1914-11-27aa

“Considered in the cold gray light of today, it is difficult to name any one event which has met with more signal success than the military dinner given by the Canadian Club in the G. W. Robinson company’s tea rooms, at which Major-General , the Hon. Sam Hughes was the guest of honor.”

Hamilton Spectator.   November 27, 1914.

It was indeed one of the Canadian Club of Hamilton’s most notable gatherings in the club’s history to 1914.

          In the early evening of November 26, 1914,  the focus of many prominent Hamiltonians were the large tea room in the department store of the G. W. Robison company on James Street South :

“Everything conspired to make the event a brilliant and memorable one – the presence of so many smartly-gowned women and of numerous military officers in uniforms; the tasteful decorations and excellence of the arrangements provided; the witty and eloquent addresses of the speakers present, and the hearty receptions accorded them. A splendid contribution to this end was made by the G. W. Robinson company and its management in the arrangements made for the handling of the dinner.”¹

¹ “Military Dinner An Enjoyable Function : Major-General Hughes on Canada’s Part in War.”

Hamilton Spectator.   November 27, 1914.

In his coverage of them evening, the Spectator reporter who attended the affair, was unsparingly in his descriptions:

“The reception given te minister of militia and defense was so cordial that when forced to leave early in the evening, he found it difficult to escape.

“The luncheon brought out the largest and most representative crowd which has yet attended a Canadian Club  luncheon in this city, which fact is thought to be largely due to a desire to show appreciation for what the minister of militia has done and is doing, and also to show recognition of the great assistance rendered the empire in this war by Japan and Belgium.”¹

During the evening, when speaking informally, the Japanese Consul-General repeatedly remarked in tribute about the Canadian Club, and its founder, Hamiltonian C. R. McCulloch.. He noted that there was no other like institution in other countries, including his own, where all classes of people gathered for a communion of ideas.

In a brief introductory address, G. Edwin Main, current president of the Canadian Club of Hamilton and chairman of the dinner, noted that the club was doing exceptional work assisting the families of the men who were overseas in the war zone. The children of the soldiers were particularly rendered assistance, and they all could expect a special Christmas remembrance from the club in a month’s time.

When introduced, Major-General Sam Hughes was given a rousing reception:

“Major-General Hughes said that he need not take up the time of his audience in discussion of the causes leading up to the present war. Britain, France and western nations had gradually been forced into the conflict.

“In later years, this war loomed up as a certainty because of Germany’s  preparations, sure and methodical. Their navy was augmented until it almost rivalled Britain’s; there was a continual piling into Germany’s arsenals of arms and shells.

“And yet despite these superficial signs, a great percentage of people refused to believe that Germany was not a peaceful nation. These surface signs predicted that Germany intended striking to enable it to extend its sea coast. There was a premeditated plan that when Emperor Franz Joseph should pass away, the Kaiser and the house of Hohenzollern would rule Austria. All this was predicted by the late Lord Roberts, whom no finer soldier and no greater patriot ever breathed”¹

The reference to the recently departed, Lord Roberts, affectionately known as “Bobs” was greeted with spontaneous applause.

The minister of militia then continued:

“It was predicted that as soon as the Kiel canal was completed, Germany would wage war. The Kiel canal was completed early in July, and during the last week of July, Germany began her war.

“Germany was a nation, the speaker said, with a large population within her own borders, but very few colonies. The United States had refused the argentine, and this placed Germany’s desire up to Great Britain. Germany wanted her empire to extend to the Mediterranean waters, and when that terrifying assault on the Belgians was made, there was but one course, for Britain had to stand by her treaty obligations with Belgium.

“War was sprung with a startling suddenness on the allied powers. It took three weeks for the French army to mobilize and about a similar time for the British forces to be brought to fighting strength.

“The enemy was prepared. Overwhelming forces were hurled at poor little Belgium, but those Belgians put up such a splendid defense that a respite was granted the allies. Then came the first reverses to France and Britain – the retreat that was terrific, but indomitable courage and splendid spirit rallied them and they drove the enemy back.

“Now the fighting had gone on for months and the German hordes – and he used the term advisedly – were still being repulsed and driven back.”

The major-general then turned his attention to the part that Canada was playing in the war, beginning with a pledge of adding 19,000 men to the allied forces fighting the Germans:

“On August 7, this offer was made and six weeks later, Canada had not only raised this division of 19,000 men, but had mobilized 33,000 men, made the necessary clothing, equipped boats, purchased Valcartier as a training ground and produced the best trained riflemen in the world.

“These sons of Canada were recruited, in some instances, thousands of miles apart, and at the expiration of six weeks, they were marching to the steamers in readiness to transport them across the ocean. There were 32 ships bearing the Canadian boys.”¹

Hughes then noted that once across the Atlantic Ocean, and nearing England, the ships diverted from the usual shipping lanes because of rumors of German submarines.

The ships were sent to the historic harbor of Plymouth:
          “There were three great incidents connected with this historic harbor. The first was the sailing of Admiral Drake, the second the coming of William the Third, Prince of Orange and the third, the arrival of Canada’s troops.

“The speaker said he had no doubt that the people of Plymouth were more enthusiastic over the arrival of the Canadian troops than their ancestors were on either of the other two occasions.

“Major-General Hughes said the troops were speedily conveyed to Salisbury Plain. The men, he added, seemed not to mind one whit the dreary fall rains. The people of the country were kind, too kind, and it was very hard indeed to resist that ultra-kindness. Especially this was so in London, and, perhaps, he said, the boys did indulge slightly more than was for their own good. However all this was changed now. The first exuberance had worn off and the boys were down to real hard work.”¹

The Major-General received prolonged cheering when one looks at the atrocities done to the people of Belgium :

“ ‘As a result of those atrocities, the Belgians, as a nation, are practically crushed from civilization. Germany should be humiliated and her autocracy smashed’, he thundered.”¹

Hughes concluded with thanks to a number of people for helping in his duties, from the Governor-General, the Duke of Connaught, the Canadian Prime Minister, the Right Honorable Sir Robert Borden, and the senior officers of the Canadian army. He also thanked Hamilton for sending out a splendid contingent of officers and men.

The major-general then concluded his speech with a bit of Scottishverse in which the listeners were urged to remember their loved ones though they were “far, far awa’ ”

The next day, a Spectator editorial appeared in which the following was said of the Canadian Club’s banquet:

“The function was an unalloyed success in every particular from beginning to end. The officers of the Canadian club, and in particular their president, the chairman of the evening, are to be congratulated on the smooth operation, the gusto and the éclat of the whole affair.”²

² “General Hughes”

Hamilton Spectator.  November 27, 1914