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NIGHTINGALES AT EVENTIDE 1914 – 1918

By

IRIS D. MCNIVEN

Integrated Studies Project

submitted to Dr. Gregory Johnson

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Arts – Integrated Studies

Athabasca, Alberta

January, 2006

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Following the First World War and for much of the century Canadian historians,

have dwelt in detail on the social, economic and political events of the ‘Great War’ and

the impact of these on Canada and the Western World. Regimental histories, the

patriotism of Canadian soldiers, the decisions of renowned colonels and generals and

politicians, the outcome of great battles, the maps, the statistics and the feats of the day

have all been focused in their understanding of the war and its impact. Other accounts

and interpretations have been passed on by those who participated in the conflict. In

response to these and in patriotic memory of those who fought and those who died,

monuments, memorial gardens, plaques, portraits, paintings and books of remembrance

are to be found in cities, town squares, churches, colleges and universities across Canada.

Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae’s classic poem, “In Flanders Fields” and the red poppy,

a symbol for patriotic martyrdom, sacrifice and ‘eternal sleep,’are promoted annually in

commemorative ceremonies on the eleventh day of the eleventh month. But the

significance of the First World War and colonial nationalism was more than all of this.

Hidden from view and doomed to be forgotten was the impact of British colonial

patriotism on the thoughts and struggles of Canadians back home on the prairies who

sought to understand and support their young nation’s call to arms. The extent of this

impact and that of the ‘Great War’ is preserved in the early writings of Albertans in

community books, old newspapers, letters and memoirs. However, as an authentic source

of evidence, this literature has been overlooked by many historians whose first

consideration is often that of literary merit. In his introduction to Death So Noble

Jonathan F. Vance argues the following:

By looking at the ways in which amateur writers captured the war, our eyes are opened to a new and more representative

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range of interpretation. . . . If we are to comprehend that image, we cannot use aesthetic standards to decide which pieces of literature deserve consideration. . . . there were countless Canadians who aired conflicting views . . . passionately in the rather less august fora of the small-town newspaper, the smoky Canadian Legion hall, and the I.O.D.E. Meeting. . . . Just because such visions were not articulated in flawless prose does not negate their validity as evidence . . . (6).

In the unpolished writings of early Albertans the impact of British colonial nationalism

and the First World War betrayed a cultural reality in which the concept of patriotism

was as contentious as it was nationalistic.

Prior to 1914 there was an influx of immigrants to the Alberta prairies from

Britain, Europe, the United States and eastern Canada. An abundance of cheap land, the

pride of ownership and the desire for social equality attracted many, while for others it

was the poverty in their homelands and a longing for freedom that determined their

future. In 1914 these immigrants, together with other native Canadians, were the

Albertans whose lives were suddenly interrupted and forever changed by a war in which

the British Empire called upon the strength and allegiance of its colonial manpower to

conquer the aggressive forces of Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Canada

answered the call with a total of 619,636 men from 1914 to 1918. (Morton & Granatstein

279) 45,136 of these men were Albertans who served overseas. (Palmer 167) For them,

their families and their fellow Canadians, patriotic colonial nationalism was the

embodiment of two idealized truths, an enduring faith in God and an allegiance to the

British Crown. The cultural value in these truths dates back to two historical events that

every elementary school child in Alberta had to memorize. In the Battle of Quebec in

1759 British General, James Wolfe, defeated the French and Canadiens on the Plains of

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Abraham. In the War of 1812, British General, Isaac Brock, defended Canada against an

American invasion. Both events were considered heroic victories for Britain and British

colonial Canada.

In the first decade of the twentieth century this concept of ‘patriotic nationalism’

for most Canadians meant to ‘stand on guard’ for Canada. However, for early Albertans

isolated on the prairies, the idea of having to defend the British Empire was fairly remote.

Instead, in most minds, patriotism was a romantic conviction to be nourished in the

schoolhouse. There, the poetry, music, novels, textbooks, the Union Jack and the British

royalty were all thematically instructive and nurtured, for the most part, by British

‘Maple Leaf’ teachers. Each day, across Alberta, schoolchildren stood at attention

beneath the portraits of King Edward V11 and Queen Alexandra or King George V and

Queen Mary to salute the Union Jack and sing “The Maple Leaf For Ever,” “O Canada,”

and “God Save the King.” Memorization of long patriotic verses by Rudyard Kipling

and Alfred Lord Tennyson was compulsory and novels of adventure, patriotism, duty and

war such as those of children’s novelist, A. Henty, lined the bookshelves. By 1910

school textbooks in Alberta included The Alexandra Readers, the fourth book of which

opened with a portrait of Queen Victoria followed by the Duke of Argyle’s “Dominion

Hymn”:

Inheritors of glory, Oh! Countrymen! We swear To guard the flag that o’er ye shall onward victory bear. Where’er through earth’s far regions its triple crosses fly, For God, for home, our legions shall win, or fighting, Die. (9, 17-20)

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These themes of imperialism and patriotism continued in a second series of textbooks

entitled, The Canadian Readers, wherein young students memorized “The Children’s

Song” by Rudyard Kipling, the English writer noted for his imperialism:

Land of our Birth, we pledge to thee Our love and toil in years to be; When we are grown and take our place As men and women with our race. (64, 1-4) Beneath Kipling’s patriotic theme, a painting of the Union Jack with the caption, “Red

says: Be Brave. White says: Be Pure. Blue says: Be True, God Save the King,” reminded

students of their personal duties. In Book 1V a poem by Edward Shirley entitled,

“Children of the Empire” read in part:

Children of the Empire, you are brothers all; Children of the Empire, answer to the call; Let your voices mingle, lift your heads and sing, “God save dear old Britain, and God save Britain’s King . . .” Uphold your noble heritage – oh, never let it fall – And love the land that bore your, but the Empire best of all. (47, 1-4, 15-16) Shirley’s imperialistic convictions together with those of Kipling and Tennyson were not

the only instructive agents of patriotism in Alberta schools. “Strathcona High”, the first

high school in Edmonton, was noted for its physical education program directly related to

‘militarism and patriotism’. Funded by Lord Strathcona (Donald Alexander Smith), a

Scots born Canadian statesman, the program was compulsory for all students.

