“The special features
arranged for tomorrow by the Victory loan publicity committee may well be
classed as ‘two in one.’ While designed for the purpose of creating additional
interest in the Victory loan campaign, it will also provide a fitting opportunity
for celebrating the recent big military successes. With two such big objects in
view, there is every reason to expect that tomorrow will be a day of
exceptional interest in this city, and that Citizens, generally speaking, will
turn out in great numbers to witness the parade and other special attractions
which will be put on during the day.”
Hamilton Herald. November 1, 1918.
As October turned into
November in 1918, Hamiltonians, along with many other citizens in the world,
were swirling with many conflicting emotions. There was hopeful anticipation
that the Great War seemed to be winding down, although the pain of so many fatalities,
not to mention even more seriously incapacitated young men tempered unfettered joy.
In Canada, the stupendous
debt rung up to fight the war was crippling. An ambitious Victory Loan campaign
had been launched, whereby individuals and companies would be approached to
purchase bonds, essentially loaning money to the government to cover the
expenses incurred and still be incurred by the war effort. Although there were
many patriotic citizens fully prepared to step up and contribute to the
campaign, that enthusiasm was mixed with donor fatigue as it was hardly the
first time that people had been targeted for cash donations for the war effort.
Finally, Hamilton, as was
the case throughout the world, was suffering the effects of the so-called
“Spanish” influenza epidemic which was causing health hardships, and deaths, on
an unprecedented scale. While it was not the case in many cities across Canada,
the Hamilton Board of Health, in an effort to contain the spread of the ‘flu’
had ordered a ban on public gatherings, both outdoor gatherings, and indoors
gatherings such as schools, churches, theatres etc.
The federal government was
heavily counting on the funds to be raised in the Victory Loan campaign. The
ban on public gatherings in Hamilton would impair the ability to attract large
numbers of citizens in one place, where they could be approached to purchase or
pledge to buy Victory bonds.
Members of the Hamilton
Victory Loan committee had repeatedly lobbied the Hamilton Board of Health to
lift its ban, to no avail. Even a wire from the federal government’s Finance
Minister to the chairman of the Hamilton Board of Health, urging a lift of the
ban was not acted upon. The ban would remain in place.
Despite the ban, it was
decided that the plans of the local Victory Loan campaign committee for
Saturday, November 2, 1918 would proceed nevertheless .
The focus of that day would
involve the display of a tank, the Britannia, which had used in battle at the
Somme, plus three major street parades. The Hamilton Herald alerted its readers
to the details of the proposed events as follows :
TANK PARADE
“At 10 o’clock a.m., the
British tank ‘Britannia,’ which has done active service in France and is
accompanied on its tour of Canadian cities by Captain Haigh, M.C., and a crew
of eight men who operated it on the field of battle, will leave committee
headquarters, West King street, and proceed direct to city hall. Here a brief
stop will be made while addresses are given by Mayor Booker and other civic
representatives. It will then proceed north along James street to Cannon, east
on Cannon to Wentworth, arriving at the corner of Wentworth and Cannon streets
about 11:30 a.m. It will then proceed north on Wentworth street to Barton, then
to the Scott property, reaching the latter point about 12:15 p.m., where it
will give a demonstration of maneuvering and demolishing a barricade which will
be erected especially for this purpose. The tank will then return to Gore park,
where it will remain on exhibition till 2:30 p.m., when it will join in the
afternoon military parade.
AFTERNOON PARADE
“The afternoon military
parade, which promises to be of exceptional interest, will leave the committee
headquarters at 3 o’clock, the line of parade being as follows : Main to James,
south on James to Herkimer, west on Herkimer to Bay, north on Bay to Main, east
on Main to Walnut, north on Walnut to King. On arrival of the parade at the
corner of Walnut and King, the tank will again demonstrate its fighting force
by smashing through a big barrier, which will be erected at that point. The
order of procession will be as follows : C.O.R. band, Lieut.-Col. Hendrie,
Great War Veterans, tank ‘Britannia,’ Canadian railway troops, gun carriage,
coffin containing effigy of Kaiser Bill, Lieut.-Col. Davey and Red Cross unit,
Lieut. Leish, C.A.S.C.
