The ladies knit, for our soldiers

October 23, 1914

Archival Moment

Photo Credit: The Rooms Provincial Archives: A 51-112; A work committee in the Ball Room of Government House. Note that some of the women are sewing by hand and machine; others are knitting.

Photo Credit: The Rooms Provincial Archives: A 51-112; A work committee in the Ball Room of Government House. Note that some of the women are sewing by hand and machine; others are knitting.

Following the declaration of war in August  1914 Lady Margaret Davidson, wife of the Governor of Newfoundland, called upon “the women of Newfoundland to assist in aiding the British Empire in the present crisis by providing the necessities needed by our soldiers at the front. ”

Seven hundred women attended the first meeting. Those in attendance passed a resolution to form a “Patriotic Association of the Women of Newfoundland” with the object of helping the men of Newfoundland in the defense of the British Empire.

The first gathering of the women for their ‘sewing and knitting sessions’ was held at Government House, St. John’s on September 17, 1914.

A month later, on October 23, 1914 the ladies satisfied with the amount of work that they had completed invited the residents of St. John’s for “an exhibition of the articles of clothing made by the different workers throughout the Island, for our soldiers at the front.”

Those who visited Government House saw in the exhibit “socks, shirts, pillows, pajamas, hospital jackets, knitted caps, and hand kerchiefs.”  Lady Davidson explained that the articles came from “Spaniard’s Bay, Carbonear, Fermeuse, Stephenville and Twillingate.” She was particularly pleased with the women of Twillingate who had contributed 1, 144 pairs of socks.

She was also quick to point out that in many other outports the workers “are busy sewing and knitting, and their contributions will be received in due time.”

Photo Credit:  Government House, St. John’s. On October 2, 2014 Her Honour, Patricia Fagan,  hosted a reception at Government House in Honour of the 100th Anniversary of the formation of the Patriotic Association of the Women of Newfoundland, later to become known as the WPA

Photo Credit: Government House, St. John’s. On October 2, 2014 Her Honour, Patricia Fagan, hosted a reception at Government House in Honour of the 100th Anniversary of the formation of the Patriotic Association of the Women of Newfoundland, later to become known as the WPA

Lady Davidson explained that “in the city about 800 ladies are engaged four days a week making garments.” Throughout the Dominion of Newfoundland she said “the various church guilds are working steadily and the members of first aid classes and nurses are making bandages.”

A special project of some of the younger women   was the “making garments for the Belgian children.”

Lady Davidson and her lady friends from the Women’s Patriotic Association were proud of their work and insisted that “of the clothing received it is of the best material and workmanship.”

The first shipment of the material was made on the S.S. Tabasco a British Steamer responsible for general cargo. In January 1917 carrying a similar load the Tabasco was torpedoed by a German Submarine.

Recommended Archival Collection: Patriotic Association of the Women of Newfoundland Description number MG 842.5 This fle consists of printed publication prepared by Women’s Patriotic Association (WPA), with introduction by Lady Margaret Davidson. Instructions for knit wear and convalescent clothes for soldiers included.

Recommended Reading: “A Pair of Grey Socks. Facts and Fancies. Lovingly dedicated to the boys of the Newfoundland Regiment. And to every woman who has knitted a pair of grey socks” by Tryphena Duley, Verses by Margaret Duley.

Recommended Exhibit: Pleasantville: From Recreation to Military Installation. Level 2 Atrium Pleasantville before the First World War was the site of the St. John’s cricket grounds. With the declaration of war, Pleasantville quickly emerged as a tent city, the home of the storied “First 500”. It was here that the First Newfoundland Regiment recruits began preliminary military training during the months of September and October of 1914. This exhibition highlights some of the activities and training of the Blue Puttees up to their embarkation on the SS Florizel for overseas service.

Knitting Socks: Demonstration: Sock Knitting: In just two years, the women of Newfoundland and Labrador knit 62,685 pairs of socks for the troops in the First World War. Come to the Collecting the Great War: Enlisting Your Help exhibition to watch a pair of grey socks being made, using the original pattern, and try your hand at knitting. Demonstrations are ongoing on level 2 Wednesday’s from 6:30-9:00 until December 10th.

 

 

 

One-day symposium on the historical significance of Grenfell

Photo Credit: The Rooms Provincial Archives. IGA 13.62   (Dr. Wilfred Grenfell painting .)