In an article published in the Alberta History Review, M.I. McKenzie recalled her

school days in the early part of the century:

History consisted of kings, queens, dry-as-dust dates of battles and terms of acts and treaties . . . We definitely had a sense of pride in the red splashes on the world map that marked the encircling British Empire on which “the sun never sets”. We youngsters were unbelievably race-conscious as, I suppose,

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all newcomers are. One summer we carried on a schoolyard vendetta between children who hailed from the Empire and those from the States. (15) As evidenced in McKenzie’s words, Alberta schoolchildren were proud of Canada’s

colonial position and very aware of their nation’s patriotic commitment to the British

Empire. In 1980 Alberta History published an address given to the “Historical Society of

Alberta” in Lethbridge by Lewis G. Thomas, Professor of History at the University of

Alberta. In part he said:

The articulate Albertan . . . was very conscious of his membership in the British family of nations. The majesty of the greatest Empire that the world had known shone quite undimmed, even to those who had left the Motherland to seek a brighter future in Canada. ( 5)

Indeed, as witnessed in these articles by both McKenzie and Professor Thomas,

all Albertans, young and old alike, were inspired with a ‘super’ consciousness of patriotic

responsibility and the values of imperial unity. Sunday services, community celebrations,

Christmas concerts, and the many community support groups were all motivated by

patriotism. National organizations such as the “International Order of the Daughters of

the Empire”, the “Imperial Federation League” and the “British Empire League”

encouraged local school children to enter poster and essay contests of a patriotic nature.

Special days were set aside for community holidays. May 23 was “Empire Day.”

Conscious of the importance of this day, the editor of The News in Red Deer announced

on April 19, 1916, that “. . . the education departments of different provinces suggest that

the teachers and other interested persons give addresses or a conversational talk to the

pupils in the British Empire and her colonies.” (5) “Victoria Day” on May 24 and

“Dominion Day” on July 1 were also days for celebrations when Albertans of all ages

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attended concerts, sang patriotic songs, listened to inspirational speeches and gathered in

villages, towns and cities to watch marching bands parade down the streets waving the

Union Jack.

Albertans, together with men and women throughout the British Empire, rallied

beneath the symbolism of the Union Jack, a red, white and blue flag with the red cross of

St. George, the white X-shaped cross (saltire) of St. Andrew and the red cross (saltire) of

St. Patrick. Scattered across the province and throughout Canada and the world, in

different classes of society and in dominions large and small, the Union Jack,

traditionally symbolic of pride, unity and determination, had the power to unite everyone

in faith and allegiance. Shortly after war was declared in 1914, the Edmonton Bulletin

published a poem by an anonymous Albertan entitled, “The Union Jack.” It read in part:

With one heart, we patriotic, guard our flag from hint of shame, With one heart and love, we guard it, passing on its mighty name, To our children, swift and eager, in the palace, in the shack, Thou art God and King and Country, Hail to thee! Our Union Jack. (3, 25-32) The poem is an indication and a reminder of the patriotic unity in faith and allegiance that

Albertans felt they shared with others in the British Empire on the eve of the ‘Great War’.

Indeed, in the years that followed, the Union Jack was to become even larger in meaning

for Albertans, embracing the whole of patriotism to include sacrifice and freedom.

In Sarajevo, Bosnia, on June 28, 1914, a Serbian nationalist assassinated

Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the Austrian heir apparent and his wife, Sophie. Serbia was

immediately held responsible by both Emperor Franz Josef of the Austro-Hungarian

Empire and his Chief of Staff of the Hapsburg armies, General Conrad von Hotzendorf.

One month later Austria, supported by Kaiser Wilhelm 11 of Germany, declared war on

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Serbia by opening fire on Belgrade. Russia, with a nationalistic view of protecting Serbia

but with an eye on Germany, immediately mobilized her massive armies. Germany,

feeling threatened but with a powerful army of its own, declared war on Russia and on

August 3 declared war on France. Moving the “Schlieffen Plan” into action on August 4,

the Kaiser’s armies invaded Belgium on their way to France, thus ignoring the 1839

treaty between Britain, France and Prussia that guaranteed Belgium’s neutrality. King

Albert of Belgium immediately mobilized his army and turned to Britain for help.

Britain demanded a withdrawal of German troops from Belgium by midnight, August 4,

(Granatstein & Morton, 4) but Germany ignored the British demand and on August 5

Britain declared war on Germany.

Canada, on August 5, 1914 was a self-governing, democratic Dominion within the

British Empire but its destiny was determined by Britain. On August 14, in the House of

Commons, Prime Minister Robert Borden said, in part:

. . . the ties of absolute British liberty and of perfect self-government . . . bind together the provinces of Canada in this Dominion. Those ties bind together the dominions of the Empire with the mother country; and we rejoice to know that, in a time of stress and perhaps of peril such as this, they have proved the strongest possible ties that could be devised by any government throughout the world. . . . As to our duty, . . . we stand shoulder to shoulder with Britain and the other British dominions in this quarrel . . . for the cause of honour, to maintain solemn pledges, to uphold principles of liberty, to withstand forces that would convert the world into an armed camp. . . .(Gruending, 99) Indeed, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the former Prime Minister defeated by Robert Borden in

1911, had summed up Canada’s position earlier by saying, “When Britain is at war,

Canada is at war. There is no distinction” (Morton & Granatstein, 6).

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In Alberta, the newspaper editors, many of whom were British or British

descendants, immediately published inspiring editorials. On August 5, 1914, the editorial

in the Calgary Herald read:

That success will crown our banners no Britisher doubts, for God is with the right. The star of Britain’s Empire, which has lit the path of civilization for a thousand years, will shine all the more brightly once these clouds are past. ( Palmer, 170) A romantic conviction perhaps, but young Albertans, many of whom were also British or

of British origin, felt a strong sense of patriotism for the ‘Motherland’ and shared with

the editors and politicians a belief in the righteousness of a struggle for ‘God, King and

the British Empire’.

