1914-11-25aa

“Despite the disagreeable, sleety drizzle, hundreds of people thronged James street north yesterday afternoon.”

Hamilton Spectator.   November 25, 1914.

It was just four months previous when the first Hamilton volunteers entrained to leave the city for training, then participation the warfare on the western front.

Not only had the warmth become a distant memory, so had the excessive jingoism and confidence that the enemy would surely be defeated by Christmas at the latest.

There had been other troops send-offs during the weeks between August and late November. While maybe they might not have become  routine, there was a familiarity in the farewell of November 24, 1914 when four companies of the 2^nd Dragoons marched out of the armories, heading north towards the Grand Trunk railway station:

“As early as 2 o’clock, the crowd commenced to gather. Relatives were allowed in the drill hall to chat with the soldier boys, and the interior was a riot of color, expression and excitement.

“There were mothers bidding goodbye to sturdy sons. Some were weeping bitterly; others there were whose eyes were dry, but whose hearts were very, very heavy.

“In one corner stood a gray-haired woman and her soldier son. The mother placed her hands on the boy’s shoulders and looked up at him appealingly.

“ ‘Sure, now, Tommy boy, ‘tis proud I am of you, but my poor old heart is breaking. I’ll not cry though, boy, for it’s a duty you owe to your country, and I know you’ll be a credit to your mother – an’ Tom, do be takin’ along a little goose grease and rub it on your chest. It’s a fine old Irish treatment for cold in the lungs.’

“ ‘You’re a good old mother, Mumsy – and you’re game too. God bless you. Now cheer up and just imagine I’m going away for a holiday – and I’ll write every day.’ ” ¹

¹ “Relatives See Soldiers Off : Large Crowd of Citizens Bid Dragoons Farewell”

Hamilton Spectrator.   November 25, 1914.

Probably too soon for at least one of the mothers present, the soldiers were called to attention :

“ The son bent down and imprinted a smacking kiss on the mother’s lips. Then he turned sharply and walked briskly away to join his company. His eyes were brimming and suspiciously moist.

“There were a hundred incidents, practically similar. Wives said goodbye to husbands and held chubby little infants up to receive the fathers’ kisses and caresses; sweethearts were there to spend a precious hour with the young men of their choice.”¹

Similar scenes at the Stuart street GTR station where the waiting room and the platforms by the tracks were full to capacity. The Dragoons about to depart were not all from Hamilton, as in the 115 men about to board the 3:45 train to Toronto were from Welland, St. Catharines and St. Ann’s :

“The men seemed gay and eager to get started.

“On James street north, the men passed the men of the 33^rd howitzer battery, out for a long jaunt. The companies cheered each other lustily, and sang their battle songs.”¹

It was not the first troop send-off from Hamilton, and sadly, it would hardly be the last.