Walter
Parker 1885-1975
The head and shoulders
part of this photograph appears to have been used for Walter’s Canadian
passport dated Second day of November 1921
The Globe
Newspaper, 1914
Ottawa,
Aug. 4
- The fateful news that a state of war exists between Great Britain and Germany
was received at 7 o'clock to-night by the Governor-General in a cable from the
Colonial Secretary.
One
headline on the following day was:
THE GLOBE
Toronto,
Wednesday, August 5, 1914
GREAT
BRITAIN AND GERMANY ARE NOW AT WAR
“This statement from King George appeared on the front page of The
Delta Times on Aug. 6, 1914, two days after Britain officially declared war on
Germany. - See more at: http://www.delta-optimist.com/ww1-anniversary/august-1914-war-declared-1.1303641#sthash.FWBItdgM.dpuf”
Timeline
Age Date Event
1885, 18 April Born in Upwell, Norfolk
16 1901 Census, working as a farm labourer in Thorney,
16 1901 Census, working as a farm labourer in Thorney,
Cambridgeshire
21 1907, March Arrives in Canada
24 1909, May 4 Walter Parker files a claim
for 160 Acres of land
29 1914 Aug 4, 11 pm Britain, (and therefore the Nations of
the Empire),
Declares
war with Germany
29 1914 Aug 15 Walter receives Homestead
Patent (Transfer of land
ownership
from the Crown to Walter Parker) Please
See
Appendix A
31 1916 June Census, Walter is on his Homestead
31 1917 October, 13 “Class 1 conscripts (childless single men and
widowers
aged 20 to 34) were ordered to report to the
military
authorities.” Tribunals set up to decide
farmers’
exemption based on their circumstances
31 1917
December, 2 Exemptions granted “to
young farmers and
Agricultural
Labourers” [sic]
31 1917 December, 17 Conscripts were
ordered to report to the armories
[sic]
[sic]
31 1918 Jan Military call-ups start
33 1918 Nov Flu Epidemic
33 1918 Nov 11 End of WW1
4 August 1914
It is another warm day during a
drought on the prairies when ‘The War to End all Wars’ explodes into the every-day
life of Europe and speeds across the Atlantic to Canada on its way to my
grandfather, Walter PARKER. He is twenty nine years old and for the last five
years he has been living alone on a 160-acre homestead.
Walter, my maternal
grandfather had been in Canada for 7 years. His goal was to own the land he
worked.
In Western Canada,
where eager bachelors sought to establish themselves as farmers, more than 40
percent of homesteaders failed to develop 30 acres and build a $300 home, the
requirements for acquiring title to their land.
It is a herculean task for Walter who decades later told his daughter Doreen
Olive PARKER he started with some hand tools, a few dollars and a loaded gun.
Walter on his homestead, near Camper, Manitoba,
Canada C1921
We do not know how Walter learned that the British Empire
was at war with Germany. My mother said getting him to speak was like ‘getting
blood out of a stone.’ Before she died
she told me that he liked to know what was going on in the world, so I wonder
if he kept up with the world news in the Winnipeg Tribune as he had in Cambridgeshire.
Or like the Saskatchewan farmers “preoccupied with establishing their farms and
isolated from European events” perhaps Walter was surprised by the announcement
of war?
The newspapers and posters of the time appear to be
conflicting. On the one hand
the Canadian government’s policies of higher-than-usual food production
from 1915 to 1918 encouraged farmers to continue to supply the domestic market,
while also producing more goods to meet the demand from overseas.
On the other in some areas remote farmers were visited by
recruiters keen to sign them up and meet their quotas. “Recruiting officers travelled through the Quebec and
Ontario countryside by train in order to reach even the most remote farms.” Perhaps Walter received such
a visit.
An article in The Toronto Star about the difficulty of
recruiting in Winnipeg was printed on February 20, 1917. It provides an
indication of the pressure that recruiters were under to increase the number of
volunteers:
There are twenty-three
military establishments here, all of them energetically seeking men in all
parts of the district, and efficiently organized, so that no town or hamlet is
overlooked in the appeal for men.
Although “harvest leave allowed soldiers from rural areas
to go home and help bring in the crops that would feed the nation” Walter would
have known he could not protect his home or crops from fire if he volunteered
to fight.