In 1914, Percy Edgar Scarfe, was a twenty-six years old Vermilion farmer. Born

in Tottenham, England, he had immigrated to Canada with his parents and brothers and

sisters in 1899. When Britain declared war on Germany, Percy’s thoughts turned toward

home, to the aunts, uncles, cousins and friends he had left behind in England. On January

28, 1915, he enlisted, assigned to the 51st Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

His reason for enlisting like that of so many men in the Canadian West, was loyalty, his

sense of patriotism and his allegiance to King and Country. Other Albertans were

encouraged by the promise of a regular pay-check for themselves and government

support for their families. Unemployment had been high that summer, prairie farms had

suffered from drought and the economy was depressed. ( Palmer, 168) For many

flocking to the recruiting stations, there was also an eagerness for travel and a naïve

belief that this would be an adventure in a skirmish that would be over by Christmas. For

all Albertans, however, it was a time of excitement and change. In a social history of

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Peace River, Alberta, edited by Katherine Hoskin, an article entitled “Peace River

Responded to Urgent Troops Call” recalls the words of H.A. George, longtime resident of

Peace River:

We know of no place in Canada where the call to arms was answered with better spirit. Many of these young fellows simply locked their cabin doors and left everything behind. Within two days after the declaration of war eight young men from Peace River left to enlist in Edmonton. It must be understood that they were paying their own way out. It meant a ninety mile drive to Grouard, over a frightful road, a steamboat journey to Smith to get the train there and then to Edmonton with the uncertainty of not knowing whether they would be accepted. ( Hoskin, 85) In George’s article it is easy to sense the determined ‘spirit’ of enthusiasm that attended

those in Peace River in 1914.

These men, together with the thousands of others who enlisted were, for the first

time in the history of Canada, volunteer citizen-soldiers. In a ‘sombre and deliberate’

speech in the House of Commons on August 14, 1914, Robert Borden said;

The men of Canada who are going to the front are going as free men by voluntary enlistment, as free men in a free country. They are coming forward voluntarily for the purpose of serving this Dominion and this Empire in a time of peril. Already I am informed by the minister of militia that thousands more than will be required have volunteered to go. It is the duty of the people of Canada, and of the government of Canada too, . . . to make all suitable provision for the families and children of those who are going to the front. We are giving to our Country and our Empire at this time of our best, and we are proud to do it; but we must not forget our duty to those who are left behind. Neither the people of Canada nor the government of Canada will ever for one moment forget that duty . . . .(Gruending, 98-99) On the prairies, one of the “suitable provisions” that families needed was the ability to

communicate with those in the outside world. No television and few radios graced the

kitchen or living rooms of prairie homes. Isolated, in many cases from their nearest

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neighbor, families depended upon the government post office, the newspaper and the

telegraph office for their local, national and international news.

The telegraph office was important. In Peace River the following was recorded in

Hoskin’s social history:

Excitement was fever high in the early days of the war, and news from the front lines was scarce. Arrangements were made between the Edmonton and Peace River telegraphic operation to give us a synopsis of the war news each night. Each night a cowbell was rung and there was a wild rush for the telegraph office, where everyone paid twenty-five cents for the privilege of listening to the news of the day. Later on, the government sent in a daily report of the war news free. (85) Families in Peace River were, perhaps, more isolated than others in Alberta but they

managed, in a unique way, to receive and pass on the news. In Edmonton and Calgary

the telegraph offices passed the news to the Edmonton Journal, the Edmonton Bulletin

and the Calgary Herald. Each of these papers, just five cents a copy, published a

minimum of ten pages each day with the national and international news. Local news

together with editorials shared space with members of the public who were welcomed

with their thoughts and opinions in articles, poems, stories and letters. Weekly

newspapers, such as The News in Red Deer, The Standard in Vermilion, the

Lloydminster Times, the Record-Gazette in Peace River and numerous others in towns

across Alberta provided additional space for the folks in surrounding villages and farm

communities. Indeed, the newspaper was the medium that most Albertans depended

upon for their news and it was in the newspaper that they communicated their thoughts

and experiences. Today, this is the medium in which we learn how Albertans expressed

their patriotic spirit in the first two years of the war. Colorful descriptions of patriotic

parades, concerts and farewells covered the front pages. Speeches packed with noble

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words of praise and patriotic dedication from the clergy, politicians, school teachers and

university professors were published both daily and weekly. Most importantly, families,

friends and neighbors were able to pour their hearts out in poems, letters and stories. The

newspapers published everything.

Many Albertans took advantage of poetry and the influence of figurative language

to express their patriotic allegiance. On August 6, 1914, the Edmonton Bulletin

published a poem by Edmontonian, Robert T. Anderson entitled, “Motherland”:

We hold our strength for Britain Yea, now at the Mother’s call Having asked us lately for little She shall find us proffer our all. There are strong men, born of the prairies There are hard men, bred of the hills Speak, old Mother of Empire For one are thy children’s wills. Out of the dust of the cities Fresh from the lure of the trail Keen from the breath of the mountains The young men shall not fail. …………………………………… Mother, ask of thy millions Straightway thy sons obey Out on the veldt or the prairie Men will be hastening away. Never a land thou hast peopled But willingly gives of its best And here, in our Canada, Mother Are waiting the men of the West. (3, 5-8, 57-64) Anderson’s poem is the early Alberta voice of prairie patriotic allegiance. It is also an

example of how early poets and writers personified Britain as the beleaguered ‘mother’

calling to her colonial ‘sons’ for support in her hour of need. Other poets, such as

Edmontonian, M. Paterson, referred to Britain as ‘the dear old Motherland’. When

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Canada’s 15th Battalion arrived in England in October, 1914 to begin sixteen weeks of

training in a cold English winter on the Salisbury Plain, Paterson submitted a poem to the

Edmonton Bulletin aptly entitled, “Our Boys Upon Salisbury Plain”:

No wonder our boys upon Salisbury Plains Were complaining so much of aches and chilblains No Canadian by birth or adoption is fond Of the damp foggy weather they get ‘cross the pond’. But now at the front they are showing their skill They are putting the Germans to route with a will They are letting the dear old Motherland see How loyal and brave the Canadians can be. (3, 1-8) Paterson’s poem is enlightening for several reasons. It is not only the voice of an

Albertan expressing patriotic allegiance but it exhibits the premature optimism that

existed in the early days of the war. Paterson also introduces the use of modified phrases

that accommodated the wartime environment in Alberta. Dismissing the enormity of

going to war overseas, a phrase such as ‘cross the pond’ was characteristically idiomatic

of prairie folk when referring to the Atlantic Ocean.

