the time the last of the parade arrived at the old golf grounds, an estimated twenty-five thousand people had gathered. A pile of boxes twenty-five feet high was ignited to create an enormous bonfire, warming the chilly night air. After more celebrating which included the burning of the Kaiser in effigy, the crowd began to disperse about eleven o’clock. Many then moved to Front Street where the merrymaking continued, with bands playing, cheering, singing and dancing. One reporter stated, “It was a once in a lifetime civic celebration.”

 

The following day, the Sarnia (Canadian) Observer reported on the celebration. Following is a portion of that report:

 Thousands of People from All Over Lambton County Celebrated Last Night

Sarnia’s peace celebration has come and gone, but it leaves in the memory of all who attended or took part a lasting impression that will remain as long as life itself… Four long years have the people been storing up their hilarity for that glad occasion when they could once more breathe freely and shout lustily for the new birth of freedom in seas of blood. Each and every unit in the immense crowd last night let his or her feelings give vent in loud, long cheering, in the manner that young boys cheer, unrestrainedly, without thought of deportment or age. Everybody was glad and the whole world looked rosier, even to they who had sent their loved ones overseas to fight the battles of the country, who would never tread their native soil again. They forgot the individual and looked at it in a broader, more comprehensive way that rose above mere self, and instead of being downcast at the thought of their heroic dead, they joined in the thanks giving of they who had given their lads and who would once more welcome them to their hearthsides. It was a noble, it was a Canadian spirit that prevailed and held that vast crowd in its grasp last night….

• On a summer weekend in mid-July of 1919, Sarnians rendered homage to the fallen of the Great War of the city and Lambton County, by holding a peace celebration picnic and veterans parade with memorial service at Victoria Park. The following is a portion of the account of this event taken from the Observer:

Sarnia Honors the Noble Dead who fell on the world’s greatest Fields of Battle in Europe

 With muffled drums and with standard borne high, over one hundred of Sarnia’s war heroes, the majority khaki clad, with here and there a civilian, his war badges signifying service, paraded to Victoria Park on Sunday afternoon, to participate in the memorial services held in honor of those who fell in the conflict. There are many people in Sarnia who were unable to participate with unrestricted joy in the peace celebration on Saturday, those who had hoped to welcome their own beloved soldier sons, or husbands or sweethearts home from the war, but they never came and the sight of the marching veterans on Sunday made more acute their sense of loss and intensified their yearning for their “unreturning brave.”

The mingled pride and grief which they felt in bidding those dear ones God speed when they went away to the war; the long days and nights – many sleepless nights – of suspense and anxiety after every report of a great battle in which the Canadians took part; the shock of the terrible news which brought lasting grief to them, and the numbing heart ache that succeeded and will not wear away, all were recalled and revived by the sight of the marching men, some minus an arm, and some with a limp, outward evidence of suffering.

Yet even for them there was a note of joy, of subdued and chastened joy, in the celebration of peace and as Rev. Newton stated in his memorial address, the lives of those fallen soldiers were not wasted. Every home that sent forth to war, a soldier who will never come back is a shrine dedicated to the honored memory of that soldier.

When the veterans had reached their allotted space near the bandstand in the park and the citizens who had lined the streets to witness the solemn parade had encircled the stand, the entire gathering stood with bowed heads for one minute, time being taken by the bugle to give a silent prayer of Thanksgiving for Peace and a prayer that those that mourn may be comforted….

• Not long after the conclusion of the First World War, Sarnia mayor William Nisbet was instrumental in creating the “Soldiers’ Civic Gratuity Fund.” It provided a grant for Sarnia officers and men who had served overseas and who were residents of the city for six months prior to enlistment. The by-law, passed in late 1919, authorized the sale of $70,000 worth of debentures to create the fund. Pro-rata allotments were given out based on the number of applicants, which turned out to be approximately $103 per soldier.

