100 Years Ago: Sailings All Cancelled

~ Laurel Bishop

The Intelligencer August 8, 1914 (page 3)

“The Belleville tourists, who are at present at Hotel Cecil, in London, England, cable: “Sailings all cancelled; don’t know when we shall be home. All well; don’t worry.” This is the information received by Mrs. L.E. Allen this morning. Mr. C.J. Bowell writes: “They had just returned from Paris and Brussels, Belgium, where they had been visiting,” adding, “where in fact the populace are wild.”

100 Years Ago: The Call to Arms

~ Laurel Bishop

The Intelligencer August 7, 1914 (page 1)

“In response to Canada’s call for men and a special regimental order by Lt.-Col. Marsh, commanding officer of the Fifteenth Regiment, of this city, last evening there was a great gathering at the Armouries here. Not only young men, but older men were out in full force, and not a few women. …

Shortly after eight o’clock Col. Marsh had the men assembled and addressed them briefly. …  Great Britain was at present face to face with a great crisis. …  We owe a duty to the flag that has protected us for all these years. …  Loud cheers were given at the close of the Colonel’s remarks, and the work of enlisting was gone on with. In one company over forty enlisted, and the other seven companies enrolled a large number.

Postcard ca. 1912 showing a view of Bridge Street East, Belleville, with the Armouries, City Hall, and Post Office. The Armoury building was a major enlistment centre for volunteers.
Postcard ca. 1912 showing a view of Bridge Street East, Belleville, with the Armouries, City Hall, and Post Office. The Armoury building was a major enlistment centre for volunteers.

 

100 Years Ago

~ Amanda Hill

From the Newspaper Published in Belleville, Ontario

This is a series of articles selected and edited from the Intelligencer newspapers during the war years 1914-1918. Canada was brought into the First World War on August 4, 1914, when Britain declared war on Germany.

Community Archives volunteer Laurel Bishop has researched the Intelligencer newspapers (published in Belleville, Ontario) to find reports about local men and women who served in the war and evidence of how the war affected life on the home front.

Edited excerpts from the newspapers appeared on the Archives web site exactly 100 years after the day they were published in the newspaper. Complete copies of all articles can be viewed at the Archives. Note that many of the images with the articles are from other collections at the Archives – they were not printed in the newspaper but are included here to illustrate the people or places under discussion.