At the community level the clergy, teachers, professors and newspaper editors

were ‘moulders’ of an elegance that crept into the prairie language and enriched patriotic

appeals, speeches and newspaper reports. Editors reviewing community events such as

recruiting, embarkations, concerts, and dances, repeatedly indulged in lofty, patriotic

expressions. Men who enlisted were “Soldiers of the King” who had been “Summoned to

the Colors” or had heard the “call of the blood”. “Military Balls” were held in the Red

Deer armories where, on March 19, 1915 The News duly reported that the ‘large’ floor

was “. . . covered with dancers, composed of fair women and brave men” (1). Then again,

on May 12, the editor headlined the “Military Ball” and wrote, “. . . the floor of the

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armory was at times literally crowded with fair women and brave men” (1). Two months

later the editor, reported on a recruiting meeting that had been held in the Lyric Theatre

on July 14, 1915. It read in part;

To stimulate, to stir, and to arouse, out of their seeming apathy, young men of the city and district who, confident in the ultimate success of British Arms, are content to remain at home and let others battle for, perhaps perish for, their liberties in the trenches of France and Belgium, a mass meeting was held . . . stirring patriotic addresses were delivered . . . the speaker commented on the enormous influence of the fair sex in recruiting . . . At the conclusion of the struggle two sharply defined classes of men would arise in our Dominion, the beloved and honored who had done their duty at the front, and the lowly and despised who had failed to hearken to their country’s call. (1) Never at a loss for impressive words, the editor concludes with a powerful message by

contrasting the derogatory “lowly and despised” with the eloquence of “beloved and

honored”. Appeals composed poetically relied upon a patriotic language that often

exceeded itself in jingoism. On September 28, 1914 the Edmonton Bulletin introduced a

poem entitled “The Call” in which W.B. Allan of Ponoka appealed to the women of

Alberta to come to the aid of the St. John Ambulance Association. It read in part:

Ye daughters of the Empire the Hour of Fate has come Now sounds the dread Reveille, now rolls the awesome drum These sounds which call to action your brothers staunch and true If only ye would heed them, are also calling you! ……………………………………………………………….. Ye too may share this privilege, ye too may add your might And aid your gallant comrades in the Battle for the Right. (3, 1-4, 9-10) Allan’s introduction of such ominous metaphors as the ‘Hour of Fate’, the ‘dread

Reveille’ and the ‘awesome drum’ were meant to arouse fear and apprehension when

juxtaposed with phrases of loyalty such as ‘your brothers staunch and true’, and ‘your

gallant comrades.’

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In these years, however, not all Albertans were ‘steeped’ in patriotic convictions.

Although the English, Irish and Scots immediately rose to the occasion in 1914 and 1915,

others such as the Scandinavians, the Swedes, the Ukrainians, Italians and Americans had

divided loyalties or were simply ‘hedged in doubt’. Many, of a pacifist nature, were

indifferent while others, such as those of German origin, were openly concerned in their

sympathy for Germany. The federal government showed its interest in these when, on

August 20, three weeks after war was declared, The Lloydminster Times reported the

following:

The postmaster has been notified not to accept any mail matter for Germany, German colonies, Austria, Hungary and Luxembourg for onward transmission, whether by our Canadian service, by New York or any other route, until further notice. (5) In Edmonton, the provincial government was asked to intervene in the publication of the

publication of the Alberta Herold, a German newspaper printed in German and published

in Edmonton. On October 29, 1914, an irate editorial in The Lloydminster Times

described the Alberta Herold as follows:

. . . an alien and hostile paper . . . endeavoring to stir up sedition and strife

. . . of strong pro-German tendencies, which during the past two months has been vilifying all things British and insisting that the present war had been brought on by the greed of the Old Country and that the tales of German atrocities . . . were only “Dirty British Lies.” (4)

Eventually, the Alberta Herold, bowing to public outrage, ceased publication in early

1915. In 1914, the town of Lloydminster was primarily British, having been settled

earlier by the Barr colonists. Thus, it was in this area of Alberta, three months after war

was declared, that the muted prairie voice of ethnic prejudice began to stir.

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In an attempt to explain the social environment in Alberta at that time, a local

resident of Lacombe, Alberta, contributed the following to a history of his area entitled,

Lacombe, The First Century:

The Germans and Austrians may not have supported the position of their homelands, but neither did many of them feel a great deal of enthusiasm for the British. Quite naturally, there was a considerable amount of bad feeling toward and suspicion of certain ethnic groups in Alberta; for example one story circulated through the district that a group of Germans at a farm auction had deliberately spoiled all the food which was offered by the community ladies. And then there were some discreet changes in the spelling of names, the German “sch” being dropped in favor of the more English “sh” or “ch” (281). Similarly, in many rural areas local residents indulged in their ‘bad feelings’ toward

ethnic groups. German and Austrian immigrants had pioneered further north around

Spruce Grove. In a history of the area entitled, As Roots Grow, The History of Spruce

Grove and District, George Hoke contributed the following:

The settlers around Spruce Grove were mostly of Austrian and German origin. World War One was blazing furiously and, understandable, sympathy ran high for the enemy around Spruce Grove. Those of us at school who were not Aryan were subjected to a certain amount of hazing which made life miserable for us. (386) In the same history, Valentine Knebel, whose parents came from Austria, said: In 1914, because of the war and with so many Germans in the area the government . . . decided to close down the church. A new school teaching only in English, was built four miles away. This created a hardship for children who first had to learn English . . . some teachers were not as understanding as they could have been (408). Teachers in Alberta at that time were British or of British descent and most came from

Ontario. Thus, as revealed in Knebel and Hoke’s articles, ethnic awareness had become a

feisty issue among both adults and children in the schools and at home.

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In Coleman, Alberta, Lea Panquin, a young Belgian child, introduced himself in the

Family Herald and Weekly Star’s “Maple Leaf Club” in Calgary. The ‘club’, immensely

popular with rural immigrant families, issued membership pins to the children who wrote

letters, poems or stories to their fellow ‘Maple Leaves’ in local newspapers across

Alberta. Lea’s letter, written April 14, 1915, voices a child’s awareness that ethnic

origins are of special interest in Alberta:

Dear Maple Leaves: I am writing you a few lines to let you know if I am a german or a english or a french or a belgian, and now it is war I cannot go back to my country. But when it is going to be finish (sic) I think my parents will go back, and I too. I like very much coleman . . . I like the teacher who teaches me at school, she is very kind to the children . . . .Lea Panquin (290) In his letter it is interesting to note that Lea, a Belgian child, refers to his teacher as ‘very

kind’ whereas Valentine Knebel, of Austrian descent, remembers that the teachers in

Spruce Grove were ‘not as understanding as they could have been’. (Knebel, 408)

Amid the ethnic discontent in those years, there were others whose voices were

those of moderation and reason. Alwyn Bramley-Moore was an Alberta homesteader,

writer and parliamentarian. Born in London, England in 1878, he regarded it as his

patriotic duty to enlist when Britain declared war. In his many letters home to family in