Photo Credit: The Rooms Provincial Archives. IGA 13.62 (Dr. Wilfred Grenfell painting .)

The impact of British physician-missionary Sir Wilfred Grenfell (1865-1940) was widely recognized during the first half of the twentieth century. Grenfell’s lifework in Newfoundland and Labrador began in the early 1890s with the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen. By 1914 the International Grenfell Association (IGA) was formed to focus on his work in this region. This one-day symposium will explore the historical significance of Grenfell, the IGA, and the delivery of healthcare in Newfoundland and Labrador over the last century and address issues concerning the present and the future. All are welcome, with refreshment breaks provided.

The Rooms, St John’s, Saturday, October 18, 2014, 9 am to 5 pm

Programme and Schedule

9:00 am-9:10 am

Session 1—Introduction Welcome

Chair, Jennifer Connor

9:10 am-10:20 am

Jeff Webb: “Newfoundland in the age of Grenfell”

Jim Connor: “Primary medical care and health in Newfoundland during the Grenfell era: Were they that bad?”

10:40 am-11:30 am

Anne Budgell: “Opera, lunch, and tea: New York high society and the Grenfell Mission”

Heidi Coombs-Thorne: “‘Heroines’: Nursing with the Grenfell Mission, 1939-1981”

11:30am-12:30pm

Ronald Numbers: “The gospel of right living: Wilfred Grenfell’s collaboration with John Harvey Kellogg of Battle Creek.”

1:30pm-2:45pm

Jennifer Connor: “Two British physicians and their ‘flits’ on the Grenfell mission in Newfoundland before 1930”

Larry Dohey: “It is called ‘GRENFELLITIS:’ Archivists look at the Grenfell Collection and its artistic and historical significance”

Monica Kidd: “‘If we can make a cure of him’: Lyrical Grenfell in the St. Anthony casebooks, 1906”

3:05pm-3:55 pm

Bill Bavington: “Reflections on the IGA in a time of transition–1974-1982”

Maria Mathews: “Back to the future – Primary care reform in rural Newfoundland and Labrador”

3:55 pm-4:25 pm

Concluding Remarks

Chair, Jim Connor

Norman Pinder

Edward Roberts

All sessions  are  free and open to the public. The Rooms, St John’s, Saturday, October 18, 2014, 9 am to 5 pm

For more information contact: Dr. Jim Connors: jconnor@mun.ca    or 709.777.8729.

We will march and sing with the First 500 tomorrow!! It’s a long way to Tipperary.

Archival Moment

October 4, 1914

 Cover page of sheet music published in 1914.

Cover page of sheet music published in 1914.

As the “First 500” or “Blue Puttees” marched from the tent city in Pleasantville, St. John’s, where they had completed their basic military training, they sang.

As the they marched through the streets on October 4, 1914 to the troopship the S.S. Florizel, that awaited them in St. John’s Harbour, to take them to fight for ‘King and Country” they sang a song that was new to many of them.

Marching towards the unknown, the young soldiers of the Newfoundland Regiment broke into this new marching song, the song, they were singing with great enthusiasm was “It’s a long way to Tipperary.”

The song, in the opening days of the Great War (August 1914) had quickly become ‘Britain’s Marching Song’ the London newspapers reported “it has become the marching song of the British Army.”

The St. John’s newspapers were determined that the young soldiers of Newfoundland Regiment should also know the song, reporting that because “it is not widely known in this country” (Newfoundland) the words should be published.

The Evening Telegram published the lyrics for all to learn on 19 September 1914.

Up to mighty London Came an Irishman one day.

As the streets are paved with gold

Sure, everyone was gay, Singing songs of Piccadilly, Strand

and Leicester Square,

Till Paddy got excited, then he shouted to them there:

CHORUS

It’s a long way to Tipperary,

It’s a long way to go. It’s a long way to Tipperary

To the sweetest girl I know! Goodbye, Piccadilly, Farewell, Leicester

Square!

It’s a long long way to Tipperary, But my heart’s right there.

(repeat chorus)

Paddy wrote a letter To his Irish Molly-

O,

Saying, “Should you not receive it,

Write and let me know!” “If I make mistakes in spelling, Molly,

dear,” said he,

“Remember, it’s the pen that’s bad,

Don’t lay the blame on me!

