1915-05-11ee

“That there are residents of Hamilton, both Canadian and Old Countrymen, who do not appreciate the valor of the volunteer who wears the King’s uniform, and awaits word to proceed to the front, to do battle for the Empire, has been evidenced on different ways.”

Hamilton Times.   May 11, 1915

Soldiers training in Hamilton in the spring of 1915 were usually widely respected and admired for volunteering to put their lives at risk in defense of the Empire. However, there were some in the city, on seeing a uniformed soldier, were prepared to harass and mock him:

“The actions of a number of street rowdies, recently, has been perhaps the most insulting that the soldiers have had to stand. On several occasions recently soldiers passing along the principal streets of the city have been ‘balled out’ by these disloyal subjects, and most insulting language used toward them.”¹

¹”There Will Be Trouble for the Rowdies : Who Have Been Annoying Soldiers of the 36^th on the Streets of Late”

Hamilton Times.    May 11, 1915.

A reporter for the Hamilton Times interviewed a soldier who, the previous evening, had been followed by some hoodlums, who called him a ‘cheap soldier’ :

“ ‘Take off that uniform, you four-flusher,’ the remark punctuated by profanity, was what he had to listen to, and naturally the whole battalion is indignant.

“The fact that the officer was wearing his uniform was all that stopped a street fight, for had he been in civilian clothes, he probably would have started something.

“The majority of the members of the 36^th Battalion, being in splendid condition just now, could probably handle half a dozen of the disloyal hoodlums, without much effort.”

The Times reporter pointed the awkward position the individual soldiers faced in such situations:

“The soldiers cannot place a civilian under arrest for such conduct. Were it a private in uniform, making such an exhibition of himself, he would be on the carpet before the commanding officer without any delay, and would be severely dealt with.”¹

If the rowdies could not be dealt with by military authorities, the Times reporter strongly advised that local authorities could and should :

“If a police officer is within hailing distance when another of these scenes takes place, an arrest will follow, and the case will be pushed to the limit.

“In the opinion of the officers of the battalion, Magistrate Jelfs would know full well how to deal with such men.”¹