Edmonton, Bramley-Moore instructed his children not to believe the propaganda, hearsay

and rumors about German atrocities and German immigrants in Alberta. In one such

letter to his young daughter, Dorothy, he said:

You mustn’t believe all the wicked stories you hear. Germans and Austrians are just the same as we are, some kind, some cruel, none of the Germans you knew were cruel. And of the two boys George and Billy who worked on our farm; George was an Austrian and he was a nice boy. Billy was almost as Russian as Austrian, and though sulky perhaps, he was nice enough . . . .(292)

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Many of the ‘stories’ that Bramley-Moore referred to were published in newspapers

across the province. In southern Alberta the Lethbridge Telegram headlined an article on

June 24, 1915, entitled, “Wartime Hysteria”. Later, published in Alberta History it read

in part:

Down with all traitors. Let them be visited with the utmost severity of the law. He who endeavors to dissuade his fellow (sic) from doing his part in bringing the war to a successful termination is a traitor, and should be dealt with accordingly. There are traitors in our midst . . . who have formed themselves into an organization for hindering, . . . the war. Two of them were located in the Travis district wearing buttons on which were inscribed the words, “No men and no money for the war”. . . . The button has a white rim and a black face . . . white and black betokening the white feather of cowardice and the black designs of treachery. . . . Such men are a menace. They may be the agents of the enemy, . . . they are, in what they are endeavoring to do, the Kings enemies and must be so treated. (Spring,1987:17) As witnessed in southern Alberta, hysteria, fear, hearsay and rumors permeated society to

such an extent that many Alberta towns found it necessary to change their names. In

Carlstadt the people ‘felt ashamed’ of the German name of their town and with Ottawa’s

permission Carlstadt was changed to Alderson, after the British commander. In other

instances, the town of Little Dusseldorf was re-named Freedom, Alberta and Wittenburg

became Leedale.

Overseas, the war that was supposed to over by Christmas, 1914, had reached a

stalemate in France and Belgium. (Morton & Granatstein: 34) On December 30, George

Edwards, an Edmonton poet and frequent contributor to the Edmonton Bulletin,

eloquently expressed the bitterness of most Albertans toward the Kaiser and his German

‘war machine’. Entitled “The Day” it read in part:

“The Day” for years, the cryptic German toast At ev’ry festive board, with vaunting boast,

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Was duly drunk. The all contrived how they Might help to usher in the coming day. “The Day” for which the “Kultured” Teutons thought “The Day” for which, with keen design they wrought Into the nation’s life, a war machine Such as, before, the world had never seen. …………………………………………………….. This is “The Day” when Justice is dethroned Treaties ignored, and Liberty destroyed, Truth, Purity and Righteousness, laid low, The law of brutal Might, alone employed. …………………………………………………….. Ambition, vanity, and greed for power Your ev’ry thought and faculty control Leaving a monstrous form of human clay Without a conscience and without a soul. (5, 1-8, 21-24, 33-36) ……………………………………………………. In simple verse, Edward’s poem expressed the profound bitterness of the times toward

the Kaiser, his armies and the invasion of Belgium.

On land, sea and in the air, 1915 was an eventful year for the Allies. In the air the

German Zeppelin, a huge, oblong airship with a poor aim and silent engines, dropped

highly destructive bombs at random over heavily populated cities and towns in England.

On land, the second Battle of Ypres, mistakenly headlined as an important British victory

in Alberta’s hometown newspapers was, in reality, a great tragedy for the allied forces.

The Canadian 15th Battalion, trained in trench warfare near Armentieres, France arrived

in Ypres on April 15. Ten days later the Germans unleashed more than one hundred and

sixty tons of chlorine gas against the Allied forces. (Byfield: 31) When the Battle of

Ypres was over, the Canadian First Division had suffered 6,036 dead and wounded

(Byfield: 49). In the 15th Battalion three officers and three hundred and sixteen men

survived ( Beal: 45). Headlines in the Edmonton Bulletin read, “Call is Issued for

Another 35,000.”

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In an effort to keep their readers informed at this time, newspapers published

submissions from Albertans serving overseas. On June 5, 1915, Robert T. Anderson,

now Trooper R.T. Anderson of the Canadian Divisional Cavalry in Flanders submitted a

poem entitled, “At Ypres”. In part it read:

Yes, we have faced the German lines with all of Briton’s scorn And we have seen the powder smoke roll back across the morn; Have breathed the cruel, reeking gas that brings the strongest low, But we have clenched the musket-butt and grappled with the foe. …………………………………………………………………… Now answer to the muster rolls, Oh, God! How few there stand; These regiments out of Canada, with few to give command. We’ve helped to hold the Ypres front, we’ll hold them back again But ah! There’s many weary hearts for our Canadian men. (6, 1-4, 29-32) Anderson’s account of his experience at Ypres not only informed but also helped to bolster patriotic determination back home in Alberta.

The carnage on land was accompanied by German U-boats and submarines

raising havoc at sea. In May, 1915, U-boats torpedoed the “Lusitania” off the coast of

Ireland with a loss of 1,195 lives (Granatstein & Morton: 28). The “Lusitania”,

considered the finest of Britain’s commercial fleet, had sailed from New York on May 1

bound for Liverpool, England. When the news of her sinking reached the newspapers the

western world was outraged, and in England patriotic fever swept the land. Back home

in Edmonton, an anonymous poet, e.k. Norwood Boulevard, submitted a poem to the

Edmonton Bulletin entitled, “On the Lusitania”. It read in part:

On sailed the steamer so safely and free Gliding so swiftly o’er the mighty sea Safely and silently nearing her port Women and children, that gallant old cry Unprepared, all innocent, yet ready to die. …………………………………………… Women and children, a splash and a scream And down to the treacherous depths unseen

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Spluttering, choking, fighting for breath Oh, what a suffering sorrowful death. (3, 1-5, 16-19) The poetic acknowledgement of an unimaginable horror inflamed Albertans and patriotic

fever reached new heights for the remainder of 1915. Poets, speakers and writers were

honored and feted everywhere, at banquets, in churches, schools and homes. At a

banquet in Calgary Reverend Dr. Kerby recited a poem entitled “The Awakening” by

Robert J.C. Stead. Published in the Edmonton Bulletin, November 11, the poem read in

part:

We had not dreamt that infamy could still Be base as in the basest days of old That cultured hate is hate a thousand fold That where it cannot conquer it can kill That Virtue is the lawful bride of Lust That only fools are faithful to their trust We had not dreamt the truth, nor half, until It stood revealed in murder working will. Oh ears that would not hear, at last ye hear! Oh, eyes that would not see, at last ye see! Oh Valor, strike for Freedom and the free Oh Honor, ye who hold your honor dear – Drive! Doubly armed who have your quarrel just Ye know the taunt, the boast, the Teuton sneer – Strike home, Britannia, Heaven’s volunteer. (3,17-31) Robert Stead was an Alberta poet and patriot employed as a member of the C.P.R.’s

publicity staff in Calgary. “The Awakening” was his patriotic response and plea to

Albertans for their allegiance to the British Empire.

