Hidden Histories

SASKATOON’S GREAT WAR MEMORIALS

A Collaborative Project between the City of Saskatoon and By Eric Story the University of Saskatchewan Community Engaged-History Collaboratorium UofS Faculty Supervisor – Dr. Keith Carlson

City of Saskatoon Supervisor – Kevin Kitchen “Hidden Histories” tells the stories of these pieces of art, yet it also speaks to Saskatoon’s collective story. Although these memorials remain rooted in one specific place in the city, the stories behind these memorials are not. As the memorials grow older, new generations tell new stories about them, some based in fact, others in myth. Like tales passed from an aging grandfather to Top of the Hugh Cairns Memorial Photo by Eric Story his grandson, they change INTRODUCTION “Hidden Histories . . . as they are passed along, speaks of Saskatoon’s shaped by the generations story.” who inherit these stories. And so here is my chance ave you ever walked toon enlisted, 5,602 men signed to tell our generation’s story down the street and up in the city, many travelling from about the memorials. I have Hwondered, “What is neighbouring communities to ac- tried to give voice to the that statue for?” or “Why is quire a uniform and fight for king individual, and less to the that there?”? This magazine, and country. stones that commemorate them. I hope I have done “Hidden Histories: Saska- By the time the Armistice was them justice. toon’s Great War Memori- declared on 11 November 1918, als,” provides answers to a Saskatoon had undergone a pro- few of these questions. found transformation. The four- “Hidden Histories” is a year long conflict brought about seven-essay compilation heated ethnic divides, prohibition, of Saskatoon’s memory of women’s suffrage, and, of course, the First World War. Fought death and mourning. Beginning between 1914 and 1918, in 1920, the community began the Great War had a deep to mark the war with public art in impact on the community of order to remember the war and Saskatoon. Although it is un- commemorate the men who had clear how many from Saska- fallen. I 1 CONTENTS

“This memorial is a living thing”: The University of Saskatchewan Memorial Gates 1

ach age has left me- The Story of the Saskatoon Cenotaph 3 E morials of what they thought worthy of honour and reverence. The pyr- The University of Saskatchewan’s Memorial Rib- amids of Egypt, the tem- bons 8

School Spirit: The Nutana Collegiate Memorial Art Gallery 12

“How our fate was changed and by whose hand”: 8 The University of Saskatchewan’s 46th Battalion Stone 17

ples of Greece, the Cathe- drals of the Middle Ages The Hugh Cairns Memorial 19 . . . reveal and reflect the highest and best of the thoughts of their time. Talmage Lawson and the Star-Phoenix Clock 24 12

This age will be judged by the memorials which it has left of the services of its sons and daughters. Walter Murray, 1928 II “This memorial is a living thing”

The University of Saskatchewan Memorial Gates

uilding a campus memorial a nervous breakdown, resulting in was not a foregone con- an extended leave from the uni- clusion following the Great versity for five months. By 1921, War. Delays immediately Murray still had not made a deci- after the war, and financial diffi- sion about the form the memorial culties left the university with a