CHORUS

Molly wrote a neat reply To Irish

Paddy-O,

Saying “Mike Maloney Wants to

marry me, and so

Leave the Strand and Piccadilly Or you’ll be to blame,

For love has fairly drove me silly:

Hoping you’re the same!”

REPEAT CHORUS

British soldiers marchingThe irony was that many of the “First 500” or the “Blue Puttees” who were singing the song “It’s a long way to Tipperary” as they marched would die in what they called “Tipperary Avenue”, a communications trench, at Beaumont Hamel on 1 July 1916.

It was the custom in the “Great War” battlefields to name the roads and trenches with names that were familiar. At Beaumont Hamel two names that were familiar to The Newfoundland Regiment were St. John’s Road and Terra Nova Street.

In September 1916 Padre Thomas Nangle who was tasked with finding and identifying the bodies of the Newfoundlanders who died at Beaumont Hamel wrote:

“On Sunday, September 24th after saying Mass in a roofless barn within 800 yards of the German line, I started out on my quest … to find the bodies of the Newfoundlanders. I trampled on through Tipperary Avenue a communications trench from which our heroes “went over” on that fateful day (July 1). This (Tipperary Avenue) was the exact spot on which was made the most glorious event in the history of far off Newfoundland.”

It is a long way from Pleasantville, St. John’s, Newfoundland to Tipperary Avenue, Beaumont Hamel, France.

“It’s a long long way to Tipperary, But my heart’s right there.”

The song was originally written by Jack Judge and Harry Williams as a music hall and marching song in 1912. In 1914 columns of Irish marching soldiers made the song known and popular first in the British Army, then on the whole Western Front. The world first heard about the song from the London newspaper Daily Mail. Their correspondent, George Curnock witnessed the Irish soldiers marching and singing in Boulogne, France on August 13th, 1914. The song quickly became the definite song of the Great War.

Recreating the March to the Florizel: Commemorating the departure of the ‘First 500’ from St. John’s. On Sunday, October 5, 2014 approximately 500 individuals, from across Newfoundland and Labrador, will take part in a recreation of the historic march to the Florizel. Participants will march the actual route, taken by the original recruits, from Caribou Park, Pleasantville to the St. John’s harbour front, culminating with a special ceremony at the Harbour front. The march departs Pleasantville at 1:00pm and arrives at the Harbour front at approximately 1:45pm. More Information: http://honour100.ca/recreating-the-march-to-the-florizel/

Recommended Archival Collection: “Distinguished Service: the Royal Newfoundland Regiment in the Great War”, this on line exhibition documents the lives and experiences of the province’s soldiers and aims to encourage interest in research on the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. The service records of the First 500 and others are available at the Provincial Archives at The Rooms. Many of the service records (but not all) are on line at http://www.therooms.ca/regiment/part1_entering_the_great_war.asp

Recommended Exhibit: Pleasantville: From Recreation to Military Installation. Level 2 Atrium   Pleasantville before the First World War was the site of the St. John’s cricket grounds. With the declaration of war, Pleasantville quickly emerged as a tent city, the home of the storied “First 500”. It was here that the First Newfoundland Regiment recruits began preliminary military training during the months of September and October of 1914. This exhibition highlights some of the activities and training of the Blue Puttees up to their embarkation on the SS Florizel for overseas service.

 

Military training exercises taking place in Pleasantville

Archival Moment

September 23, 1914

Photo Credit: The Rooms Provincial Archives: Training grounds at Pleasantville, St. John’s, ca. 1914. E-22-44), St. John’s, Newfoundland. Holloway Photograph.

Photo Credit: The Rooms Provincial Archives: Training grounds at Pleasantville, St. John’s, ca. 1914. E-22-44), St. John’s, Newfoundland. Holloway Photograph.

In St. John’s and the surrounding area in September 1914 residents were very aware of the military training exercises taking place in Pleasantville in order to prepare the volunteers of the Newfoundland Regiment for Foreign Service.

Young men had gathered from all over the colony, at Pleasantville on the shores of Quidi Vidi Lake, in a hastily constructed tent city to train to fight for “King and Country’. The public was fascinated by what was happing at the camp and the local media were only too happy to report on the smallest details.