• A number of Sarnia and Lambton men were rewarded with decorations for their bravery and gallantry during the Great War. The exact number of awards is not known, but in October of 1942, the Canadian (Sarnia) Observer tried to compile a list of local decorated World War I soldiers. Names included were: Major Bart Charlton (Distinguished Service Order and Croix de Guerre), Captain George Williams (Distinguished Conduct Medal – D.C.M.), Sergeant Leonard Francis Allingham (D.C.M.), Captain George Stirrett (D.C.M. and Military Cross – M.C.), Corporal A.R. Mendizabal (D.C.M.), Major N.L. LeSueur (M.C.), Flt.-Lieut. Jack Church (M.C.), Major Jack Newton (M.C.), Col. S.C. Stokes (M.C.), Capt. Dick Bolton (M.C.), Lieut. Niven MacKenzie (M.C. and Military Medal – M.M.), George Lucas (M.M.), Clarence Duncan (M.M.), Ernest Tilley (M.M.), Douglas K. MacDonald (M.M.), Sergt. Frank Baxter (M.M.), Sergt. Maxfield Harper (M.M.), and Thomas E. Wood (Mons Star and M.M.).

• In 1920, the grateful citizens of the city created the Sarnia Service Club for its returned soldiers. It was billed as “one of the finest in Canada, having ideal buildings and unsurpassed location with a view of the St.Clair River.”^N The Sarnia Service Club was located at 286 North Front Street, in the former home of Mrs. Frank Smith. The surrounding grounds were expansive, dotted with old trees. The property included a large barn that had been converted into a gymnasium, quarters for shower baths, a lawn tennis court, and a large clubhouse. The two-storey clubhouse was lavishly furnished, with large lounging rooms, a cozy office with fireplace, a canteen where refreshments were served, three fireplaces in the main lounge, a large billiard room, hardwood floors throughout, running water in several of the rooms, and wide outdoor verandas with a view of the river. For the veterans, membership cost 50 cents per month.

• With the end of the Great War, Canada and its government was for the first time ever, faced with the issue of the mass return of men from war. Formed during or shortly after the Great War, there were a number of Veteran groups and regimental associations existing to aid returning service men in Canada. In Sarnia, there were also a number of veterans’ organizations that sprang up after the War. Founded in 1917, the “Great War Veterans Association” (GWVA) was the largest and most influential national organization. Sarnia had its branch of the GWVA that aided servicemen make the transition to civilian life. In June of 1925, at the urging of Field Marshal Earl Haig of the British Empire Service League, an appeal for unity of the different organizations led to the formation of the “Dominion Veterans Alliance”. In November of 1925, the “Canadian Legion of the British Empire Service League” was founded in Winnipeg, Manitoba, commonly known as the “Canadian Legion”, and it was incorporated by special Act of Parliament in 1926. In Sarnia, the last meeting of the Great War Veteran’s Association and the first meeting of the new branch of the Canadian Legion (Branch 62) were held at the Sarnia Soldiers Service Club in October of 1926.

• Initially, the principal objectives of the Canadian Legion were to provide a strong voice for World War I veterans and to advise the government on veterans’ issues. World War II brought new demands, and the Canadian Legion increased its efforts to help veterans, returned service members, and those serving abroad. In 1960, the Canadian Legion was granted royal patronage by Queen Elizabeth II, and it became the “Royal Canadian Legion”. The Royal Canadian Legion, a not for profit organization, is the largest veterans service organization in Canada. It has never faltered in its efforts to serve veterans, to serve military and RCMP members and their families, to promote remembrance and to serve the community and country.^2Q

• Initial meetings of the Sarnia Legion Branch 62 were held in quarters opposite the city hall. As the branch became stronger, plans were made to secure a larger building. Patriotic moneys left when the armistice was declared had been placed in a war chest and these were used to purchase the building on Front Street, the Sarnia Soldiers’ Service Club. The Royal Canadian Legion in Sarnia, Branch 62, is located at 286 Front Street, the original address of the Sarnia Soldiers’ Service Club.

• In July 1987, there was a sod-turning ceremony to break ground for the construction of the Legion’s new $1.2 million building, which would be double the size of the original building. The original “old white house” Legion building was located where the current Legion’s parking lot is. The “white house” Legion was demolished when the new building was constructed. The new hall, which included pillars similar in design to those of the original building, opened in late April of 1988, with its official opening in mid-September of 1988. The tank that sits outside the hall was donated to the City of Sarnia by the First Hussars and Sarnia Legion in 1970. The tank is model type M4A2(76 mm) HVSS Sherman tank. Nicknamed “Calamity”, its dedication plaque is inscribed: To the Memory of Our Fallen Comrades. Dedicated by the 1st Hussars and Royal Canadian Legion Branch 62. 8 November, 1970. ‘Lest We Forget’.  In 1994, a second plaque was unveiled on the Sherman tank. This second plaque is inscribed: 1944-1994 This plaque is placed here to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Allied Invasion of Normandy on D-Day, 6th June 1944. It is dedicated to the soldiers of the First Hussars; to those who took part in the assault, to those who fought in the European Campaign, and to those who gave their lives to liberate France, Belgium, and Holland. “Hodie Non Cras”.