1915 came to a close with poem first published in the British magazine, Punch,

December 6, 1915. “In Flanders Fields” was written during the second Battle of Ypres by

Major John McCrae, a Canadian medical officer from Quelph, Ontario. Shortly before

his departure for overseas he wrote, “It is a terrible state of affairs, . . . I am really rather

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afraid, but more afraid to stay at home with my conscience.” (Prescott 77) McCrae, like

so many other Canadians, was moved by patriotism and a noble sense of self-sacrifice.

His poem, with its lasting imagery of war, was published in newspapers across Alberta

and was used to advertise the first Victory Loan Campaign in Canada in 1917.

On January 18, 1916 another troopship, the SS Missanabie (later to be torpedoed

and sunk southeast of Cobh, Ireland) embarked from Halifax, arriving in Liverpool,

England ten days later. The troops, including Private Percy E. Scarfe and several other

Albertans, were transported by train to Salisbury Plain and billeted in tents. Their

training, like that of those who had gone before, included sixteen weeks of long route

marches, target shooting and bayonet practice. Sixteen weeks later they joined the

theatre of war in France with the 15th Battalion. For Scarfe and his Alberta comrades, the

‘Battle of the Somme’ from July 1 to November 15 was a first experience with the

horrors of wet, muddy trenches, barbed wire, machine gun raids and front line artillery.

The casualty list for the 15th Battalion was over five hundred men (Beal: 48).

In 1916 a mood of resignation, despair and disillusionment had begun to creep

into the literature of Albertans. On January 7, the Edmonton Bulletin published a poem in

which sadness and resignation replace the noble view of ‘King and Country’ in earlier

poetry. “To a Fallen Soldier” was written by M. Aileen Ward and read in part:

I shall not plant around your grave A bit of myrtle, creeping green Nor for your bed sweet violets save For many billows roll between. Beneath a pine you may not sleep Their whisperings you loved the best But kindly foreign birds will keep A vigil o’er your lonely rest. …………………………………….

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You will not come at morn or eve Since you have gone from Care and Fear But mellow winds make me believe That you are often very near. (2, 1-8, 13-16) Aileen’s Ward’s poem of resignation was but one of many that began to appear in

newspapers across Alberta in 1916. Prior to this, most published literature by Albertans

had adopted an aggressive patriotism undaunted by the spectre of impending misfortunes.

In Edmonton the published submissions of an anonymous poet from August, 1914 to

September 1916 revealed this subtle change in patriotic mood. ‘Touchango’ submitted a

poem to the Edmonton Bulletin on August 4, 1914. Entitled “War Clouds,” it had been

written in July and read as follows:

The dogs of war have broken loose, ‘tis wisdom to prepare For see – the gentle dove of peace hangs flutt’ring in the air, The lion, roused from peaceful sleep with ever watchful gaze Now stands on guard, silent and grim as in the by-gone days. From north and south, from east and west, to thee, dear Motherland Thy children look, - waiting the sign to bid them take their stand Around thy banner, one vast host, their hearts as one with you, And in the van, “Miss Canada” stands loyal, strong and true. Her hardy sons in thousands wait to take their place, and fight For God, the King, and Homeland dear, with heart, and hand and might On land or sea, it matters not, that is for you to say; Send them where you can use them best, they wait but to obey. Then let the howling dogs of war howl on with might and main; We’ve often beaten them before – we’ll beat them once again. “One King, one Empire, and one Flag”, has ever been our cry, And by God’s grace, t’will soon be ours when war’s dark clouds roll by. (4, 1-16) In his poem, ‘Touchango’ expressed the defiant, patriotic zeal that Albertans applauded

in the early weeks and months of the war. By the end of August, 1914, an anonymous

submission to the newspaper informed readers that the poet had enlisted. Five months

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later, on February 17, 1915, the Edmonton Bulletin published a second poem from

‘Touchango’ written while he was still in a training camp north of London. The poem

read in part:

We do not understand which is not strange God’s mysteries are all beyond our range But if our simple faith with us will dwell We’ll know God is in heaven. All must be well. ………………………………………………… Mothers and sisters, sweethearts, wives and all Cling to your Faith whatever may befall One day you’ll know why you may now mourn and weep Angels will guard your loved ones while they sleep. …………………………………………………… Stand fast and hold your Faith with all your might Although we blindly grope all must be right For God will lead us, lest our footsteps stray Through darkest night and everlasting Day. (3, 1-14, 13-16, 21-24) This communication lacked the bold, patriotic challenge that the poet penned in “War

Clouds” just eight months before. Instead, the mood had changed to one of resolve and

faith. Eighteen months later, on September 18, 1916, the Edmonton Bulletin published

“Resurgam”. The poem was written by ‘Touchango’ when the Battle of the Somme was

just twenty-two days old. It read in part:

I mourn for the friends I have lost I miss them more each passing day God’s heroes, they fought for the right And died, showing others the way. ……………………………………… Before me, I see the lone graves Some marked by a cross, and a name And others unmarked, where they sleep On the plains, near the road to Fame. ……………………………………… I mourn for the friends I have lost But find in my grief one bright ray Of Hope, which shall ne’er fade or die Till the Dawn of the Endless Day. (2, 1-4, 9-12,21-24)

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The poet, numbed by his experiences on the battlefield, no longer expressed his patriotic

enthusiasm for ‘one King, one Country and one Flag’ as he did in “War Clouds.”

Instead, like Aileen Ward, he was left clinging to ‘hope’ as he hearkened back to Cavalry

with the title of his poem, a Latin word meaning ‘to rise again’. ‘Touchango’ never

submitted another poem for publication nor did Albertans ever discover what happened to

their poet. However, it was in his writings that they became aware of the flagging spirit

of patriotism in 1916.