would take. Saskatchewan University of Archives & Special Collections difficult decision. Were they able to erect a suitable memorial? In May 1923, Murray began to correspond with the university’s Nineteen eighteen was not original architect, David R. Brown, easy for the University of Sas- about a campus memorial. He katchewan. President Walter had remained in communication Murray called it the university’s with Brown since the university “most trying” year. Twenty-four U opened in 1909. Subsequently, of S soldiers were killed on the in 1926, a Memorial Committee battlefields. And in October, cam- was appointed to “look into the pus was quarantined as a result of matter of a suitable Memorial to be the Spanish Influenza Epidemic, erected on University grounds, in General J.F.L. Embury continuing to rattle the commemoration of institution to its very those Professors and a tangible sign of the communi- foundations. Students who served ty’s determination to remember in the Great War.” the fallen and, by extension, the Despite the Saskatchewan University of Archives & Special Collections, A-5542 They decided that values for which they died.” In the adversity the univer- the most suitable case of the U of S, this memorial sity faced, President form of a memorial project would be one undertaken Murray believed it would take the by the entire campus community, imperative that the shape of Memo- whether one was a student, staff U of S boys who rial Gates. Brown member or alumni. Past and pres- fell overseas were would be the ent members of the U of S would remembered for builder. all lend a hand in the construction generations to come. of the Memorial Gates. And so, beginning in In order to pay for August 1918, he wrote the construction of But a memorial was still prema- to various compa- President Walter Murray, the Memorial Gates, ture. In September 1924, Murray nies, enquiring about c. 1935 the Memorial Commit- corresponded once more with his the costs of a memo- tee began a fundraising architect, Brown. In a rather casu- rial plaque or tablet. But he was campaign. A $10,000 goal was al letter, he reads more matter of delayed. Between 1919 and 1920, set, and alumni were targeted. As fact than concerned: “The gates the university entered a period of historian Jonathon Vance points must wait until times are better,” crisis, when Murray was accused out, the construction of a memorial he wrote. The U of S had run into of falsifying a financial report given “stood as public affirmation of the some financial difficulties. The to a M.L.A. Although the charges people’s desire to keep the faith: construction of the gates would were proven untrue, Murray had the erection of a memorial was have to be postponed. 1 In 1927, fundraising had also As for future generations, Em- reached a standstill. By February, bury said, current students had donated “. . . the gates will serve as a $1,000 to the Memorial Fund, but reminder of the greatest war in still, only $5,000 total had been history and of the triumph to which

received by the Memorial Com- Photo from it ended. It will keep alive their mittee. The Committee Chair and Canada and the Great World War love of their native land and will past mayor of Saskatoon, Howard probably arouse in their hearts the McConnell, found this unaccept- same desire to fight and die for able. In a circular sent to all alum- their country that was responsible ni, he asked, “Do you want the for the sacrifice of those whose Members of Convocation and the names are on the tablets.” Alumni to fail in the first important project they have undertaken? I Embury saw this memorial as a don’t think you do. Do your part tool of recruitment and a represen- then in seeing that the Alumni tation of Canadian nationalism. make good their commitments. He continued, “This memorial, John Ross Macpherson, c. therefore, is to us a living thing. It Is that too much to ask?” McCo- 1914 nnell was playing on the guilty should not only remind us of the two different, yet inextricably tied consciences of the recipients of losses we suffered but it should meanings. The first applied to the his circular in words that echoed cause us to look forward with present generation. It represented those of war-time Canada. He gratitude to the years of peace the sadness of the families whose was appealing to their patriotism that lie ahead as a result of those loved ones had been lost in the and duty to the university––which sacrifices.” Great War, yet also the “glorious was to remember those who had The memorial triumph they fallen for a greater cause than is a “living [the soldiers] themselves. If alumni refused to thing,” in part, achieved contribute, they were to be con- because it and that sidered post-war shirkers who had regener- should make Photo by Eric Story failed their institution. The Great ated the them glad.” War may have passed, but the memory of John Ross attitudes of the era had not. those who Macpher- had fallen Financial difficulties eventually son’s father, in the war. It passed, and on 3 May 1928, the Douglas, gave those in Memorial Gates were unveiled agreed. attendance to the public. At 2:30 PM, Briga- Immediate- A poppy in front of the Memorial Gates of the unveiling a sense of dier General J.F.L. Embury of the ly afterward, he wrote closure. Yet that closure 28th Battalion gave his speech. President Murray, saying: did not mean the end. On the For him, the Memorial Gates had “I have just written father and contrary, the Memorial Gates were mother [John’s grandparents] to be used, once the construction University of Saskatchewan University of Archives & Special Collections, A-532 a detailed account of the of the university was complete, service and of the Banquet as the main entrance to campus. in the evening, and have It would be both a “utilitarian and endeavoured to convey an aesthetic memorial.” In doing to them something of the so, the Memorial Gates would live tremendous pride I felt in up to the name Saskatoon news- hearing from yourself and paper columnists gave it: “ The from so many others such Memorial Gateway.” sincere words of affection