EVENING PARADE
“The automobile parade,
which will leave Gage avenue, where it forms at 7:30 p.m., will be one of the
largest auto parades ever seen in Hamilton. Two prizes of $50 are being given
for the best decorated automobiles, and this, it is expected, will tend to
stimulate auto owners to special effort. The line of parade will be as follows
: Gage to Main, to Locke, to Stanley, to Queen, to Herkimer, to Bay, to Barton,
to James, to Cannon, to John, to King, to Wellington, to Barton, to Ottawa, to
King, to Macnab, to York, to Strathcona, to Victoria park, to King, to Gore
park, where it will be disbanded. The prize judges are: George C. Coppley, H.
L. Frost and L. R. Green.”1
1 “British
Tank Will Be Here in the Morning : It Will Leave Headquarters at 10 o’clock for
City Hall : Three Processions Tomorrow Will Be Great Campaign Features”
Hamilton Herald. November 02, 1918.
In the early afternoon of
November 2, 1918, the early edition of the Hamilton Herald carried an account
of the events of that morning :
“The citizens of Hamilton,
especially the juvenile population, will long remember Saturday, November 2,
1918, as the date when they had the first opportunity of seeing a real, active
service British war tank. From the moment of the arrival of the tank
“Britannia’ at the Forest avenue freight yards of the T.H.&B. early this
morning till the conclusion of the exhibition parade, hundreds of citizens
followed its movements.
“Owing to a breakdown of the
machinery, there was considerable delay in getting the tank to committee
headquarters, West King street, from where the morning parade started. For
several hours prior to the start of the parade, King and James streets were
lined with thousands of men, women and children, all waiting anxiously for the
first glimpse of the big Hun chaser. When it did make its appearance shortly
before noon, there was a great cheer from the assembled crowds. The parade was
headed by a band from the Railway Construction battalion. After leaving
committee headquarters, the parade proceeded to the city hall, where an address
of welcome was given Capt. Haigh, M.C., and his valiant crew by Mayor Booker..
Capt. Haigh replied briefly to the mayor’s address, and immediately bond
sellers went among the big crowd and sold Victory bonds. They did a good
business. The parade then proceeded on James street to Wentworth, thence to
Barton, to the Scott property, where a large barricade was quickly demolished
by the tank. During the progress of the parade, seven airplanes from the
Beamsville aviation camp, in regular battle formation, flew over the city.”2
2 “Big
Hun Chaser Was Viewed By Great Crowds: The ‘Britannia,’ Which Fought at Somme,
a Grim-Looking Warrior : Airplanes in Battle Formation Over City Were Another
Feature”
Hamilton Herald. November 02, 1918
Just before the morning
parade, after the tank and crew had arrived at the King Street West
headquarters of the Victory Loan Campaign, members of the Hamilton press had an
opportunity to interview Captain Haigh:
“Captain Haigh, who is a young man of about 28
years, immediately after his arrival at committee headquarters, kindly granted,
kindly granted a brief interview to representatives of the local press.
“ ‘The tank ‘Britannia’ with
a crew of six men, took part in three attacks at Arras in April, 1917,’ said
Captain Haigh. ‘During those engagements
we captured for machine gun emplacements, successfully repulsed four German
counterattacks, and captured 393 prisoners. On this occasion we had 56 hours’
continued service, and during the engagement lost two of our crew, who were
picked off by German infantry when they left the inner portion of the tank to
look after some required outer repairs. There are two types of tank, male and
female. The former carries a crew of one officer and seven men, and the latter
one officer and six men. The ‘Britannia’ is of the female type and carries six
machine guns, It is a mistaken idea among many that tanks are immune from shell
fire. Any direct shot will put a tank out of business. The ‘Britannia’ carries
30,000 rounds of ammunition. We landed in New York on October 23, 1917, and
have given demonstrations with the tank in the United States and Canada since
that time. Hamilton is the last place in which it will be exhibited being
turned over to the military authorities of the United States, in which country
it will be used in training camp work. Tank service is not the most pleasant
occupation in the world, but it is far nicer than going over the top on foot. I
will leave with my men next week for England and hope to be back in France for
the finish of the war.’
“When asked what he thought
of Canada, Captain Haigh said it was just like coming home, and that he had
thoroughly enjoyed his visit to this country and the United States.
“ ‘They are two wonderful
countries,’ said Captain Haigh.
“Asked if it was correct that
he is a relative of Field Marshall Haig, as has been stated, Captain Haigh said
he was sorry to say he was not.