The Pleasantville camp had been established on September 2 with government, businesses, and private citizens donating the tents. Other shelters for the men of the Newfoundland Regiment were made from sails taken from vessels in St. John’s harbour.

On September 23, 1914 the St. John’s newspaper, The Evening Telegram reported:

“Yesterday afternoon (September 22, 1914) a squad of the Volunteers went country wards and engaged in skirmishing and marching in double quick time. The lads, who had their rifles with them, covered the different hills and woods from Virginia to the top of Signal Hill.”

There were in the hills and woods about St. John’s approximately 600 volunteers. The young men were all determined that they would be chosen for Foreign Service. They were also aware that the work of selecting would begin in the following week.

The reporter also noted that: “While the Volunteers were going through some various evolutions yesterday at the camp grounds some excellent photos of them were taken.” 100 years later, many of these photographs that were taken by (Lieut.) R.P Holloway are on exhibit at The Rooms. (see “From Recreation to Military Installation”. Level 2 Atrium, The Rooms.)  Lieut. R. P. Holloway was later named the official photographer for the First Newfoundland Regiment.

After a month of training, the First Five Hundred (537 soldiers), also known as the Blue Puttees, were ready to head overseas. On October 3, 1914, they marched from their training camp to board the SS Florizel, a steamer and sealing vessel that had been converted into a troopship. They were cheered on by a large gathering of citizens. The next day, the troops began their journey overseas.

Recommended Archival Collection: “Distinguished Service: the Royal Newfoundland Regiment in the Great War”, this on line exhibition documents the lives and experiences of the province’s soldiers and aims to encourage interest in research on the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. The service records of the First 500 and others are available at the Provincial Archives at The Rooms. Many of the service records (but not all) are on line at http://www.therooms.ca/regiment/part1_entering_the_great_war.asp

Recommended Exhibit: Pleasantville: From Recreation to Military Installation. Level 2 Atrium  Pleasantville before the First World War was the site of the St. John’s cricket grounds. With the declaration of war, Pleasantville quickly emerged as a tent city, the home of the storied “First 500”. It was here that the First Newfoundland Regiment recruits began preliminary military training during the months of September and October of 1914. This exhibition highlights some of the activities and training of the Blue Puttees up to their embarkation on the SS Florizel for overseas service.

“Archbishop, spinning in his grave”

ARCHIVAL MOMENT

September 23, 1950

Photo Credit: The Rooms Provincial Archives: A 23-129; Archbishop Edward Patrick Roche
Photo Credit: The Rooms Provincial Archives: A 23-129; Archbishop Edward Patrick Roche

Edward Patrick Roche was born in Placentia  on February 14, 1874  son of Edward Roche and Mary Riely (O’Reiley) He was educated at St. Patrick’s Hall School  and St. Bonaventure’s College, both in St. John’s, and studied for the Roman Catholic priesthood at All Hallows College, Dublin, Ireland, being ordained there June 24, 1897.

In 1907 he was transferred to St. John’s where he became Chancellor and Vicar-General of the Archdiocese under Archbishop Michael F. Howley.

On February 26, 1915 Pope Pius X appointed him Archbishop of St. John’s. He was consecrated as Archbishop at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, St. John’s, on June 29, 1915.

It was as a supporter of the return of Newfoundland to responsible government and as a determined opponent of Confederation with Canada he gained much notoriety in the late 1940s. The campaign for confederation found in him one of its fiercest opponents.

He was convinced that no good could come to Newfoundland from Confederation.  The archbishop argued through the pages of The Monitor, the monthly Roman Catholic newspaper that before confederation could be thought of,  responsible government— as promised by Britain — was the way to go.  He was actively involved in the 1948 referenda campaigns, encouraging all Newfoundlanders, but particularly Roman Catholics, to vote for the return of responsible government.

Roche died on September 23, 1950, a little less than a year and a half after Confederation, after having served as Archbishop for over 35 years.

He was buried in the crypt under the main altar of the Basilica Cathedral.