• At the end of the Great War, the Imperial War Graves Commission (later the Commonwealth War Graves Commission) discussed and decided upon two pressing issues:

First – the bringing into cemeteries of bodies buried in isolated graves on the battlefields.

Second – the exhumation of bodies, whether in isolated graves or in cemeteries, in order to repatriate the bodies to their native countries.

On the first issue: “The Commission recognized the existence of a sentiment in favor of leaving the bodies of the dead where they fell, but, in view of the actual conditions, regarded it as impractical. Over 150,000 such scattered graves are known in France and Belgium. In certain districts notably those of Ypres and the Somme battlefields, they are thickly strewn over areas measuring several miles in length and breadth. These are, or will shortly be, restored to cultivation, or possibly be afforested, and the bodies cannot remain undisturbed. They must, therefore, be removed to cemeteries where they can be reverently cared for.”^N The army arranged for this work to be done by volunteers from among the comrades of the fallen. The bodies would be placed into cemeteries as close as may be possible to the place where they lay.

On the second issue: “To allow removal by a few individuals of necessity only those who could afford the cost, would be contrary to the principle of equality of treatment; to empty some 400,000 identified graves would be colossal work and would be opposed to the spirit in which the Empire had gratefully accepted the offers made by the Governments of France, Belgium, Italy and Greece to provide land in perpetuity for our countries to adopt our dead. The Commission felt that a higher ideal than that of private burial at home is embodied in these war cemeteries in foreign lands, where those who fought and fell together, officers and men, lie together in their last resting place, facing the line they gave their lives to maintain. They feel sure – and the evidence available to them confirmed the feeling – that the dead themselves, in whom the sense of comradeship was so strong, would have preferred to lie with their comrades. These British cemeteries in foreign lands would be the symbol for future generations to the common purpose, the common devotion, the common sacrifice of all ranks in a united Empire.”^N

• Also at the end of the Great War, the Imperial War Graves Commission requested submissions for an inscription that would be placed on the great war stones in the many British and Commonwealth military cemeteries located around the world. It was British author and poet Rudyard Kipling’s recommendation that was approved by the commission. Kipling himself had lost his only son John, who was eighteen years old when he was killed in battle during the Great War. John Kipling was burdened by abysmal vision and had no business in the army, but his well-connected father had managed to secure him a position in the Irish Guards. In September 1915, only one month after his unit arrived in France, they were engaged in what turned out to be a “near rout” according to one account. The Irish unit suffered heavy casualties and among the dead or missing was John Kipling, whose disappearance would haunt his parents for the rest of their lives. In Kipling’s submission to the War Graves Commission, he wrote, “It was necessary to find words of praise and honor which should be both simple and well known, comprehensible and of the same value in all tongues, and standing, as far as might be, outside the flux of men and things. After search and consultation with all ranks and many races in our armies and navies, as well as those who had given their sons, it seemed to me that no single phrase could better that which closes the tribute to ‘famous men’ in Ecclesiasticus 44:14: “Their bodies are buried in peace; but their name liveth for evermore.” Kipling’s submission, “Their Name Liveth For Evermore” was inscribed on the memorial stones. Rudyard Kipling also suggested the words, “Known Unto God”, for an inscription to be placed on the foot of headstones marking the remains of unidentified British or Commonwealth soldiers.

• Of the thousands of Canadians who died in the Great War, less than three percent died in service with the air forces. A generation later, however, in World War II, technological advances changed the methods by which war was fought. In World War II, close to 45% of Canada’s dead lost their lives in service with the Royal Canadian Air Force or the Royal Air Force. Six out of every ten belonged to Bomber Command.^2B

• Of the 116 names of Sarnia’s World War I fallen soldiers included in this project, approximately 40 of them have no known graves. Their names are included on memorials such as Vimy Ridge, Menin Gate (Ypres) and Arras. This was common in the Great War. Due to the nature of this war, bodies were frequently never recovered, or were vapourized, shredded, eviserated or destroyed beyond recognition. It was one more sad reality of war, a tragic nightmare that family members back home had to cope with.

