When the harsh snows finally melted, the winter’s localized groundwork blossomed into massive spring recruiting rallies. On April 19, a large patriotic meeting was held in the Shawville Methodist Church, led by Capt. Carter and the Rev. J. A. Elliott, “an old Clarendon boy.”
Shortly after, a massive rally for the 136th Battalion filled the local skating rink, aided by the clarion tones of a 35-piece brass band. The speakers were blunt; Major Scobell warned of the atrocities in Belgium and shouted to the crowd that “were it not for the British navy Germany would be here to-night.”
Shortly after, a massive rally for the 136th Battalion filled the local skating rink, aided by the clarion tones of a 35-piece brass band. Military speakers, including Captain Carter, Major Scobell, and Captain Rev. J. A. Elliott—”an old Clarendon boy”—painted a stark picture of the German threat, arguing that the enemy aimed for the “commercial and political domination of the world.”
They warned the crowd that if German militarism was not crushed, Canada would be invaded, with Capt. Elliott emphatically stating, “the moment the army is defeated in France, that moment Canada is defeated.”
Major Scobell drove the danger home, shouting to the audience that “were it not for the British navy Germany would be here to-night,” and bluntly told the youth that their comfortable jobs in shops and banks “could be filled just as well by the women.”
Captain Carter echoed this urgency, confronting the crowd with the uncomfortable truth that local enlistment numbers were far too “small in proportion to the population.”
To fill the ranks, the officers also had to actively combat local prejudices and religious divides that were hindering enlistment. Capt. Elliott tackled what he characterized as an “extremely silly” local objection to fighting on the grounds that England “was a Protestant nation.” He argued that “Germany had shown by her teachings and practices that she was largely Pagan” and that “the doctrine of hate now being taught in Germany, had no place in the religion of Christ.”
To further appeal to the community, he asked the audience to imagine the fate of Canada by pointing to the harsh conditions imposed on Alsace-Lorraine, warning that if Germany won, they would abolish native languages (both French and English) in schools and law courts, and force dissenters to leave their possessions behind. Through these impassioned speeches, the recruiters sought to overcome local hesitation and unite the county in a desperate fight to “save civilization from destruction.”
But the call for unity was complicated by the bitter provincial election campaign leading up to May 22, which brought deep linguistic and ethnic divides to the forefront. The Conservative candidate, Geo. B. Campbell, harshly criticized Sir Lomer Gouin’s Liberal government for exploiting the Ontario bilingual school issue for political gain.
Opponents condemned a controversial provincial bill that permitted municipal councils to divert revenues to “assist the agitation against the educational laws of Ontario,” arguing it was fundamentally unfair to force English-speaking minorities to fund a cause they opposed.
Tensions over the war itself also flared when Liberal Senator Choquette caused a sensation by publicly opposing overseas recruiting and speaking “disparagingly of the character of the men who have joined the colors.”
Despite these political storms, the letters arriving from local boys kept the county’s focus anchored to the grim reality overseas. Pte. H. T. Armstrong wrote of his tense April crossing on the Adriatic, describing the profound relief of meeting an escort of British cruisers and torpedo boat destroyers after sailing through a war zone filled with “a swarm of German subs.”
From the trenches, another local soldier wrote candidly to his brother of the psychological toll of the front lines.
Dear Bro:— Just a line to let you know that I am still in France but not in the trenches at present. I have been sent to the hospital after spending about eight days in the trenches. Well, Neil, it was certainly some experience, our first time in the trenches. You can never imagine a person’s feelings when they hear for the first time the roaring of the guns and bursting of the shells. I am quite willing to admit I was so frightened I didn’t know which end was up and I shook as though I had the ague. However, after the first day or so I got rather used to it and didn’t mind it much.
There is not much actual danger from rifle fire if you keep your head below the parapet but at night this is impossible as you are put on sentry duty and must keep a sharp lookout for German scouts or snipers. It is a terrible strain on your nerves at night when you are keeping a lookout straight ahead and it is pitch dark, and presently you begin to imagine all the stumps and trees are walking about. Things will be fairly quiet for awhile and then all of a sudden, bang goes a “whizbang” or else a German machine gun starts to sweep your parapet and, of course, you dodge down, after the bullets have gone whizzing past your head and lodged somewhere back of your trench. It is certainly some exciting.
You would laugh at some of the stunts some of the fellows pull off when a shell bursts near us; it is surprising how quick you can move.
The first night we were there I was sent out with a working party to fill sand bags out in what we call “No Man’s Land.” That is between our trench and the Germans. We got about a dozen sand bags filled when a German machine gun spied us and began to pump the lead into us. We lost no time in dropping behind the sand bags which we had so thoughtfully piled up in case of emergency but they got one fellow,—the first man I saw killed. He was in our company but I didn’t know him. We came off very lucky though, with only three or four casualties.
The weather was very bad while we were there, snow and rain all the time.
***There are a few German prisoners in the hospital that I am in. I don’t think they feel sad at being here either as I think they are well looked after and I guess they would rather be here than facing the British boys in the trenches.
— Private Stanley Reid
On the home front, the women of the county redoubled their efforts to provide comforts. The Elmside Homemakers’ Club forwarded a $50 cheque to the Red Cross in Montreal for surgical supplies, and a garden party at Alex Hodgins’ home raised over $50 more to purchase materials for “knitting socks, sewing, etc.”