Even in death, some Roman Catholics argue, Archbishop Roche was not reconciled to Confederation.  When Archbishop Roche’s great foe the Confederate Premier Joseph R. Smallwood died in December 1991 the provincial government approached the Roman Catholic Basilica Cathedral to host a state funeral for him.  The Basilica has the larger seating capacity of any church in the city.  The irony of having Joey Smallwood in the Roman Catholic Basilica was not lost on some parishioners.  It is said, that one of the Basilica Parishioners was urged to go into the crypt during the funeral service because the suspicion was that “Roche was spinning in his grave because Smallwood was in his church.”

Recommended Archival Collection:  At the Rooms Provincial Archives  explore GN 154  Newfoundland Delegation to Ottawa  fonds. This series consists of letters to the Chairman and the Secretary of the Newfoundland Delegation to Ottawa from various societies, business firms, unions, and government agencies concerning the ramifications of confederation with Canada for Newfoundland interests. The series are arranged by subject.

Recommended Publication: Confederation: Deciding Newfoundland’s Future, 1934 to 1949 by James K. Hiller, St. John’s, Nfld: Newfoundland Historical Society, 1998; reprinted with minor corrections 1999 75p. : bib, illus, map

Recommedned Reading on Line: ‘The True Father of Confederation’?: Archbishop E. P. Roche. Term 17, and Newfoundland’s Confederation with Canada  by John Edward FitzGerald.  Newfoundland Studies 14, 2 (1998)  http://journals.hil.unb.ca/index.php/NFLDS/article/view/787/1141

Recommended Song:  Joan Morrissey, The Anti Confederation Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLpWCiFyHT0

 

Forgotten fisherman to be remembered

Archival Moment

August 15, 2014

Public invited to attend event.

Youth to participate

frota branca2The Commanding Officer of the Portuguese, Naval Ocean Patrol vessel, NRP Viana De Castello has confirmed that it will be docking in St. John’s on Friday, August 15th and the  crew will lay a memorial wreath in Mt. Carmel Cemetery, St. John’s at the unmarked grave of White Fleet fisherman, Dionisiv Esteves.

The wreath laying ceremony will take place on Friday morning, August 15 at 11:00 a.m. The short ceremony, will take place in Mount Carmel Cemetery located at Kennas Hill and the Boulevard.

Dionisiv Esteves, died during the 1966 fishing campaign while unloading his daily catch of codfish. He was crushed between his swamped dory and the steel hull of the fishing vessel Santa Maria Manuela. His unmarked grave site, which was discovered, (three years ago) has come to symbolize all those Portuguese fishermen who lost their lives fishing on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Since the grave was discovered the daughter of Dionisiv Esteves has come forward to learn more about the father that she never met. His brother, Fernando Esteves has also come forward to make inquiries about the resting place of his brother.

Portuguese Grave 034This year Captain Teixeira of the Viana De Castello will be assigning 21 military personnel for the Mt Carmel wreath laying ceremony. For the first time thirteen Portuguese naval academy cadets will be present at the ceremony.

Jean Pierre Andrieux  said that “including the youth in the ceremony is an attempt to impress on them the long association of the people of Newfoundland with the ‘White Fleet.”

Immediately following this ceremony, a short visit to the Fatima Grotto at the Basilica-Cathedral of St. John the Baptist will take place. The Statue of the Lady of Fatima was a gift to the people of St. John’s from the Portuguese White Fleet fishermen in 1955. This was traditionally the altar that the Portuguese fishermen of the ‘White Fleet’ prayed at before they left the port of St. John’s to return to the Grand banks and eventually home.

The Viana De Castello is part of a fisheries inspection mission in the NAFO zone off the Grand Banks. The vessel I will remain in port until August 17.

Commanding Officer Rui Teixeira invites the public to attend these ceremonies as well as an Open House on the vessel from 2 pm to 5 pm on Saturday. The vessel will be docked at Pier 8.

Local businessman and author, Jean Pierre Andrieux is spearheading a financial campaign to raise funds to erect a memorial at the grave site of Esteves that would also serve to remember all Portuguese fishermen who lost their lives fishing in Newfoundland waters.

The wreath laying ceremony is open to the public. Those attending are encouraged to use the Kenna’s Hill entrance to the cemetery.

For further information contact Jean Pierre Andrieux @ jpa@spmtours.com or 753-7277 (home) or 687-6429 (cell).

Grand Organ for the Cathedral of St. John’s, Newfoundland

An organ built by Thomas J. Robson organ builder to her majesty. Likely like the first organ in the Basilica Cathedral, St. John’s.

