“Hamilton was wrapped
in slumber in the earliest hours of the morning, when, as with Troy in the
years of long ago, a party of warriors – seasoned veterans and armed to the
teeth – stole in upon the sleeping city.”
Hamilton
Spectator. December 21, 1918.
The Great War had
finally come to end on the eleventh, of the eleventh day of the eleventh month,
and just over a month later, on December 21, 1918, some Hamilton soldiers
returned to friends and families in the Ambitious City.
Virtually all
soldiers on duty, on November 11, 1918 were still on duty a month later as the
immense task on mobilization was still slowly getting underway.
The 30 soldiers that
came into Hamilton in the early morning hours of December 21, 1918 had all been
wounded, but had recovered enough from their wounds to return to the front.
They were, in fact, on their way to France when the German surrender was
announced, so, it was decided to turn that party around and sent them back
across the ocean to their homes.
The return of those
soldiers was known generally, so despite the hour of arrival, a gathering of
welcomers was on hand:
“No finer party of
returned men has been seen in the city than the 30 odd men who swooped down
upon the city at 1:30 this morning.
“Fully equipped to
the veriest detail (excepting for their rifles, which they left in Toronto),
with their weighty packs upon their backs, with glistening bayonets unsheathed
and with the shrapnel helmets swinging over their shoulders, they made a most
impressive sight.”1
1 “Warm
Welcome For Gallant Warriors : Boys of Amiens, of Arras and Cambrai Home.”
Hamilton
Spectator. December 21, 1918.
The arrival of the
soldiers was yet another happy occurrence, which helped to raise spirits as
they year 1918 was coming to a close. It had been a tough year with continuous
warfare, leading to huge numbers of wounded, missing and dead soldiers, and the
worldwide influenza epidemic in the fall had carried off tens of thousands of
people. In Hamilton alone, when the epidemic was at its height, there were
multiple fatalities due to the ‘flu recorded every day.
By mid-December, 1918, the number of
reported cases of, deaths from, influenza, had declined enough that the Board
of Health decided to lift its restrictions on the opening of department stores
and theatres, as well regarding travel on the Hamilton Street Railway. It had
been feared that large crowds in confined quarters would cause the spread of
the disease. All schools had been closed and church services banned, although
the board indicated that the church ban would be lifted for the Christmas
services.
The Royal Connaught Hotel operators had
major plans for the hotel’s second
Christmas season. The managers of the Royal Connaught Hotel had decided upon an
elaborate series of events at the hotel to lift the spirits of Hamiltonians:
“With the war over, with suspense and
dread lifted from countless hearts and thankfulness in all, there is going to
be a Christmas spirit abroad which has not been seen in all these four weary
years when sorrow and gloom, even if it did not attend, dogged the footsteps of
all. If there has been any gayety displayed in the Christmastide of these
years, it has been forced gayety, and people frolicked ‘because they must, and
not because they would.
“Now, however, the
cloud of depression has been lifted and in the refulgence cast over the whole
world, thoughts turn naturally to all those social gayeties which are
inseparable from this season of the year.
“The Royal Connaught,
that center of the larger social activities, intends to give the Hamilton
public just as much entertainment as it is possible for it to enjoy as it is
possible for it to enjoy during Christmas week.”2
2 “A Merry
Christmas is Here for Everyone : Royal Connaught Making Elaborate Preparations
for the Week of Gladness”
Hamilton Herald. December 21, 1918.
Both the Hamilton
Herald and the Hamilton Spectator published their full slate of editions on
December 24, 1918. Each newspaper carryied an editorial, reflecting on the
Christmas day celebrations to take place.
In his Christmas Eve
editorial, the Herald editor began as follows:
“Tomorrow ought to
be, and doubtless will be, the happiest Christmas day that has dawned upon the
world for many years. Darkened by the smoke of the world-war, the last four
Christmas days have lacked much of the joy which the season should bring; but
this Christmas will be a real one. It is no small cause of rejoicing that the
anniversary of the Prince of Peace will see the world at peace again.
“Cordially and
unreservedly, the Herald wishes all its readers a Happy Christmas.”2
2 “This
Christmas”
Hamilton Herald. December 24, 1918.
The Spectator’s
Christmas eve editorial also included best wishes to its loyal readers:
“To its many
thousands of readers, the Spectator extends its sincere hope for a happy
Christmas. In the words of good old Shakespeare : ‘Frame your mind to mirth and
merriment, which bars a thousand harms and lengthens life’ – save where
bereavement has touched with grievous stress. To all such, our deepest
sympathy.”3
3 “God Bless
You, Everyone”
Hamilton Spectator.
December 24, 1918.
The day before Christmas
1918 was a busy travel day, with travel on the railways the heaviest it had
been for many years. The Grand Trunk Railway station on Stuart street and the
Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway station on Hunter street were the scenes
of exceptional activity as travelers from after arrived, and anxious members of
their families were present to greet them.
However, the trains
were running between an hour to two hours, as a snow storm had begun in earnest
during the morning :
“The first storm of
the season is always a heartbreaker for transportation men, and this season’s
first, coming when travel is at the maximum, will no doubt spoil the Christmas
enjoyment to a considerable extent for the knights of the rail.”4
4 “Traffic
Heavy : And Trains Running Late Owing to the First Storm of the Season.”
Hamilton
Spectator. December 24, 1918.
Of course the three
Hamilton daily newspapers did not publish on Christmas day, but each had a
reporter on duty to write up an article about Christmas 1918 in Hamilton for
the Boxing Day issues.
The Herald reporter’s
article captured the spirit of the day in Hamilton with some commendably
descriptive prose;
“Outwardly yesterday
was like other Christmases. The theaters were crowded to capacity at both the
matinee and evening performances.
“Many people took a
constitutional to walk off the effect of too much turkey and plum pudding, and
about 10 per cent of the city’s population remembered the real meaning of
Christmas and went to church in the morning.
“It was in the homes
that the real spirit of this 1918 Christmas was most manifest. Hundreds of
families celebrated the return of their brave defenders from overseas; had the
assurance that their boys would soon be back, or the knowledge that they were
at least out of danger. For the first Christmas since 1913 there was no fly in
the ointment of their sweet content.
“Yet there were some
sad hearts. Those that could see the vacant chair – made vacant by the war. But
of those who occupied those chairs in Christmases gone it is not necessary to
speak, since their names will never die.
“ ‘Serene’ is the
adjective that best describes the day. That feeling was manifest only in the
homes, on the streets, but, also, in the weather, which was as the official prophesier
predicted, except that he fell down on his ‘clearing’ prediction.
“Of hilarity, there
was none. The prevailing spirit which brooded over the first of a long line of
peace Christmases was one of thankfulness.”5
5 “Peace
Keynote of This Happy Christmastide”
Hamilton Herald. December 26, 1918
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