The Memorial Ribbons, 2015 and admiration for Ross.” 2 A “Desire for unity, goodwill and real endeavour”

The Story of the Saskatoon Cenotaph

The year was 1928. Unknown to the public at the time, the Stock Market Crash of 1929 was just around the corner. And Saskatoon did not yet have a memorial to the dead of the Great War. Veterans, politicians and citizens banded together for a remarkably fast twenty-month campaign to erect Sas- katoon’s Cenotaph. But it was not easy. And it was not without controversy. Photo by Eric Story

The Clock Tower of the Saskatoon Cenotaph

3 “TO PERPETUATE THE MEMO- RY AND DEEDS OF THOSE WHO HAVE FALLEN OR WHO DIE IN THE FUTURE; TO PROMOTE AND CARE FOR MEMORIALS TO THEIR VALOUR AND SACRIFICE.”

I recognize your difficulties,” would set in motion events that Legion entered into discussions thundered Field-Marshal Earl would eventually culminate in the with City Council about a poten- “Haig. The former unveiling of the city’s tial municipal war memorial. City Commander-in-Chief very own cenotaph in Council appeared eager. of the British Armies Saskatchewan University of Archives & Special Collections, XXIV_016_05 1929. On 12 March 1928, planning (which included the Following its for a war memorial in Saskatoon Canadian Corps) was founding, the Cana- commenced when a formal reso- addressing a rally dian Legion would lution was passed in City Council. of 3,000 Canadian draw up a Consti- The projected cost of the memorial ex-servicemen in tution outlining its was $15,000, jointly funded by the Ottawa in June 1925. goals and aims. Of city and the Legion. By the end of “We ourselves (in Brit- the nineteen, only April, City Council had appointed ain) were faced with one addressed a Cenotaph Committee that would them, but, given the fallen soldiers: work in coordination with the desire for unity, good- “To perpetuate the Legion’s own committee. And it will and real endeavor, Field-Marshal Earl Haig, memory and deeds of was during this April meeting that they can be overcome.” 1921 those who have fallen the first suggestion for the form Haig was hoping to or who die in the future; of Saskatoon’s war memorial was amalgamate all Canadian veteran to promote and care for memorials made: memorial gates. groups into one single organiza- to their valour and sacrifice; to pro- tion. Between 1917 and 1925, as Interestingly, the University of vide suitable burial, and to keep Saskatch- many as fifteen national veterans’ an annual organizations were founded. Each ewan was memori- only days group pushed its own agenda, al day.” leading to confusion as to what the CommonwealthPhoto Courtesy of War Graves Commission away Following from exactly these ex-servicemen the prin- wanted and ultimately needed. unveil- ciples of ing its Yet Haig’s call for cohesion struck this aim, a chord amongst Canadian vet- own by 1928, memo- erans. By November, an umbrella Saskatch- organization was founded. It rial–– ewan which it would be called the Canadian Le- Com- gion of the British Empire Service seems mand, by no League. Little did the City of Sas- Saskatoon The Menin Gate at Ypres, katoon realize that Haig’s speech Beglium coincidence were also Branch of the Canadian memorial gates. Sas-

Photo by Eric Story katoon’s memorial gates, it was proposed, were to be placed at the entrance of Next-Of-Kin Memorial Avenue. Only five years earlier, in 1923, 265 trees were planted along this avenue in memory of each individual soldier who died in the Great War. It would be a fitting cap to this memorial if gates were The top half of the 4 Saskatoon Cenotaph, 2015 toon’s tradition of war memorials. Belgium had also just unveiled its famous Menin Gate in 1927 commemorating nearly 55,000 dead Commonwealth soldiers whose graves were unknown. Despite a tendency to construct similar memorials, the idea for a gateway in Saskatoon was soon Photo by Eric Story cast aside. A week after the unveiling of the university’s Memorial Gates on 4 May, City Council decided the location of the memorial would be better suited near the center of the city. Memorial gates would simply be too large for the busi- ness district of Saskatoon. But The Saskatoon Cenotaph’s base plaque. It reads, “In glorious memory of those from this city and district who at the call of King and Country adventured forth and gave their fall for the cause of right before proceeding any further, the and freedom. See to it that their names be not forgotten.” Cenotaph Committee announced a contest. A $250 prize would be offered for the best cenotaph UASC, XXIV_016_05 UASC, JGD1829XB design. City Council asked that “ I recognize your “Keep green the cenotaph have a chiming clock difficulties. But, the mem- because “it would serve a more given the desire ory of the useful and practical purpose than for unity, good- sacrifice of will and real those who merely a memorial of stone or oth- endeavor, they died as the er materials with a plaque.” The can be over- result of war utilitarian aspect of the memorial