ARCHIVAL MOMENT

August 12, 1852

On  August 12, 1852 the local newspaper The Newfoundlander copied an article from a London newspaper The Sun that made reference to a grand organ that was destined for Newfoundland

The article reads:

 “A magnificent organ, destined for the above Cathedral, (the R.C. Cathedral) as just been completed by Mssers Robsons of St. Martin’s Lane, where, prior to its transmission across the Atlantic, a numerous and fashionable assemblage of ladies and gentlemen, including many amateurs and professors, have for several days past  attended to hear the merits tested by Messer’s, Rea, Noble, Pritchard, Nottingham, and other eminent artists. The whole cost, amounting to 1500 has been defrayed by the Right Reverend Dr. (Bishop John  Mullock),  who presents this stupendous and brilliant instrument to the Cathedral in St. John’s, Newfoundland.”   – Sun

Thomas J. Robson  was no ordinary organ builder,  he carried the title “organ  builder to her majesty.”

Upon the arrival of the fine instrument in St. John’sthe first organist appointed to the R.C. Cathedral and to the care of the organ was Thomas Mullock an accomplished organist in Limerick, Ireland, he came toSt. John’s at the invitation of his brother (the bishop). He stayed inSt. John’s and remained as organist for about fifteen years.

For much of his life, Thomas remained in the shadow of his brother. He lived quietly supplementing his income by teaching music and raising his young family. In December 1854 he was devastated when his only child Charlotte Mary died at the age of 2 years,10 months.

Upon returning toIrelandhe was employed as the organist at St. Mary’s,Irish Town, Main Street, Clonmel. He knew the town well as he was married to Charlotte Frances O’Brien daughter of Daniel O’Brien of Clonmel.

Due to deterioration this “Grand Organ” over the years, it was dismantled in 1938 under the direction of (Sir) Charles Hutton and was replaced by a Hammond electronic organ.

This, in turn, was replaced in 1954-55 by the organ that is presently used in the Cathedral Basilica. The new organ has 66 stops and a total of 4050 pipes.

The installation actually comprises two organs; the main organ of 51 stops located in the organ gallery, and the sanctuary organ of 15 stops arranged behind the main altar. Each organ may be played from the main organ gallery either separately, or, if desired, simultaneously with the main organ. The organ was built and installed by Casavant Freres Limited ofSt. Hyacinthe,Quebec.

Recommended Archival Collection:  Take some time to explore MG 590 at The Rooms Provincial Archives; MG590 is the Charles Hutton and Sons fonds. It consists of textual records relating to the business interests of Charles Hutton & Sons in St. John’s 1930-1938.  The collection consists of correspondence between the company and patrons inNewfoundland andCanada, requesting songs, musical instruments and other enquiries.

Recommended Reading: An introduction to the Pipe Organs in Newfoundland and Labrador by Dr. David Peter’s, 2012 (unpublished)

Recommended Reading: The British Invasion Lives on! Pipe Organs of Newfoundland and Labrador Canada by Lester Goulding and William Vineer : The Diapason, July 2013.

Let the bells ring out to remember

Archival Moment

August 4, 1914 at 9:25 p.m.

The Basilica Bells will ring out at  on August 4 at 9:25 p.m.  Please have your church toll their bells.

The Basilica Bells will ring out at on August 4 at 9:25 p.m. Please have your church toll their bells.

The sound of bells ringing is deeply rooted in our culture. In every town, in every parish, in every corner of this province, almost everyone lives within hearing range of church bells. “They provide the grand soundtrack to our historic moments, call out for our celebrations and toll sadly in empathy with our grief.”

At exactly 9:25 p.m., August 4, 1914, Newfoundland Time, a telegram was received by Governor Davidson at Government House in St. John’s, advising him that Great Britain had declared war on Germany, and that Newfoundland was thus at war.

On Monday night, August 4, 2014, the Basilica of St. John the Baptist and St. Bonaventure’s College will host an ecumenical service of remembrance to mark the exact moment when Governor Davidson received the telegram.

At precisely 9:25 p.m. as part of that commemoration the bells of the Basilica – Cathedral will toll and all churches in the province are invited to ring their bells in commemoration.

Contact your church to insure that a person has been to designated to ring the bells.