As the enthusiasm for war deteriorated, the local newspapers increased their

persuasive themes of patriotism. Recruitment advertisements told parents that the

‘Empire’s need’ for their sons was greater than their own. Employers were told that if

they could not go themselves their ‘most patriotic thing’ would be a position for their

employees when they returned. Wives were targeted for their permission to send

husbands. The Dominion government and the ‘Patriotic Fund’ would take care of them

and their children. And girls were persuaded that for their ‘Country’s Cause’ they must

urge the boys to go. In addition to patriotic persuasions the newspapers welcomed

correspondence from the men overseas. Letters and unique thank you notes were

published on the front pages. The following from J.M. Smith was published in the

Vermilion Standard on July 5, 1916:

To Alberta’s sunny prairie, beneath her skies of blue, From a land of strife and sorrow, our thanks we send to you; We know we’re not forgotten, as we stand in the star-shell shine So we thank you and give you greeting from our place in the British Line. (1)

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Smith’s poetic strains acknowledged and encouraged the community’s contribution to the

“Tobacco Fund”. Such messages supported a positive, patriotic link between the men

overseas and their families and community at home.

In 1916 and 1917, anxiety, hard work, doubts, death and loneliness were the

somber dimensions of patriotism that daily accompanied those at home. After the war

soldier’s letters, such as those in the Taylor-Bury Collection, reveal much about the

hardships of those left behind when the men marched off to war. Wilfred Bury, in a letter

to his sister, Grace, on the farm in the Vermilion area, wrote:

I wonder if you have any trouble getting sugar. This would bother your jam making and bottling. What sort of crop did you have? Has Pavy had another calf yet? . . . I wonder when I shall be back . . . .(October 20, 1916) Weeks later he wrote: You do seem to have had a bad year out there, and I do hope old dear that things are alright with you and that neither of you are finding the work too hard to make life worth living. ( November 13, 1916) Wilfred was killed November 5, 1917. On the prairie these were the years when the

rationing of food stuffs, hard work on the farms, poor crops and adjustments in family

living plagued the wives and mothers left behind. In the same collection of Taylor-Bury

letters, Earl Drader, a farmer at Deer Mound, Alberta, wrote to his mother with concerns

for his wife, Ethel, and the arrangements he had made with his father-in-law for the farm:

. . . Ethel is staying at home with her sister and youngest brother and parents. Her work . . . is to pay for board for herself and babes. Her father is getting the benefit of the milk from our three cows. I thought I explained that he was taking charge of our cattle giving us the full increase until spring in consideration for the rent of our place. . . . I thought I was making him a good offer but he would only undertake under two conditions; Ethel to stay home and help milk and the place to be manured. All my dealings with him seem to be more

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lean at my end than at his. However, he’s “up agin it” as he says, but I have no faith in him ever being any other way as long as he holds the reins of the establishment . . . .(June 2, 1916) A month later, Ethel wrote a wistful letter to Earl’s mother: I hope next year Earl may be home so we can live on our own place. We were just getting our home comfortable to live in when Earl enlisted . . . I get lonesome for Earl of course. Everyone is good to us at home but that don’t take the heartache away . . . .(July 2, 1916) In her letter, Ethel appears to have a certain amount of support in the community but

other soldier’s wives, burdened with responsibilities and loneliness, had different

experiences. In Red Deer on March 29, 1916, a headline in The News read, “Civilians

Urged to Make Wives of Soldiers Happy”. This was followed by a letter to the editor:

I am a soldier’s wife and feel very worried when I have to listen to what some women think of a married man with children enlisting. . . One woman said she did not think any married man was brave who would enlist and leave his wife and family. My husband did not enlist thinking he was brave; he thought it was his duty . . . If some women would only talk to soldier’s wives differently it would make them feel much more happy. They will sometimes meet you with such a sad expression on their faces and tell you how sorry they are to think you are left with such children. I think they ought to try to make soldier’s wives feel happy instead of sad. (1) A letter such as this was not only revealing for its view of patriotic duty but it also served

as a reminder to the community that it was just as responsible for morale on the home

front as it was for the men serving overseas.

During these years, in both rural and urban Alberta, dimensions of loneliness were

compounded by a daily anxiety waiting for the mail to arrive. Delivery by the telegraph

boy in urban areas and by a Red Cross messenger in the country was both slow and

unreliable. Telegrams with misspelled words were often frightening and caused long

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periods of grief and despair. In a chapter headed, “The telegraph boy meant the worst

fear was now a reality,” M.F. Doucedame writes:

When scout John A. Macdonald of Calgary was badly wounded . . . the telegram to his parents read: “Your son John wounded in arm, head severed.” . . . The telegram should have read: “Your son John wounded in arm, head severe. (Byfield: 299) Other mail deliveries arrived together in batches to be sorted through by the family for both good and bad news. On May 1, 1917, a farmer and his wife in Red Deer “. . .received both a cheerful letter from their son William and official word of his death. The . . . sergeant had fallen at Vimy Ridge the day after writing his last letter home.” (Byfield: 302) 1916 came to an end with a lull in the fighting on the western front and the 15th

Battalion was able to recuperate and resume much of its training. In the spring of 1917,

the Canadians were assigned to capture Vimy Ridge. On Easter Monday, April 9, Pte.

Scarfe and the 15th Battalion of the 1st Division together with three other Canadian

divisions began their assault on the German defenses. Vimy Ridge was captured that

morning. The third battle of Ypres known as Passchendale began with a British objective

of re-capturing the ports along the Flemish coast in an effort to thwart their further use by

German submarines. The 15th Battalion went into this battle as a support unit, building

roads, digging trenches and evacuating the injured. Finally, on November 6 the British

forces took Passchendale and Passchendale village and the third battle of Ypres was over

on November 10th, 1917. Meanwhile, Germany’s determination to resume unlimited

submarine warfare by attacking American ships had alarmed the United States and in the

spring of 1917 President Wilson passed a war resolution to join with the Allied forces in

their fight against Germany. In Canada, however, the number of volunteers for the

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military had dropped off. On May 23, 1917, The News reported that Robert Borden,

discussing the implications of this, had said, “I believe that the time has come when the

authority of the state should be invoked to provide reinforcements necessary to sustain

the gallant men at the front” (1).