come.” services.” would remain. A memorial to the – Field-Marshal Earl Haig, – M.A. Macpherson, June 1925 Cenotaph Unveiling, 11 past that spoke to the present and November 1929 future remained of utmost impor- tance. erected on the Memorial Gates shady street. And in May 1928 and At the same time as democ- this idea undoubt- the soon-to-be ratizing the process of creating a edly would have completed Nutana municipal cenotaph, however, City resonated among Collegiate Me- Council did not allow everyone to the Saskatoon morial Art Gallery participate. One of the conditions population. Dually were not just static of the competition was that it was aesthetic and relics dedicated “open to any British Citizen, resid- utilitarian memo- to past genera- ing in Canada.” This requirement rials had been tions, but useful served to further one of the myth’s erected around for the present of Canada’s Great War: that it Saskatoon since and future. They had brought about a “melting pot, the early 1920s. spoke of the past, in which all inhabitants would be The Star-Phoenix but also point- rendered” British-Canadian. In Clock in 1920, Advertisement in ed to the future. reality, this “melting pot” idea only the University of The Saskatoon Phoenix, Another memorial fed pre-existing institutions such Saskatchewan’s 2 June 1928 gateway would fall as assimilation. Unfortunately, the in line with Saska- Cenotaph’s contest is an excellent 5 example of exactly that. voiced his own concerns––chiefly still there. Through their donations After the contest had been traffic flow. He also pointed out the to the Legion, participation in the announced, the fundraising location of the Fire Department, cenotaph contest, and the public campaign began, as well as the and the potential inaccessibility of debates about the location, the recommendations for the loca- their vehicles if the cenotaph was citizens of Saskatoon showed tion. By June 1928, the Legion placed there. If there was any they cared and found important had raised $3,810, with help from controversy over the cenotaph the construction of their very own The Saskatoon Phoenix’s daily campaign, location was it. cenotaph. advertising. But the location of the It was not until 5 November Years passed, and the city cenotaph remained undecided. 1928 that City Council returned to grew. By 1957, the Cenotaph had Council thought it best to decide the debate about the location of become a traffic hazard. City on the location after the contest’s the cenotaph. An interesting deci- Hall had been moved the previ- conclusion. sion was made. Regardless of the ous year, and it was decided the On 8 August, City Council controversy, Council believed the Cenotaph would move with it onto announced the winner of the purpose of the cenotaph was more its grounds. During the night of cenotaph contest. F.H. Portnall, a important than the location, and 15 August 1957, the Cenotaph Regina architect and Great War thus should be built at the original was dismantled on Twenty-First, veteran, was selected as the victor proposed location at Twenty-Third and moved to its new home just out of fourteen applicants. It was and Third. Ten years after the war, southeast of the entrance to City a simple design. Almost twen- fallen soldiers remained engrained Hall, where it rests today. It is only ty-eight feet high, the cenotaph in the minds of Saskatoon’s meters away from where the city would feature a four-faced clock citizens. Council was so ada- councilors of 1928 and 1929 ini- at the top. Engraved around each mant about the importance of the tially hoped it would be located. clock would be a Union Jack, and cenotaph that traffic flow and basic above each engraving would be a services were of lesser concern. crown, signifying the “participation And although Council eventually of the Empire in the Great War.” backed down, and changed the The top of the cenotaph would location of the Cenotaph to Twen- be finished with a pyramidal cap. ty-First Street and Second Ave- It was a fitting memorial to a city nue, their stubbornness demon- that honoured its British heritage. strated how the importance of the Thus, it was of no coincidence that Great War remained in Saskatoon. it resembled Edwin Lutyens’ Ceno- On 11 November 1929, Sas- taph at Whitehall. It too unique, katoon’s Cenotaph was unveiled Photo by Eric Story however. It was Saskatoon’s to the public. Three thousand Cenotaph. stood in attendance. One of the But the location remained speakers was the Attorney Gen- undetermined. Shortly after the eral of Saskatchewan, Major M.A. contest’s conclusion, City Coun- MacPherson. He saw the ceno- cil expressed its interest in the taph as having two meanings: “. . . intersection of Twenty-Third Street the first to keep green the memory and Third Avenue as a possible of the sacrifice of those who died as the result of war services, the The Saskatoon Cenotaph, location for the cenotaph. But this 2015 decision was met with controver- second to remind the citizens that sy. City Engineer G.D. Archibald there are peacetime duties which wrote a letter to Council on 28 they owed their countries.” But September, reminding them of the perhaps the cenotaph had a third manhole located at that intersec- meaning. It demonstrated that in tion. Chief Constable G.M. Donald the hearts of Saskatonians, the fallen men of the Great War were 6 $ By the Numbers $ The Costs of Saskatoon’s Great War Memorials