Yet, The Equity was forced to scold the general public for neglecting the Soldiers’ Tobacco Fund, noting the response had been “very weak” and reminding citizens of the desperate appeals for “smokes” from the boys in the mud.
The true cost of the spring offensives soon cast a shadow over these local efforts. In April, official word arrived that Pte. Hiram (Dave) Hodgins had fallen victim to a sniper’s bullet in Flanders and “died almost instantly.”
Above – AI Restored photos of Privates Irvin Wilkie and David H. Hodgins.
The photos, published May 25, 1916, marked the first time The Equity published a photo of a local person and the first photo to appear on their front page.
Shortly after, letters from France brought the tragic news that Pte. Robert V. Anderson, “one of the most popular boys in the company, always willing and smiling,” had been killed in action while standing guard outside a headquarters dugout.
These sacrifices brought profound sorrow to the county, a grief that found poignant expression during a special Mother’s Day service at the Bristol Presbyterian Church. There, amidst beautiful floral decorations of carnations and trilliums, a moving tribute was paid to the enlisted boys as a beautiful Honor Roll was unveiled. Flanked by the flag and maple leaves, it bore the names and photographs of the local boys — a permanent, silent testament to the heavy toll the Great War was extracting from the quiet communities of Pontiac.
Soldiers Mentioned in The Equity
Pte. Hiram (Dave) Hodgins
Mentioned: April 6, 1916
Status: Killed in action in Flanders on March 11th by a sniper’s bullet.
Claude Shaw
Mentioned: April 6, 1916
Status: Joined the Pals Battalion and was presented with a wrist watch by the Shawville Hockey Club prior to departure.
Arthur Shaw
Mentioned: April 6, 1916
Status: Joined the Pals Battalion and was presented with a wrist watch by the Shawville Hockey Club.
Pte. Duncan Robinson
Mentioned: April 6, 1916
Status: Enlisted in the 59th Battalion and was reported as being in the hospital with the measles.
Clarke Thomson
Mentioned: April 13, 1916
Status: A Portage du Fort native who joined the 77th Battalion being recruited in Ottawa.
Lt. Jas. C. McCuaig
Mentioned: April 13, 1916
Status: Appointed to the command of the Quyon company of the 207th Battalion.
Pte. N. V. Smith
Mentioned: April 13, 1916
Status: Enlisted in the First Contingent and recently returned home to Bristol after being wounded at Festubert, leaving him slightly lame.
Capt. Rev. Jas. A. Elliott
Mentioned: April 20, 1916
Status: Chaplain of the 136th Battalion (noted as an “old Clarendon boy”) who actively spoke at local recruiting rallies in Pontiac County.
Pte. Selisley E. Dale
Mentioned: April 27, 1916
Status: Serving with the 207th Battalion, Ottawa, and spent Easter at his home in South Clarendon.
Pte. Lester Letts
Mentioned: April 27, 1916
Status: Serving with the 159th Battalion and visited the home of his parents on Calumet Island.
Pte. Fred Ostrom
Mentioned: April 27, 1916
Status: Cousin of Pte. Lester Letts, serving with the 159th Battalion, who also visited Calumet Island.
Unnamed Soldier from Bristol Mentioned: May 4, 1916
Status: Engaged as a sniper in an advanced position where his rifle was blown to pieces by a shell, after which he borrowed bombs to revenge himself on the enemy.
Pte. Robert V. Anderson
Mentioned: May 4, 1916; June 1, 1916
Status: Killed in action in France on April 22nd while standing guard at a headquarters dugout. He was described by his commanding officers as highly popular and always smiling
.
Pte. H. T. Armstrong
Mentioned: May 11, 1916
Status: Sailed from Halifax to England on the steamer Adriatic and wrote a letter home describing the crossing and a submarine escort.
Pte. Ken Hodgins
Mentioned: May 18, 1916
Status: Received 13 shotgun pellet wounds in the legs when a loaded gun accidentally discharged during a house fire at Wm. Orr’s farm on the home front.
Corp. W. J. Carey
Mentioned: May 25, 1916
Status: Reported in the casualty list from France as “wounded.”
Pte. Irvin Wilkie
Mentioned: May 25, 1916
Status: Killed in action November 5, 1915, and had his name placed on the Honor Roll at the Bristol Brick Church.
Pte. John Landry
Mentioned: June 1, 1916
Status: Serving with the 60th Battalion. A telegram stated he had been admitted to the hospital with a wound in the thigh.
Capt. Dave McFarlane
Mentioned: June 15, 1916
Status: Promoted to a Captaincy and sent to Malta with a British unit; son of a resident of Sand Point.
Pte. Stanley Reid
Mentioned: June 15, 1916; June 22, 1916
Status: Wrote a detailed letter to his brother describing his terrifying first experiences in the trenches, dodging machine gun fire and “whizbangs” in No Man’s Land.
Lloyd Pattison
Mentioned: June 29, 1916
Status: Grandson of Jas T. Pattison (founder of the Pontiac Advance); reported to be in a hospital in Flanders suffering from shell shock.
Arthur Smart
Mentioned: June 29, 1916
Status: Wounded in the eye and admitted to No. 4 General Hospital in France.
L. K. Smart
Mentioned: June 29, 1916
Status: Left for overseas service with the 50th Battery.
Gunner Kenneth Macdonald
Mentioned: June 29, 1916
Status: Serving with the 15th Battery, and killed in action near Ypres on May 31st.
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Timelines: January - March 1916
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