How-To-Download-Ringtones-To-Cell-Phones-600x250We can all participate. For those with mobile phones set the alarm to ring at 9:25 p.m. – change the tone setting to a church bell tone.

Remember.

IMPORTANT Read More: http://archivalmoments.ca/2014/08/a-call-to-arms-commemoration-of-the-outbreak-of-the-first-world-war/

Recommended Archival Collection: Distinguished Service: the Royal Newfoundland Regiment in the Great War, this  online exhibition documents the lives and experiences of the province’s soldiers and aims to encourage interest in research on the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. The First World War  service records of the Regiment areavailable at the archives on microfilm, some are available on line. http://www.therooms.ca/regiment/part1_entering_the_great_war.asp

Recommended Exhibit: Pleasantville: From Recreation to Military Installation. Level 2 Atrium  Pleasantville before the First World War was the site of the St. John’s cricket grounds. With the declaration of war, Pleasantville quickly emerged as a tent city, the home of the storied “First 500”. It was here that the First Newfoundland Regiment recruits began preliminary military training during the months of September and October of 1914. This exhibition highlights some of the activities and training of the Blue Puttees up to their embarkation on the SS Florizel for overseas service.

COLLECTING THE GREAT WAR ENLISTING YOUR HELP: The Rooms needs your help to tell the stories of the men and women who served overseas and at home during the First World War and the impact that the war had here. The Rooms staff will be available to collect stories and document photographs and artifacts. Help us preserve stories of the First World War before they are lost. The information gathered will be used to develop a new permanent exhibition on The Great War to open in 2016. More Information:  http://www.therooms.ca/firstworldwar/default.asp

 

A Call to Arms: Commemoration of the outbreak of the First World War

Archival Moment

August 4, 1914 – August 4, 2014

War has broken out with Germany

War has broken out with Germany

At exactly 9:25 p.m., August 4, 1914, Newfoundland Time, a telegram was received by Governor Davidson at Government House in St. John’s, advising him that Great Britain had declared war on Germany, and that Newfoundland was thus at war.

Governor Davidson immediately issued a “Call to Arms” and subsequently many Newfoundland men answered the call to serve in the Royal Naval Reserve, the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, the Merchant Marine, the Newfoundland Forestry Service, the Royal Flying Corps, the Canadian Army, the Volunteer Aid Detachments, and other units of the allied services.

Many Newfoundland women volunteered for service as nurses and ambulance drivers. The women of Newfoundland formed 250 branches of the Women’s Patriotic Association, a response and involvement without parallel in the British Empire.

On Monday evening, August 4, 2014, the Basilica of St. John the Baptist and St. Bonaventure’s College will host an ecumenical service of remembrance to mark the exact moment when Governor Davidson received the telegram.

The community, young and old and of all faith backgrounds are invited to gather for a unique celebration of remembrance and a re-commitment to peace in our time.

In First World War song, poetry, band music, story and prayer, travel back in time and stand in solidarity with the leaders, the youth and the families who gave of themselves so generously, and have continued to do so in the conflicts that have continued to plague our human family.

All are invited to join in this unique commemoration to mark the 100th anniversary of “The War to End All Wars.”

EVENT: Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Outbreak of World War I

DATE: AUGUST 4, 2014

TIME: 8:15 – 9:30 p.m.

SITE: Basilica-Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

For more information on the event contact: Gary Browne: gary.browne@nf.sympatico.ca   or the Basilica Cathedral Parish 754-2170.

Recommended Archival Collection: Distinguished Service: the Royal Newfoundland Regiment in the Great War, this online exhibition documents the lives and experiences of the province’s soldiers and aims to encourage interest in research on the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. The World War I service records of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment are available at the archives on microfilm. http://www.therooms.ca/regiment/part1_entering_the_great_war.asp

Recommended Exhibit: Pleasantville: From Recreation to Military Installation. Level 2 Atrium Pleasantville before the First World War was the site of the St. John’s cricket grounds. With the declaration of war, Pleasantville quickly emerged as a tent city, the home of the storied “First 500”. It was here that the First Newfoundland Regiment recruits began preliminary military training during the months of September and October of 1914. This exhibition highlights some of the activities and training of the Blue Puttees up to their embarkation on the SS Florizel for overseas service.