• The University of Saskatchewan Memorial Gates $31,792.51

• The Saskatoon Cenotaph $18,769.93

• The University of Saskatchewan Memorial Ribbons ???

• The Nutana Collegiate Memorial Art Gallery $7,498.36

• The 46th Battalion Stone ???

• The Hugh Cairns Memorial ???

• The Star-Phoenix Clock ???

$56,268.29+

Who designed these Check the answers memorials? on page 11! ?? !! 7 The University of Saskatchewan Memorial Ribbons

Men were dying at their highest rate

The U of S felt it had to somehow remember its soldiers

And so in March 1916

Each soldier was given a scroll in the old College Building.

Their names would not be forgotten

The Memorial Ribbons, 2015 Photo by Eric Story

8 y 1914, the individual soldier Professor of English spoke of teaching as was celebrated throughout at the U of S, is just a “long and weary

B the Western world. The revo- one. An Irishman of Saskatchewan University of Archives & Special Collections, A-3157 road, which must lutions of the 1880s in Europe and birth, he immigrated be travelled before America spawned the beginnings to Saskatoon in 1909 I reach anything of military voluntarism, which, in to take up the profes- approaching my turn, created the “citizen-soldier.” sorship of English. U ideal.” This ideal, The citizen-soldier was patriot- of S President Walter however, could ic––someone who put his life on Murray and University never be reached, hold for his country. At the Univer- of Toronto President nor should it ever sity of Saskatchewan, it was no Robert Falconer be expected. different. The citizen-soldier was recruited Bateman For “As long as a held in high regard. Many of the from his home in man struggles, he is university’s soldiers were profes- Ireland, yet he was advancing; when he

