1918-10-09ii

“The homecoming of two big lots of wounded and invalided officers and men from the battlefields of the western front, last night and early this morning, indicates the intensity of the recent fighting ‘over there.’”

Hamilton  Herald .  October 9, 1918.

In September 1918, a convoy of large ship crossed the Atlantic Ocean bringing home to Canada thousands of soldiers from the front in Western Europe. One ship alone carried 800 soldiers in very cramped quarters.

After being taken off ships on the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, three trainloads, carrying about 1000  returned soldiers, chosen to return to Ontario specifically, were assembled, arriving in Toronto on October 8, 1918.

 Knowing that the soldiers, mainly those who had suffered serious wounds, were on their way, and, knowing  when the trains were expected to arrive, citizens of Toronto turned out in large numbers to cheer the war heroes. The members Toronto branch of the Soldiers’ Aid commission worked hard to make sure that each soldier was taken care of and that all knew how much their service and sacrifices were appreciated.

The plan was that soldiers would be sent along to their particular cities after a short time in Toronto. For those soldiers from the Hamilton area, two trains would be provided :

““The first party detrained at the Hunter street station at 6 p.m. The second at the G.T.R. at 1.10 a.m. Among the gallant lads were many of Canada’s ‘original firsts,’ who had been overseas for nearly four years. A great number had several times ‘gone over the top,’ at Ypres, Vimy Ridge, Passchendale, Hill 70 and other historic battle places on the western front. Some had fought side by side with the Belgians. Nearly all the veterans were wounded, a few being invalided. All were cheery and glad to get home after their thirteen days aboard a crowded ship.”¹

¹ “Large Party of Soldiers Reached Home: Many Had Served Nearly Four Years in Battle Zones : They Were Part of Contingent of Nearly 100 Men”

Hamilton Herald.    October 09, 1918.

The scene at the Hunter street depot was animated, if on a much lesser scale than the Toronto reception. It was mainly friends and family of specific soldiers who were present. For the first arrival, Secretary A. W. Kaye of the Hamilton Soldiers’ Aid commission had done good work  in making sufficient arrangements to have a number of automobiles present to convoy the soldiers to their homes. There were 50 soldiers on the C.P.R. train which pulled into the depot on Hunter street.

It was known that there were still some Hamilton soldiers who were not on the first train and an attempt was made to find out when they might arrive :

“About 8 o’clock last night, the secretary of the soldiers’ aid commission here communicated by long distance phone with Captain Lou Scholes, at Toronto, in an effort to gain information about further arrivals. Capt. Scholes said more men were coming, but he couldn’t say anything definite about their number or when they might be expected. However, if there were more than twenty in the party he would wire the local S.A.C. is still waiting for that wire.”²

^“There was occurred again the usual confusion between the military authorities and the soldiers’ aid commission regarding the arrival. The result has been that the heroes reached Hamilton as ordinary travelers, the fifty who came by the G. T. R. at 1:10 this morning being met by three people, all relatives. There was no reception. They simply returned to their old hometown, after being away to the war for as long as three and four years, without so much as a handshake, were loaded into a street car, obtained at the last minute, and taken as close to their homes as possible. Included in the party were invalids walking on crutches, meanwhile others limped with the aid of walking sticks, from injuries received on the firing line in defense of their country, and these men had to walk to their homes from the street car line. Their fathers and mothers didn’t even know they were in the city.”²

²  “It’s the Same Old Story Here re Returned Men : Party of 70 Arrived – Relatives Kept in Ignorance : Things a Little Different in Toronto, Though : Where Warriors Received Enthusiastic Welcome”

Hamilton Spectator.    October 09, 1918.

I the following day’s Spectator, a hard-hitting editorial appeared condemning the way the returned soldiers who had arrived at the Stuart street station were welcomed home:

“

“Cheerless Homecomings”

Hamilton Spectator.    October 09, 1918.

“Something is radically wrong with the arrangements for welcoming the returned heroes to Hamilton. The account which we printed yesterday of the reception – or lack of it – tendered about seventy soldiers arriving direct from the seat of war, makes very humiliating reading. The fault apparently lies with the authorities in Toronto who fail to notify the soldiers’ aid commission in Hamilton in time to organize any fitting reception. The local commission has done everything in its power to uphold the city’s dignity in the matter, and it is quite time that the remissness – whoever may be responsible for it – was done away with.

“Citizens of Hamilton are proud of their fighting men, and feel justly aggrieved that the opportunity of showing their appreciation and gratitude is denied them. The unceremonious bundling of maimed heroes – crippled for life – into the street cars, and packing them off to their homes without a word of welcome, of praise or cheer, is a proceeding which outrageous one’s sense of decency. It is little wonder that the war veterans complain at times of the coldness and indifference when such unfavorable impression is permitted to be created at the very moment of their arrival at their eagerly-anticipated destination. Wherever the fault may lie, some better arrangement should be speedily devised, whereby the relatives, at least, would have knowledge of the arrival of their dear ones. If the present system is broken down, another should be tried, in order to remove this scandal from the city’s record.”³

³ “Cheerless Homecomings”

Hamilton Spectator.    October 09, 1918.