• Just over two months following the end of World War I, the victors organized the Paris Peace Conference to negotiate the peace treaties between the Allied victors and the defeated Central Powers. The conference took place over a period of six months between January and June of 1919 and involved diplomats from more than 32 countries. Among them were Canada’s Prime Minister Robert Borden and the “Big Four” – Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States; David Lloyd George, Prime Minister of Great Britain; Georges Clemenceau, Prime Minister of France; and Vittorio Orlando, Prime Minister of Italy. Major outcomes of the Paris Peace Conference included the creation of the League of Nations; the signing of five peace treaties including the Treaty of Versailles with defeated enemies; and the formation of new national boundaries. The remaking of the world map through the drawing of new boundaries and divisions of territory continues to impact the world today.^{2N, 3Q}

• The Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, exactly five years to the day after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, an event that triggered the start of World War I. The Treaty of Versailles ratified the terms of peace and was a formal recognition of the end of the Great War. The Treaty of Versailles broke up and redistributed the German Empire and imposed substantial reparations on Germany which would linger for years and play an important role in the lead up to World War II. ^{2N, 3Q}

• The Treaty of Versailles also included a plan to form a ‘League of Nations’. It was an international body with representatives from many countries whose purpose was to promote international co-operation and to achieve peace and security. Prime Minister Robert Borden managed to get Canada a separate seat on the League, independent of Britain. When the United States objected, the Canadian delegates pointed out that Canada, despite its small population, had lost more soldiers during the war than the Americans and had been in the war from the beginning, three years before the Americans. League membership brought Canada its first official contact with foreign governments as an equal, helped establish its position as an independent nation and confronted it with both the opportunities and the dilemmas associated with problems of international co-operation and attempts to prevent war. Though flawed from the outset, the League of Nations over the course of its history did experience a number of successes as well as some failures. It ceased its activities after failing to prevent the Second World War and gave way to its successor, the United Nations, in 1945.^{2N, 3V, 3W}

• Each year, the Sarnia Sting Major Junior A Hockey Club vies for an opportunity to challenge for the Memorial Cup. The Memorial Cup is the junior hockey club championship trophy awarded annually to the Canadian Hockey League champion. It is one of the oldest and most prestigious trophies in North American sport. The idea to present such a trophy was brought forward by Captain James T. Sutherland, who was the president of the Ontario Hockey Association and who served overseas during the First World War. “Many of the young men who headed overseas were more comfortable wielding a hockey stick than a rifle,” he was quoted as saying. Captain Sutherland spoke of the splendid work done by Canadian boys in France and suggested the creation of a suitable memorial to hockey players who had fallen. Sutherland was also sparked by the World War One deaths of Allan ‘Scotty’ Davidson and George Richardson, two former hockey greats whom he coached when they played for the Kingston Frontenacs. The trophy was originally known as the OHA Memorial Cup and was donated by the Ontario Hockey Association in March of 1919, in remembrance of the many men and women who paid the supreme sacrifice for Canada in the First World War. In 2010 the memorial Cup was rededicated to the memory of all fallen Canadian military personnel. The first Memorial Cup was awarded in 1919 to the University of Toronto team who defeated the Regina Patricia’s. What made that first championship game truly unforgettable was that it was delayed by nearly an hour-and-a-half. There were jubilant parades in Toronto the same day — for Canadian regiments just returning home from the First World War — and fans were late to their seats because of them. A more fitting start for the cup, named in honour of the Canadian soldiers who did not return, could not have been contrived.^3B

• During the third week of July in 1925, the City of Sarnia held its “Old Home Week” celebrations. One of the events during the week long celebrations was a Drumhead Service held on a Sunday afternoon at Victoria Park in Sarnia. A notable part of this event was a military parade of soldiers and ex-servicemen. Ex-servicemen in the parade included a handful of grey-haired veterans of the Fenian Raids and North West Rebellion under Sarnia’s veteran magistrate Major Henry Gorman, as well as veterans of the South African War and the “youthful” heroes of the Great War.