sors and staff, students and recent quite pleased at what Photo by Eric Story ceases to struggle, graduates who had bright futures awaited him in Saska- he has ceased ahead of them. It is no surprise, toon. After receiving to advance; and then, the University of Saskatch- a pamphlet about the when he ceas- ewan created its city, he es to advance, it is own honour roll to wrote Reginald Bateman, c. 1914, almost certain that he commemorate its to above; His memorial ribbon, has commenced to go Photo by Eric Story citizen-soldiers. In Mur- 2015, below backward,” he declared. the College Build- ray On 3 September 1918, ing (now named in August 1909: a shell exploded at his feet in the the Peter MacKin- “[The pamphlet] trenches of France. His body was non Building), 350 makes never recovered. names decorate its Example of a memorial it ribbon One of Bateman’s hallways on the first and out to be earliest detractors second floors. an Earthly was young John The idea to create a university Paradise on a small Ross Macpherson, Photo from honour roll originated at a meet- scale, so I am quite another name ing of the Board of Governors in looking forward to Canada and the Great World War on the universi- March 1916. The Board elected sharing in its delight.” ty’s honour roll. to “have the names of all stu- These pamphlets Macpherson was dents, and others connected with were small promo- an early editor the University who have enlisted tional pieces advertis- and news cor- painted on the ‘ribbons’ in the cor- ing the “all-pervading respondent for the ridors.” By May, painting was well spirit of Prosperity” student-run uni- underway. What prompted this Saskatoon pos- versity newspaper, decision was the high rate of en- sessed. The authors The Sheaf. When listment in 1916. Sixty-three of the of these pamphlets Bateman enlisted in 116 enlistees of that year joined were obviously careful Photo by Eric Story September 1914, between 21 February and 6 April. to avoid speaking of Macpherson was Enlistment was at its peak rate. Saskatoon’s weather one of the first The university had to find a way conditions between to vilify the Irish- to honour those who were serv- November and March. man’s decision. After ing. They found it in the Memorial Improvement John Ross Macpherson, c. a recruitment speech 1914, above; his memorial Ribbons. was Bateman’s life ribbon, 2015, below Bateman gave on the Who is on this honour roll? philosophy. In a lecture eve of his departure Reginald Bateman, the first he gave an Education class, he in October, Macpherson, in The 9 Sheaf’s editorial of the November is Robert Gloag, a forty three- edition, accused the professor year-old painter. He enlisted in of having a “Viking-like thirst for March 1916, and survived the war.

glory.” Worst of all, he had aban- He would return to Saskatoon, Photos by Eric Story doned his students mid-semester. continuing his work as a paint- Macpherson himself would er on university grounds. Claire eventually enlist in March 1915. Rees stands the lone woman in After arriving at Montreal for train- the company of 349 men on the ing, he wrote to President Murray honour roll. She enlisted as a about the “general excellence Voluntary Aid Detachment Nurse, and was sent to Manchester. RememberUS’s additions to the of health” among the university Memorial Ribbons While overseas, she married the boys. He was proud to be serving moved to the east coast. He would head of the U of S’s School of his country. Only a year and a bit eventually die at the young age of Engineering, Lieutenant Chalmers later, his attitude had changed fifty-one. Hayden argues that he Jack Mackenzie. Both her and her drastically. Writing again to Mur- was too well-known a figure on husband returned home after the ray, Macpherson gave a report campus for the omission to be an war. Mackenzie eventually be- of the First University Company oversight. Attitudes towards men- came the Dean of the College of from Saskatoon. tal illness during the Great War Engineering. Twenty-nine of the likely played a role in this unfortu- fifty-four he men- By the time the nate decision.

tioned had been Photo by Eric Story honour roll was The phenomenon of the citi- either wound- painted, eigh- zen-soldier heavily influenced the ed or killed. A Photo by Eric Story teen names had creation of a university Honour general sense been missed. Roll. The initial list commemorated of weariness bled This oversight was those from the U of S who served through the pages not corrected for such as Reginald Bateman and written to Murray: Robert Gloag’s memorial ribbon nearly a hundred Claire Rees, but eighteen were “It has been a long years. On 7 August forgotten. RememberUS corrected year, this in France,” Macpherson 2014, the U of S Great War Com- this oversight in 2014. And now, in wrote, “and our time of training in memoration Committee (Remem- 2015, ninety-nine years after the Canada seems an experience of berUS)––with help from Professor first black stroke was painted on some life lived long ago. War is Emeritus Michael Hayden––un- those yellow ribbons in the Col- not quite what we used to picture. veiled an eighteen-name plaque lege Building, the Honour Roll is It is a grim business.” In only in the Peter MacKinnon Building. complete. Or is it? RememberUS sixteen months, Macpherson had One of the additions, as Hayden added eighteen more names, but been transformed into a hard- points out, is long overdue. Louis apprehension still lingers in those ened warrior. He Brehaut was old halls that someone remains enjoyed the short the Professor of missing. Much research still has