Arthur Meighen, Solicitor-General serving in Borden’s government, was

responsible for writing the legislation for conscription. In his speech on June 21, 1917 he

said:

The prosecution of this war by every effective and honorable means is now a matter only of good faith: three hundred thousand living men and twenty thousand dead are over there, hostages of our good faith. All that remains for us is a choice between fidelity and desertion, between courage and poltroonery, between honour and everlasting shame. (Gruending:103) On August 29, 1917, conscription became law in Canada but the ideals of patriotism,

faith, fidelity, courage and honour, somehow denied the notion of conscription, which

then became a contentious issue nationwide. There was a growing shortage of men for

overseas duty in 1917 that, in reality, had been caused by the number of casualties since

1914. But in the minds of patriotic British-Canadian Albertans, much of the cause rested

upon those of foreign ethnic origin who had not enlisted. In Broken Promises,

Granatstein and Hitsman state:

… certainly heavy majorities among English-speaking Canadians wanted conscription . . . Part of the reason was simple patriotism .. . Conscription would ensure that others did their duty and assumed a fair share of the burden of sacrifice . . . . Britain’s war was by definition Canada’s war . . . but the zealots who preached for equality of sacrifice were probably the same people who let the war bring out their visceral and racist responses, who let their latent hostilities emerge into the open under the tensions of the war. (267-268)

In Alberta, the white feather was favored as a symbol of cowardliness. F.J. Powell, a

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local resident from Edwell, Alberta, voiced the sentiments of many Albertans in a letter

to the editor of The News, published August 1, 1917:

Now that the Conscription Bill has passed, I hope the Government will take steps and see that a badge is affixed to each conscriptionist’s uniform, in order to distinquish them from those of our boys who have done their duty voluntarily. (2) In rural communities across Alberta, patriotic voluntarism versus conscription became a

specially divisive issue. On one hand, farmers felt betrayed by a government demanding

their military service when, in the past, government had always encouraged them with the

patriotic importance of their role as food producers. On the other hand, the rural

economy was booming due to an increase in food demands and the resulting increase in

farm incomes. This created resentment and patriots in every Alberta community voiced

their opinions. Many aired them in the local newspapers. From Pine Lake, Alberta,

Charles Coultson confronted F.J. Powell in a letter to the editor of The News on

November 21, 1917:

I think if the correspondent would put in a little more time, . . . raising all the grain and food necessary to help feed the armies of the Allies he would be doing a greater service to the country than telling the real farmers what to do and what not to do. If I am not mistaken I don’t believe the correspondent can boast of having five acres under cultivation and this is war time. Yours truly, Chas. E. Coultson. (2)

The following week, November 28, 1917, The News published F.J. Powell’s reply:

With regard to Mr. Coultson’s . . . remarks I would like to remind him that if I do not raise grain as he suggests I should do, I have done more for my country than he has, or is doing, because while he is patriotically making money out of the war, owing to enhanced prices, I have given of my best to the service of the Empire . . . my only son and I am not looking for payment for so doing. If Mr. Coultson is so anxious for me to raise grain I have ten acres cleared which he can come and break for me in the spring. Your, F.J. Powell. (2)

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Conscription and patriotism became hot federal election issues in 1917. In August the

“Military Voters Act” gave the vote to all enlisted men who had volunteered no matter how long they

had lived in Alberta or Canada. The Wartime Elections Act, first conceived by Arthur Meighen as an

“award to the patriotic” (Granatstein & Hitsman: 71) and introduced in September, 1917, enfranchised

all women related to members of the Canadian Expeditionary Force and disenfranchised naturalized

Canadians from enemy countries who had arrived in Canada after 1902. (Granatstein & Morton: 108)

As Meighen had said earlier, “. . . to shift the franchise from the doubtful British or anti-British of the

male sex, and to extend it at the same time to our patriotic women would be in my judgement a

splendid stroke.” (Granatstein & Morton: 107) On October 12, Robert Borden ‘presented’ his Union

government, a coalition of Conservatives and Liberals. His platform emphasized the importance of

patriotism and the need for Canadians to unite in the battle against Germany. In Alberta, the editor of

the Calgary Herald openly suggested that a vote against the Unionists on December 17 would be

interpreted as an act of patriotic betrayal. Albertans paid attention and the Union party won eleven of

the twelve seats in Alberta. Across Canada conscription immediately came into force with conscripts

reporting for training January 3, 1918, after the election. (Granatstein & Morton: 118)

On August 8, 1918, British, Canadian, Australian and French units launched their

offensive attack at Amiens. (Winter, 295). The Germans, many of whom were taken prisoner, retreated

back across France and in September the 15th Battalion captured the ‘Crow’s Nest’, a high elevation

that gave the Germans an overview of their heavily fortified Drocourt-Quenant Line. Throughout

September and October the Allies continued to advance while the German High Command attempted

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to negotiate a peace agreement with President Woodrow Wilson. Finally, with the acceptance of

Wilson’s “Fourteen Points” the Armistice was signed at 11 a.m. on November 11, 1918.

On December 18, 1918, W.A. Cassels wrote the following to the editor of The News in

Red Deer:

Just a word in connection with a subject which is causing me some vexation of spirit. In regard to the people who tell you that since the dethronement of Kaiserism and the signing of the Armistice, the German people have “changed heart” and all talk of that nature, which is pure unadulterated rot. The craftiness of the Hun equals his other thorough methods . . . I say beware of all such talk and of all such people, who are either fools, or traitors to our glorious Empire. Yours for King and Country, W.A. Cassels. (4)

Cassels’ letter was a bitter reminder of the divisive impact of colonial nationalism and the First

World War on ethnic relations in Alberta.

The lives of Albertans at home were impacted in many ways by the patriotic colonial

nationalism that attended the historical events of the ‘Great War.’ As Canadians, they found

themselves involved in a brutal, international war for the first time. As Albertans, they responded to

‘the call’ with “. . . one of the highest enlistment rates in the country and eventually the highest

casualty rate . . . 6,140 did not return.” (Palmer: 167) For those at home this meant years of anxiety,

hard work, grief, and loneliness with only their faith, allegiance, courage and stoicism to sustain

them. In their literature these early Albertans reveal the way in which they perceived these years and

it is from their interpretations that we are able to grasp that early concept of colonial patriotism that

shaped British-Canadian nationalism.

To conclude, there was a continuity in Canadian nationalism. Its strengths and ideals

are ever-changing and may differ from generation to generation or even within a few years, but it

was patriotic nationalism, as divisive as it was unifying, that shaped our Canadian mythology.

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