By the end of 1914 around 18,000 men had enlisted from Walter’s province of Manitoba. Many of
those who signed up in the early days were out of work British Immigrants.
On New Year’s Day, 1916, the Canadian Prime Minister,
Robert Borden announced that 500,000 more troops were needed, although Canada
had a population of barely 8 million. At this stage “75,000 fighting men were
required a year just to replace loses.” It seems likely that Walter would have been
aware of this appeal.
Walter was not alone in
staying on his land as less than 8.5% of farmers enlisted in 1914. He was subsistence farming and had to produce
crops to support him. One farmer who did enlist had the following experience -
on joining the Army, August 1914, I obtained a promise from a neighbour [sic] to rent it during my absence, on
the usual terms. He, however, failed to do so, without notifying me, then
overseas, of this failure on his part; and on my return I find the place very
considerably grown up with weeds.
We know that Walter had not
volunteered by June 1916 as he is recorded on his homestead at Township 24, Range 7 on the Census record below (The location of the homestead
is confirmed in the email referred to in the timeline, see Appendix A)
Whilst our Walter had not volunteered, the same 1916
Census shows another farmer had. This “Walter Parker,” aged 30, a Methodist,
was also a naturalised Canadian and had been an English Immigrant. However,
this Walter is shown as being in Camp Hughes, west of the town
of Carberry in Manitoba, 200 kilometres away from the homestead.
Camp Hughes training involved grenades, bayonets and
becoming familiar with trench warfare. The site was so big 1000 men at a time
could take part.
At its peak, the Camp held vast areas of tent
accommodations for over 27,000 men as well as permanent military structures and
a commercial main street.
Camp
Hughes - A view of a main trench
Swimming pool at Camp Hughes
If Walter
had gone to war he may have had a similar experience to another man, Jack
Beaumont, who “tired of farming” wrote the following letter to his future wife:
On June 3rd, 1916, I finally enlisted in Winnipeg, and
joined the cosmopolitan ranks of the noble 200th Batt. I soon settled down to
the routine; in fact, I was very fond of drill, and except for the Physical
drill, rather enjoyed myself. We marched around the city, did some company
drill up near the C.P.R. depot, and then in July, we moved to Camp Hughes. After this we had harvest
leave. Back to Camp again, and soon we had real cold weather, snow & slush,
and wet feet…Finally, late in October, we moved to Winnipeg. A chum and I preferred to sleep out, so we
rented a room on William Ave. We had a swell winter, I joined the Signal
Section of the Batt[alion], so was relieved of foolish drill, and all we did
was to study the Morse Code, flag drill, and route marches. I can see those
route marches yet; all the people lined up along the streets, our band playing,
etc etc. There is certainly a thrill in wearing a uniform, sometimes!!! At
times we had ceremonial parades, military funerals; these were cold affairs,
and we had to walk a long way, at times.
War was not the only risk in this
period. An accident, infection, or illness could kill. Worldwide in the summer
of 1918 large numbers of young adults were on the move alongside an airborne virus
that was atypically more likely to be fatal in healthy adults 20 – 40 year
olds. It would be “the
deadliest disease in recorded history” and the World Health
Organisation says it “is thought to have killed at least
40 million people in 1918-1919”.
.
Men literally choked to death with pulmonary
(swelling), the lungs so swamped with blood, foam and mucous that the faces
were grey and the lips purple.
Labelled the Spanish Flu it would “afflict one in six Canadians” and leave an estimated 50,000 dead. The pandemic was
estimated to make half the world’s population ill and many would be left with
ongoing heart and respiratory problems.
Given that “scarcely a village, or
even a home or farmstead escaped it, no matter how isolated” it may be that
Walter was exposed.
It is impossible to know what impact
World War 1 had on Walter, but it seems likely that his experiences in Canada
increased his resilience. When the ‘call’ came to serve in 1940 Walter was a 55
year old, living in Sheffield city centre. His diary of that year notes that he
attended regular “Rescue Practise.” It therefore seems reasonable to believe
that at the time of the Sheffield Blitz he was a volunteer for the ARP heavy rescue squad. In this
war, as
a married father of a two year old, he had a family to consider and a war torn
neighbourhood to serve. But that is another story.