RecruitingCOLLECTING THE GREAT WAR ENLISTING YOUR HELP: The Rooms needs your help to tell the stories of the men and women who served overseas and at home during the First World War and the impact that the war had here. The Rooms staff will be available to collect stories and document photographs and artifacts. Help us preserve stories of the First World War before they are lost. The information gathered will be used to develop a new permanent exhibition on The Great War to open in 2016. More Information: http://www.therooms.ca/firstworldwar/default.asp

Saying prayers: not reason enough for desertion.

Archival Moment

July 24, 1882

Photo Credit:  The Rooms Provincial Archives. A 44-41; Grand Bank, headquarters for the prosecution of the Bank fishery.

Photo Credit: The Rooms Provincial Archives. A 44-41; Grand Bank, headquarters for the prosecution of the Bank fishery.

There was a time in Newfoundland history when most fishermen worked under a contract with the merchant families, a contract that was embedded in legislation known as the “Of Masters and Servants Act.”

Many firms operating from Newfoundland ports such as Allan Goodridge and Sons from Renews on the Southern Shore required bank fishers to sign written contracts guaranteeing to remain with the employer for the duration of the voyage, “from the first of April till the last of October next.” 

Leaving employment prior to the end of the trip constituted desertion – a criminal offence punishable by a jail sentence of thirty to sixty days. John Carew and Andrew Armstrong of Witless Bay opted to desert in July 1882.

The two Witless Bay men were quickly apprehended and brought before Judge James Gervé Conroy, a stipendiary magistrate and judge of the Central District Court., St. John’s.

The defendants, Carew and  Armstrong, were shipped as share men on the ‘J.A. Smith’ a ship owned by Allan Goodridge and Sons to prosecute the bank fishery. Alan Goodridge & Son was one of the most successful firms in Newfoundland. The firm had branches throughout the colony including the home port of Renews. The Registry of Newfoundland Vessels reveals that the Goodridge’s were one of the largest vessel owners in that era, registering 197 vessels between 1834 and 1917.

Carew and Armstrong stood before the good judge on July 24, 1882  and argued that “the Captain was not gentlemanly in his conduct.”  They explained to the judge that the vessel, ‘J.A. Smith’ went into the Harbour of Renews to replenish her stock of bait where they had no choice but to dessert.

As a cause for their leaving, they told the judge that the Captain came aboard one Sunday evening and asked them why they did not go to prayers while they were in Renews.  The furious Captain explained “That they could not expect the voyage to prosper with them unless they went to their duty (prayers and holy mass) when the chance offered.

They argued that they did not go into the town of Renews for prayers because they “were ashamed to be seen on shore on account of the slanderous manner in which the Captain had talked about them to the people there.”

The defendants argued that the Captain had committed a breach of marine etiquette by lecturing to them upon a matter that was not contained in the articles of their agreement, (attending prayers).

The two had enough. They took a dory and rowed towards the shore, bidding farewell to the Captain and the remaining portion of his gallant crew.

They then started for St. John’s and whilst on their way, were overtaken by Constable Daw who proceeded in bringing them before the sanctuary of justice.

Judge Conroy having heard the story was not in the least sympathetic.  He argued that they should have made complaint, if they had any, before the magistrate in Ferryland,  (the community with a court nearest to Renews) instead of endeavoring to come to St. John’s  to escape desertion, and in taking a dory to affect their desertion they had rendered themselves liable six months imprisonment.

Judge Conroy was apparently feeling somewhat lenient; at least he thought so, punishing the two Witless Bay fishermen to thirty days for leaving their service “without good and sufficient cause.”

Recommended Archival Collection:  The Maritime History Archive, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. Johns, holds 70% of the Crew Agreements from 1863-1938, and 80% of the Agreements from 1951-1976. The crew agreements include particulars of each member of the crew, including name (signature), age, place of birth, previous ship, place and date of signing, capacity  and particulars of discharge (end of voyage, desertion, sickness, death, never joined etc). http://www.mun.ca/mha/

Recommended Reading: The Rule of the Admirals: Law, Custom, and Naval Government in Newfoundland, 1699-1832. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2003.

Recommended Reading:  The Newfoundland Bank Fishery: Government Policies and the Struggle to Improve Bank Fishing Crews’ Working, Health and Safety Conditions. Fred Winsor, B.A., MIA.  Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1996.