1915-05-10an

“The annual spring parade of divine service of the Ninety-First Highlanders held yesterday morning resulted in a large attendance of the officers, non-commissioned officers and men.”

Hamilton Spectator.  May 10, 1915.

The beautiful of St. Paul’s Presbyterian was accented dramatically by the presence of a large contingent of soldiers from Hamilton Highland militia unit. Tartans and kilts were much in evidence as the soldiers sat together in a specially designated section of pews:

“Rev. Dr. Drummond preached a stirring sermon to the men assembled. His subject was, Falling Short of Our Highest, taken from 2 Samuel, 23 : 19  ‘But he hath not attained unto the other three.’

“Rev. Dr. Drummond instanced the above text to show that oftentimes the popular standards by which men and women were judged were not the best ones. Some men would make a success of failure, while others were failures in success. While many people were judged by these popular standards, it was always wise to be careful in passing judgement upon those who were apparent failures. It might be a lack of a worthy ambition, or it might be some habit by which they had been brought down.

“Then again, there were others who having done one big thing in life, fell back on their past records and were content to boast and brag of what had been done, rather than look to the future to achieve greater and more worthy objects in life.

“ ‘This might be applied nationally as well as individually,’ said Dr. Drummond, ‘and we must demand that high standards be maintained by the state as well as the people themselves. Men who seek to make political capital in these times of stress should be taboo forever. We must get above the partisan feeling and rise to greater and nobler heights.’ ”¹

¹ “91^st Regiment Attends Church : Annual Spring Parade Held to St. Paul’s”

Hamilton Spectator.   May 10, 1915.

During the service, a special memorial service was held to honor the memory of Privates Duffy, Turnbull and Ritchie, members of the regiment, who had been killed recently at the front. In respect to the memory of the fallen soldiers, the 91^st band, under the direction of Bandmaster Harry Stares reverently played the Dead March in Saul, after which the soldiers and the congregation joined their voices in singing Nearer, My God, to Thee.

Rev. Dr. Drummond also referred to the sinking of the Lusitania, saying “that such an action against unarmed and unwarned people should be considered little less than satantic” :

“ ‘It is, to my mind a sample of the old buccaneering days, only it is infinitely worse than we can imagine,’ said Dr. Drummond. ‘This is the work of the mad dog of Europe and Christianity cannot hope to progress until the time that this mad dog shall have been hunted down.’ ”¹

As the service was coming to an end, Rev. Dr. Drummond congratulated the regiment on the response of its members which had been when volunteers had been called for the first, second and third contingents.

The soldiers were first to proceed out of the church as the rest of the congregation watched, many quietly wishing them Godspeed.

Prewar Postcard of 91st Regiment on James Street