City
Centre Sheffield Blitz 12 December and 15
December 1940 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheffield_Blitz
Sources
Page 1 “Ottawa, Aug. 4 - The fateful
news…” The Globe Newspaper, August 4,
1914. This can be viewed online at The Memory Project, www.globeandmail.com here: http://v1.theglobeandmail.com/special/memoryproject/globeatwar/start.html
“THE GLOBE, Toronto,
Wednesday, August 5, 1914.” Headline from the Globe newspaper. This can be
viewed online at The Memory Project, www.globeandmail.com. http://v1.theglobeandmail.com/special/memoryproject/globeatwar/start.html
Page 2
Poster, “The King to His Colonies”, Delta Optimist
Website, WW1 Anniversary, posted 8 August, 2014. www.delta-optimist.com
Page 3 Timeline
“Walter receives Homestead Patent (Transfer of
land Ownership from
The Crown to Walter Parker).” Please see the email from the Archives of Manitoba at
Appendix
1.
“Census, Walter is on
his Homestead…” Library and Archives
Canada
November 2014 there are 3 Walter Parker’s
aged 30/31. Taking into account the
location of Walter’s Homestead as stated in
the above email, I concluded that our
Walter is the one at this location.
“Class 1
conscripts (childless single men and
widowers aged 20 to 34)…” The
National
Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces, Military History, “Fight or Farm”:
Canadian Farmers and the Dilemma of the War Effort in World War I
(1914-1918).
Exemptions
granted “to young farmers and Agricultural Labourers." [Sic] As above.
“Conscripts
were ordered to report to the armouries…” [Sic} As above.
Military call-ups
start www. thecanadianencyclopedia.ca
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/conscription/
Page 4 “In Western Canada, where eager…” Love and Marriage Canadian-Style - A
trove of letters provides a glimpse into early 20th-century love and courtship
by Elizabeth Abbott Hearts
and Minds: Canadian Romance at the Dawn of the Modern Era, 1900–1930, Dan Azoulay, University
of Calgary Press, ISBN 9781552385203. www.reviewcanada.ca Available
online at:
“preoccupied with establishing their
farms and isolated from European events…” The Impact of the First World War
on Saskatchewan’s Farm Families, prepared for
Saskatchewan Western Development
Museum’s “Winning the Prairie Gamble” 2005 Exhibit by Joan Champ December 16,
2002. Copyright of Western Development
Museum.
www.wdm.ca . It can be viewed here: http://www.wdm.ca/skteacherguide/WDMResearch/ImpactofWWI.pdf
“the Canadian
government’s policies” The National Defence and the Canadian
Armed Forces, Military History, “Fight
or Farm”: Canadian Farmers and the
Page
5
“There
are twenty-three military…” From a post dated Fri Apr
12, 2013 4:58. Toronto Star 12 February 1917 am www.
cefresearch.ca. http://cefresearch.ca/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10740
“Although
harvest leave allowed soldiers…” How close did the world come to peace in 1914.
www.bbbc.co.uk http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z26bjxs#orb-banner
“By the end of 1914
around 18,000 Manitobans had enlisted” Historic Events in Manitoba, Canada www.