pauses from the Photo by Eric Story Philosophy and to be done about the U of S and crack of guns, but Greek before the Great War. Perhaps the years he missed home. he enlisted in leading up to 2018 will see new Sadly, he too 1914. In August scholars shedding light into those would die. During 1915, while sta- darkened corners of history. Only the Hundred Days tioned in England, then will we will feel comfortable Offensive, he was Claire Rees’ memorial ribbon he was diagnosed and confident that all of the univer- killed on 26 August with shell shock. He sity’s citizen-soldiers have been 1918. returned home and taught until honoured for their sacrifice. Countless other names line the 1918, but felt his condition did not hallways of the Peter MacKinnon allow him to carry out his du- Building. One of these names ties to the fullest. He retired and 10

FEATURE

WHO’S Some innovators, architects and designers of Saskatoon’s Great War memorials WHO?

A.J. Pyke was hired as the second principal of the Saskatoon Collegiate In- stitute (later to be named the Nutana Collegiate) in 1915. He remained in this University of Saskatchewan University of Archives and Special Collections, A-3207 position until 1923, when he resigned his principalship to become a professor of mathematics at the University of Saskatchewan. In 1921, Pyke wrote to an artist, saying that “our students decided to establish an Art Gallery as a memorial to the students and ex-students of the Saskatoon Collegiate Institute, who lost their lives in the Great War.” His successor and vice-principal, A.W. Cameron, disagreed. He claimed that Pyke was responsible for the establishment of the Art Gallery. After his death, an ex-student of Pyke’s spoke of him being “intensely loy- al, unselfish beyond belief, excessively modest, [and] the same of honesty.” A.J. Pyke Perhaps his modesty did not allow him to take credit for the founding of the gallery. Or perhaps he was telling the truth. We may never know.

W.F. Herman came to Saskatoon with his family in 1906. A farmer’s life did not agree with him, however, and he soon found himself working in the local newspaper office. Sadly, in October 1915, one of Herman’s close friends and colleagues Talmage

Photo courtesy of Photo courtesy of Lawson died fighting overseas. Herman was devastated. Five years later, in or- der to keep the memory of his partner and friend alive, he purchased and ded-

The Windsor StarThe Windsor icated a clock that would stand outside of his office. It would become known as the Star-Phoenix Clock. Soon after the war, Herman left Saskatoon, perhaps because of the intensity of the loss he felt or because of business opportunities in eastern Canada. What- ever his motivations, he purchased another newspaper, this time in Windsor, which would later become known as The Windsor Star. W.F. Herman His obituary read in 1938: “He never sought personal glory and he disliked ostentation. His tastes were simple and his manner of living plain. He wanted to be a good citizen and good newspaperman. He was both.”

11 but also Saskatoon and the great nation of Canada. School The next step was finding art appropriate for the gallery. Pyke decided to leave this task to his friend and amateur artist, David Wilkie. This decision demonstrates Spirit that beyond purchasing Canadian art, the Saskatoon Collegiate had no direction for the composition of their memorial art gallery. None- Nutana Collegiate has an art gallery. theless, by June 1919, Wilkie had purchased six paintings for the It is worth $10 million. It all started collegiate. Herbert Palmer’s Hunt- ing Scene and William St. Thom- with the First World War. as-Smith’s Fishing Village present ominous scenes of the coming autumn and a storm at sea. These scenes are direct reflections of the war. On the other hand, Alex ne of Saskatoon’s hidden “When deciding on this form of M. Fleming’s Credit River invokes treasures is the Nutana Memorial, the students were a scene of “rugged beauty” and Collegiate Memorial Art actuated by several motives, peacefulness, signifying the end of Gallery. Established in 1919, among which might be mentioned the war. Wilkie’s choices were in- the Memorial Art Gallery grew to a desire to formulate interest in Art deed “very traditional landscapes, twenty-nine paintings by 1926, and among the boys and girls attend- quaint glimpses of Canadiana, and today, houses over ninety. The ing this school; to encourage in Edwardian character studies,” but collection is currently appraised a small way, our they also reflected a at about $10 million. The original Canadian Artists, mythical view of the twenty-nine, however, had a very by purchasing their Great War in Canada. specific and arguably sacred place pictures; and to

