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“C” Squadron Ready for Service in the Canadian First Contingent (5-6 August 1914)  

By • On • In Home Front, Summer 1914, Summer 1914'

Thirty-five members of the “C” Squadron, 24th Grey’s Horse, volunteered to go to the front for active service overseas on 5 August. At this time however, Canada’s offer of a Contingent had not yet been accepted by Britain. Regardless, these men displayed their patriotism and their desire to support the motherland during the present crisis.

The 24th Regiment Grey’s Horse was a militia cavalry regiment in the Oxford and Waterloo counties. The “C” Squadron was stationed in the Waterloo Region, while their headquarters and the regiment’s “A” squadron were stationed in Woodstock, Ontario. At this point they did not know if they would be ordered to go to camp as scheduled on 17 August, or if they would receive orders from Ottawa to mobilize. When Canada’s offer to send a contingent overseas was accepted by Great Britain, men across Waterloo Region and Canada rushed to try to enlist; among those men were members of the “C” Squadron.

(““C” Squadron is Ready for Service,” Berlin Daily-Telegraph, 6 August 1914)

 

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Boot and Shoe Manufacturers to Convene in Berlin, Ontario (5 August 1914)  

By • On • In Economics, Summer 1914, Summer 1914.

On 5 August, just one day after war was declared, a convention of boot and shoe manufacturers of Ontario met in Berlin, Ontario. Manufacturers from Waterloo Region, including Waterloo, Berlin and Preston, as well as others from areas such as Brampton, Aurora and Toronto attended. The convention addressed the prospects that the war held for the province’s shoe trade. These manufacturers were aware that the war would likely result in an increased demand for their products. As a result, the province’s manufacturers met to discuss price regulations and price increases, foreseeing an increase in the price of leather due to wartime conditions. The local Breithaupt family, the owners and operators of the Breithaupt Leather Co., entertained the visitors at the Berlin Country Club.

The shoe manufacturers predicted that: “Soldiers on the march will wear out a pair of shoes in a month.”

The boots that needed to be made for the Canadian Forces would be made from a pattern that had proved satisfactory for Canadians in the South African War. It would later be realized that the boots issued to Canadian Soldiers in 1914 could not withstand marches on metaled roads, the wet weather of England, and trench conditions. As a result, a new model was introduced, which came to be known as the 1915 Canadian Variety Boot.

(“Boot and Shoe Manufacturers Convene Here,” Berlin Daily-Telegraph, 6 August 1914, Colonel G.W.L. Nicholson, Canadian Expeditionary Force 1914-1919 (Ottawa: Queen’s Printer, 1962), xiii; Visual: http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/257/48thcefboots.jpg)

 

48thcefboots

These were the 1915 Canadian Variety Boot worn by the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War.

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The Canadian Government Prepares for War (5-6 August 1914)  

By • On • In Politics, Summer 1914, Summer 1914,

On 5 August, it was announced that the Canadian Cabinet had called a special session of parliament to meet on Tuesday 18 August. The session was deemed necessary after Canada was officially informed that the Britain had declared war against Germany on 4 August 1914. Prime Minister Borden did not announce what types of proposals would be presented to the parliament, but it was evident that the parliament would need to pass legislation in regards to the war effort.

The Minster of Militia, Samuel Hughes, was given authorization by the Canadian government to carry out partial mobilization. Already the Royal Canadian Regiment, Canada’s permanent force, had been mobilized and sent to strategic ports for the coastal defense of Canada. Until the imperial government announced what they wanted Canada to do there would be no general mobilization. An order for the mobilization of at least 20,000 men was expected to come within the next few days. That order arrived on 6 August and Hughes immediately sent notices to the pre-existing military districts across Canada to begin recruitment.

(“House is Summoned,” Berlin Daily-Telegraph, 5 August 1914, Visual: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/55/Royal_Regiment_of_Canada.jpg)

Royal_Regiment_of_Canada

 

 

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Call for Volunteer Nurses (6 August 1914)  

By • On • In Home Front, Summer 1914, Summer 1914'

On 6 August, the Canadian National Nurses Association made the call for volunteer nurses. Women who were willing to perform their duty to the empire on the field of battle and wherever else they were needed were asked to answer this call. Only those who were prepared for such a duty were asked to register their names with Miss Rodgers, the Superintendent of the Berlin & Waterloo Hospital, or Miss Masters, the Secretary of the Graduate Nurses’ Association in the Waterloo Region. By 8 August, five young women from the region had offered their services and reported to Miss Masters. The women would join the volunteer Red Cross Society in overseas service with the first contingent.

(“Volunteer Nurses Wanted for War Duty,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, 6 August 1914; “Five have Volunteered,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, 8 August 1914; “Five have Volunteered,” Waterloo Chronicle Telegraph, 13 August 1914)

Volunteer Nurses

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Berlin Band Concert This Evening (6 August 1914)  

By • On • In German-Canadian Identity, Home Front, Summer 1914, Summer 1914 -

Life proceeded normally in Waterloo region for the first few days after war was declared. Waterloo region’s industries continued to bustle, and so did their festivities. On 6 August, the Berlin City Band played in the Market Square. They performed many traditional German, Czech, Italian and British songs. What is important to note about their program is the emergence of songs like “The Volunteers” with its patriotic message. As the month progressed, patriotic songs became more prominent in band concerts across the region in response to the war. This demonstrated the region’s urge to display patriotism and their support of the British Empire during the war.

(“Band Concert This Evening,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, 6 August 1914; “Patriotic Band Concert,” Ayr News, 13 August 1914; “Band Will Play Tonight,” Ayr News, 20 August 1914; “Concert a Fine One,” Waterloo Chronicle Telegraph, 27 August 1914.)