traveltips.usatoday.com http://traveltips.usatoday.com/historic-events-manitoba-canada-54472.html
“On New Year’s Day, 1916”
Page 6 Walter was not alone “…8.5 percent…” The National Defence and the Canadian Armed
Forces, Military History, “Fight
or Farm”: Canadian Farmers and the
Dilemma of the War Effort in World War I (1914-1918). www.journal.forces.gc.c. It can be viewed
here: http://www.journal.forces.gc.ca/vol13/no2/page57-eng.asp
“on joining the
Army, August 1914…” The National Defence and the Canadian
Armed Forces,
Military History, “Fight
or Farm”: Canadian Farmers and the
“Homestead
at Township 24, Range 7 on the Census record below.” www.data2.collectionscanada.ca . You can view a digitized page of this Census of the
Prairie Provinces, 1916 for Image No.31228_4363959-00552 here
http://data2.collectionscanada.ca/006003/t-21930/jpg/31228_4363959-00552
Page 7 “Whilst our Walter had not volunteered, we
can see from the same 1916 Census that another farmer had.” www.data2.collectionscanada.ca. To view a digitized page of Census of the Prairie Provinces, 1916 for
Image No.: 31228_4363959-00358 here:
A
view of a main trench. and the photograph of the theatre
Military
History Society of Manitoba, Camp Hughes. www.mhsm.ca http://www.mhsm.ca/j25/index.php/camp-hughes
Page 8 Main Street Camp Hughes looking NW source
Photograph
of swimming pool, Camp Hughes Under Threat, by William R Galbraith, Page 30,
Plate 3, Swimming Pool https://umanitoba.ca/institutes/natural_resources/canadaresearchchair/thesis/wgalbraith%20masters%20thesis%202004.pdf
from Military History Society of Manitoba Archive Collection
“Tired of farming” “On June 3rd, 1916,
I finally enlisted in Winnipeg…” My Impressions & Experiences,
4 August 1916 – 18 April 1919. Written in December 1921 by Jack Beaumont to his future wife, Florence
Henderson. www.ssns.frontiersd.mb.ca
ssns.frontiersd.mb.ca/.../CanadianHistory/.../JBeaumont/JBeaumontMemories
“By the end of 1916, the CEF‘s front-line
units required 75,000 men annually just to replace losses.” Canadian War Museum. www.warmuseum.ca
Page 9 Photograph of the tents at Camp Hughes. Part of a detailed video tour of the
provincial heritage site - Camp Hughes. Produced by the RCA Museum and Street
Media Inc. www.youtube.com https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gh5IFcaV3ho
Overseas Contingent in largest military parade ever held in
Toronto. Toronto Public Library, World War, 1914-1918; parade of troops before leaving, University Ave.,
looking n. to Queen's Park. www.torontopubliclibrary.ca http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?R=DC-PICTURES-R-5766
“adults 20 – 40 year olds” Lessons from the
1918 Spanish Flu
Part I of
II By Kirsty Duncan PhD FSAScot Adjunct Professor,
University of Toronto www.riskinstitute.org
Page
10
“Men literally choked to death”. www.riskinstitute.org
Labelled the Spanish Flu it would
“afflict one in six Canadians”
“an estimated 50,000” www.warmuseum.ca http://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/life-at-home-during-the-war/wartime-tragedies/influenza-1918-1919/
half the world’s population www.riskinstitute.org
“scarcely
a village, or even a home or farmstead” http://manitobia.ca/resources/books/local_histories/056.pdf
“http://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/life-at-home-during-the-war/wartime-tragedies/influenza-1918-1919/
“The
most infamous pandemic” World Health Organisation – Influenza. www.who.int http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/2003/fs211/en/
“at the end of April 1919” Page 8, The
Spanish Influenza Epidemic In Winnipeg During October and November 1918.
www.mmcalumni.ca http://www.mmcalumni.ca/v2/docs/ol/The%20Spanish%20Flu%20in%20Winnipeg%20During%20October%20and%20November%201918.pdf
Page
10 Photograph of the Sheffield Blitz, City
Centre Sheffield Blitz 12 December and 15
December 1940..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheffield_Blitz
Other Sources of Research
Canada at War, Great War Timeline, Major Canadian
events in The Great War
1917 Election –
Conscription
War
Time in Canada, Conscription
www.warmuseum.ca http://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/life-at-home-during-the-war/recruitment-and-conscription/conscription-1917/
CANADA AT WAR, 1914-1918, A Record of Heroism and Achievement BY
J. CASTELL HOPKINS, F.S.S., F.R.G.S. www. archive.org
https://archive.org/details/canadaatwararec01renigoog
The
Canadian Encyclopedia, First World War (WW1)
The
Canadian Encyclopedia, Conscription
War and Upheaval: 1914-1919 Chapter 4
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCEQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhighered.mheducation.com%2Fsites%2Fdl%2Ffree%2F0070956421%2F894511%2FBlakePostConHis1e_Ch04.pdf&ei=Va5aVKjuGsGa7gbQxoDIBA&usg=AFQjCNG6-3RpFBCFP9wplQleFAmunXEhoA&sig2=R-PT7e661rZ3XDGzOGG2SA&bvm=bv.78677474,d.ZGU