The Fenian raid (1866) veterans were Henry Gorman, Don J. Finch, W.W. Finch, Rich Causley, W.S. Percival, J. Hoskins and Andrew Logan. Northwest rebellion (1882-5) veterans included Charles Finch, David W. Finch, James Spurway, and T.J. Walker. Following is a portion of the report from the Sarnia (Canadian) Observer:

How they held up their heads as they marched with the younger men these loyal citizens of long ago and even men who faced the horrors of modern warfare in 1914-18 must have experienced a thrill of pride as this little band displaying medals with unfamiliar ribbons kept pace with them.

Veterans of the South African war were under command of Major Fred Gorman; and veterans of the Great War included details of the 1st, 18th, 34th and 70th Battalions, under command of Major N.L. LeSueur; members of the 149th Lambton battalion under Lt.-Col. MacVicar; the 27th Lambton’s battalion under Lt.-Col. C.S. Woodrow; ex-imperial army and navy veterans under Col. A. Rowland Davies, D.S.O.; and No. 2 company 2nd Canadian machine gun battalion under Major George Lucas. The parade was under command of Col. Robert MacKenzie. The Windsor Salvation Army band led the march, and the machine gun pipe band was also in the parade. Hundreds of people attended the service in Victoria Park, which opened with the singing of “The Maple Leaf forever” and “Onward Christian Soldiers.” Rev. Canon D.W. Collins then read a psalm and prayers before addressing the gathering with a stirring address touching on companionship and spirit. In speaking about the soldiers and ex-soldiers, he said, “Their companionship, rich in its recollections of stirring events when they fought together and won or lost, was higher than a mere companionship. It was a companionship that should be and was cherished. I believe we have the greatest force for the preservation of peace in the world and also that we have the highest form of civilization in the world today.”

• Until 1931, Remembrance Day was known as Armistice Day. The first Armistice Day, declared by King George V to be a day to remember all those who had made the supreme sacrifice in service to their country, took place throughout the Commonwealth on November 11, 1919. In 1920, it was also held on November 11th. After that, the Canadian government decided that Armistice Day would be celebrated on the same day as Thanksgiving Day, which would take place on the Monday of the week in which November 11 fell. For many, having Thanksgiving Day, a day of festivities and celebrating the “bountiful harvest”, and Remembrance Day, a time of commemoration, meditation and solemn ceremonies at cenotaphs, on the same day was not a popular decision. Following a decade of lobbying by veteran’s organizations, the government amended the Armistice Act, renaming Armistice Day to Remembrance Day in 1931. The Act also ensured that from that year on, it would always be on November 11, the anniversary of the day the First World War ended, when the guns fell silent, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

• The poppy has been widely recognized internationally as a symbol of Remembrance. The first person to use the poppy as a symbol of remembrance was an American teacher, Moina Michael, a member of the American overseas YMCA in the last year of the Great War. After reading John McCrae’s 1915 poem In Flanders Fields, she was so moved that she pledged to keep the faith and always wear a red poppy of Flanders Fields as a sign of remembrance of all who died. She led a successful campaign to have the American Legion recognize the poppy as the official symbol of remembrance in April 1920. At the same time, Madame Anne Guerin of France, who was also inspired by John McCrae’s poem, became a vigorous advocate of the poppy as the symbol of remembrance for war dead. Her own organization, the American and French Children’s League, sold cloth copies of the flower to help raise money for the children in war-devastated areas in Europe. In 1921, Madame Guerin travelled to Britain and Canada, and convinced both the recently formed British Legion and the Canadian Great War Veterans Association to adopt the poppy as their symbol of remembrance. Canada adopted the poppy as its national flower of Remembrance on July 5, 1921. In Canada, wounded veterans started making poppies in 1922. Other versions were made, but Canadians were urged to buy veteran-made ones as a “true memorial.” Britain and Australia would also adopt the poppy in 1921. New Zealand and the United States would adopt the poppy symbol in 1922.^2I

• The wearing of a poppy prior to and including Remembrance Day is a visual pledge to never forget those Canadians who have fallen in war and military operations. It is a way to demonstrate our gratitude to those who gave their lives for the freedom we enjoy. Funds raised during the Poppy Campaign each year are used to provide immediate assistance to ex-servicemen and women in need. Funds are also used for educational bursaries, medical research and training, donations for disaster relief, and community medical appliances, to name a few.

• The two minutes of silence tribute was adopted after the First World War to commemorate those who fought and those who died in battle. It was adopted in 1919 when King George V issued a proclamation. It is still used on Remembrance Day to remember those who have given their lives in war.