 

Band Concert

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Canada Can Feed the Motherland (6 August 1914)  

By • On • In Economics, Summer 1914, Summer 1914.

By 6 August, Canadians were adamant that they could help the motherland by feeding her people. Prior to war, two-thirds to three quarters of Great Britain’s food supply was actually imported goods from Canada, the United States, India, Argentina, and Australia. Canada traditionally supplied one third of Great Britain’s wheat and flour.

There was normally only enough food in the United Kingdom at one time to feed its inhabitants for a maximum of six to seven weeks, meaning that if Britain did not receive its imports, it would likely be starved into submission. It was up to Canada, and the other members of the British Empire, to help make sure that that did not happen. Canada would supply Great Britain with grains, bacon, fish and cheese, but would not be able to supply much more than that. Canada’s foodstuff contributions were part of her patriotic and imperialistic duties to Great Britain.

(“Can Feed Motherland with Bread and Cheese,” Berlin Daily-Telegraph, 6 August 1914, “Britain is Quiet,” Berlin Daily-Telegraph, 6 August 1914; Visual: http://ao.minisisinc.com/WEBIMAGES/I0002281.jpg)

 

I0002281

 

 

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The War’s Impact on Canada’s Agriculture (6 August 1914)  

By • On • In Economics, Summer 1914, Summer 1914.

Immediately after the war was declared economists, and many others, became concerned with how the war would affect the Canadian market. By 6 August, there was already a price increase in sugar and flour, which were two of the main necessities of Canadian homes. It was also predicted that the prices of other foodstuff and clothing would increase in the near future.

On 6 August, the Berlin Daily Telegraph reported that Mr. J. Uffelman, of the Ontario Seed Company, stated that while the war would not affect the 1914 harvest, next year’s harvest might be affected. This was because the war might potentially prevent the importation of certain varieties of seeds, especially those that were normally imported from Germany. This would affect the Waterloo Region, where some farmers grew a European variety of rye.

(“Prices for Foodstuffs Increasing,” Berlin Daily-Telegraph, 6 August 1914)

 

The War’s affect on Canada’s Agriculture (6 August 1914)

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German Canadians and the War (7 August 1914)  

By • On • In German-Canadian Identity, Summer 1914, Summer 1914 -

On 7 August, the Berlin Daily Telegraph reprinted an article from the Toronto Globe on the presence of German-Canadians, including those in Berlin and Waterloo, during the crisis. The politically charged article stated that the war was not against Germany, or Germans, but against the Bismarckian system of government that reigned over Germany. The article stated that this government system threatened the freedom of the rest of the world and that Britain, and subsequently Canada as well, needed to stand against this threat. Britain was therefore fighting for freedom, not for glory or gain.

The article addressed the sentiment of the thousands of citizens in Berlin and Waterloo, and the smaller German communities across Ontario and Canada. Austrians and Germans with Canadian citizenship were willing to join in the fight against their ancestral countries. This did not mean that these citizens did not still love their ancestral lands. They would answer Great Britain’s call to arms because it was for freedom and because:

“They know better than an English-Canadian or French-Canadian among us, that the whole system of autocratic and militarist despotism, is doomed, damned and doomed.”

(“German-Canadians and the War,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, 6 August 1914.)

 

German Canadians and the War (7 August 1914)

 

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Will Arrest German Reservists if They Try to Leave Canada (7 August 1914)  

By • On • In German-Canadian Identity, Summer 1914, Summer 1914 -

Almost immediately after Canada entered the war, the issue of German officers and reservists in Canada arose. As early as 7 August, the Canadian Militia Department and the Dominion Cabinet took steps to ensure that German officers and reservists were prevented from returning to Germany. German reservists were encouraged the report to authorities to state their intentions; a failure to do so would likely lead to arrest and confinement. Despite this hostility, reservists in the Waterloo region were assured that if they wanted to remain in Canada and proceed with their normal daily life, under parole, they would not be harassed. Any German reservist in Berlin and Waterloo was to report to Captain Osborne, Captain of the “C” Squadron of the 24th Grey’s Horse Regiment, stationed in Waterloo Region.

(“Will arrest German Reservists if they seek to leave Canada,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, 8 August 1914; “Will arrest German Reservists if they seek to leave Canada,” Waterloo Chronicle-Telegraph, 13 August 1914; “German Reservists in Dominion must state intention at once,” Waterloo Chronicle-Telegraph, 13 August 1914; “Reservists Handed in Their Parole,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, 8 August 1914; “Reservists Handed in Their Parole,” Waterloo Chronicle Telegraph, 13 August 1914; “War News,” Elmira Signet, 13 August).

 

Will arrest German Reservists if they try to leave Canada (7 August 1914)

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Canada’s Gift to Britain (9 August 1914)  

By • On • In Economics, Summer 1914, Summer 1914.

In addition to Canada’s commitment to export as much as possible to Britain, the Canadian Government also offered Britain a gift. Soon after the war was declared, Canada offered to send Britain a gift of one million bags of flour, to be placed at the disposal of the British Government.

In response to this offer, the Colonial Secretary of the Imperial Government stated:

“On behalf of the people of the United Kingdom, his Majesty’s Government accepts with gratitude the splendid and welcome gift of flour from Canada … We can never forget the generosity and promptitude of this gift and the patriotism from which it springs.”

This gift was worth an estimated three million dollars. Parliament would be asked to vote for the necessary funds and once the funding was secured, the flour would be shipped to the United Kingdom in September.

(“Canada’s Gift to Britain,” Elmira Signet, 20 August 1914)