“ ‘My name is spelled with
an ‘H’ on the end of it. I wish it was H-a-i-g,’ said the gallant officer
laughingly.”2
The events
of the afternoon of Saturday November 2, 1918, the parade and the demonstration
in Gore Park would be attract the largest crowds in Hamilton’s history :
“The afternoon parade, which started from committee
headquarters, West King street, was headed by a band of the Railway
construction battalion. This was followed by a number of the members of the
G.W.V.A. and returned soldiers on foot and in automobiles. Then came the tank
‘Britannia’ in charge of Captain Haigh, M.C., and his crew of veterans, all of
whom served on the famous tank in France. This was followed by six returned men
carrying a large Union Jack; a gun carriage containing a coffin to indicate the
death of kaiserism; a number of soldiers from the east end barracks; a float
containing a wounded soldier; a Red Cross float showing nurses giving first aid
to the wounded; and a mechanical float containing a number of things made by
returned soldiers.
SOLD BONDS
“The parade went from committee headquarters to Main
street, thence to James and south to Herkimer, west on Herkimer to Bay, north
on Bay to Main, east on Main to Walnut, north on Walnut to King, west on King
to James, where it disbanded.
“Judging from the densely
packed condition of the uptown streets, especially King street between John and
James, about the only people who missed seeing the military parade in the
afternoon were those who, because of illness or old age, were unable to leave
their homes. Long before the commencement of the parade, the streets were so
densely packed with men, women and children that businesses in the uptown
district was practically at a standstill, and despite the strenuous efforts of
the police and military several women and children were more or less injured by
being caught in the great crush of humanity. On King street between John and
James, it was estimated that 30,000 people were assembled. Additional to this
big jam, the roofs of King street within this area were also packed with men
and women, many of the latter, in order to reach these special points of
observation, being forced to ascend and descend by means of outer wall fire
escapes and rickety wooden ladders. Several men and boys, regardless of the
danger incurred, sought positions on top of chimneys and electrical advertising
signs. Street car traffic was completely tied up for over two hours because of
the inability of the motormen to drive their cars through the great crowds on
King street. A woman, despite the pleadings of her friends not to do so,
climbed to the roof of the Provident Loan building and sought a good point of
conversation by crawling through a small opening in the front fire wall to a
narrow ledge fifty feet or more above the street, where she remained for two
hours or more, apparently enjoying the futile efforts of the police to keep the
big crowd on the streets in position. Another women with a young baby in her
arms succeeded in reaching the roof of the same building using the fire escape.
“ ‘This certainly puts a
crimp in the order of the medical health department that no public gathering of
25 or more people be allowed because of the influenza epidemic,’ remarked a man
as he looked down on the seething mass of humanity from the top of a King
street building.”3
3 “Dense
Crowds Witnessed the Tank at Work : Orders of Health Department Forgotten in
Excitement : Largest Gathering Seen Here in Years”
Hamilton Herald. November 04, 1918.
The demonstration in the Gore
Park area was described in the Spectator in the following manner:
“When the parade reached
King and John streets, the tank was halted and for two hours Victory bond
salesman got in some good work. Hundreds of applications were signed. So dense
was the crowd that street car traffic was completely tied up for several hours.
“There had been three
obstructions prepared for the tank, which was under the direction of Captain
Haigh and seven veterans. The crew all served in France. The first two
obstructions were merely railroad ties, with wire webbing. The tank went
through, or, rather, over them as though was in the way.
“The third and real
obstruction was an old box car that had been stretched across King between Gore
park extension and the sidewalk. Britannia required three smashes at the old
car before it went through, and on the third attempt, when really underway, the
trip was as determinably made as though the old warrior were crossing a German
trench or going through a shell hole.”4
4 “First
Week Brought Nearly Half Amount : Canadian Westinghouse Company Subscribed for
$750,000 : Tank Demonstration, Military and Auto Processions Attracted Large
Crowds”
Hamilton Spectator. November 04, 1918.
The third and final event of
the day was another parade :
“The evening parade was just
as successful as was that of a year ago, when hundreds of decorated automobiles
were out. Many of the cars were very prettily decorated. The majority had been
arranged with advertising posters only, but many car owners were out after the
two prizes. The parade passed through every district of the city, and thousands
of people watched it and received renewed enthusiasm for the Victory loan as a
result.
“ Following the parade, the
judges, through the chairman, George C. Coppley, announced the prize winners to
be Capt. Storms of the military hospital, with an appropriately decorated Red
Cross ambulance; and the Popular Priced Electricians, 203 King street east.
This car was decorated with great originality and most artistically, and
represented Uncle Sam and the allies. Flags and Victory loan posters were
lavishly used, while the costumes were such as to evoke applause all along the
route.”4
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