University of Saskatchewan University of Archives and Special Collections, A-3207 The paintings were in the hearts of those who walked provide a medium used to metaphor- the halls of the old collegiate many through which the ically represent years ago. Twenty-nine soldiers spirit of the fallen war and post-war from Nutana Collegiate perished in boys might function peace, but did not the Great War. Each name shines in the building of our directly address on a bronze plaque located at the nation, by stimulating the conflict itself. bottom of the frame of each of the in our boys and girls After Wilkie’s twenty-nine paintings. a richer and deeper untimely death in meaning of educa- In March 1919, students of January 1920, Pyke tion and citizenship.” the Saskatoon Collegiate had an took on the role of idea. It was decided an art gallery As historian Jon- A.J. Pyke, c. 1923 contacting artists and would be established as a memo- athon Vance argues, purchasing their paintings rial to the collegiate’s students and the Nutana Memorial Art Gal- himself. Yet the standardized letter ex-students who had fallen during lery looked backward as well as he sent to various artists reveals the Great War. Yet there was an forward. It remembered the fallen a general lack of knowledge in important second component to men, but also helped foster an the field of art. Between 1920 and this memorial. In a letter to one appreciation of Canadian art. It 1923, Pyke would ask those he of the gallery’s artists, Principal linked the past with the future contacted to “submit one of your Alfred Pyke said, growth of not only the collegiate, best paintings,” often naming one 12 each. In creating a stock company, students who purchased a share could claim to partially own the Memorial Art Gallery. It was a student-owned, student-driven enterprise. Archives of Ontario,Archives of F-1075-12 Even with some financial

Nutana Collegiate Archives Room backing from the Saskatoon Colle- giate’s Board of Governors, costs were not entirely covered for the purchase of the paintings. Once again, the students––particularly female––fundraised the money. For example, the Pauline Club and the N.N.S. Club helped raise the necessary $450 for Marion Long’s E. Wyly Grier, 1931 Pauline in 1924. They were able to er’s painting arrived in June 1923, do so, in part, through the Pauline it was unveiled first to Jack’s fa- Club’s operetta put on that past ther, James, and the following day, year. Thomas W. Mitchell, c. to the entire student body of Nuta- 1921 The Memorial Art Gallery took na Collegiate. The new principal of or two he had seen in the Cat- a sudden and abrupt turn in 1923. Nutana, A.W. Cameron, wrote to alogue of the Annual Exhibition The process of asking for the “best Grier: “It has captivated the hearts of the Ontario Society of Artists. works” of various artists around of the students here, not only The adjudication process was not Canada was wearing dull. And because of its art but because of entirely up to Pyke and the artist, so, in one of his final acts as the its strong personal appeal.” With however. A purchasing committee collegiate’s principal, Pyke wrote Cameron now steering the en- was appointed––consisting solely to artist E. Wyly Grier about an terprise, the Memorial Art Gallery of students––who had the final say “excellent” and “unusually interest- began to move in a new direction. in which painting was chosen. ing” project. Pyke asked Grier if he In taking a more proactive role in Student involvement was a would be willing to paint a picture acquiring art. Nutana could truly key component of the gallery. of “The Spirit of Youth,” which say the gallery was theirs. When the idea to acquire paintings would be a portrait of a “typical By March 1924, Nutana had for an art gallery was proposed, young Westerner.” The subject begun to pursue a companion a joint stock company was creat- would be Jack Cairns, who had piece to Grier’s The Spirit of ed, which the collegiate’s student tragically drowned at Pike Lake Youth. When the purchasing Literary Society executive direct- in 1917 at the young age of only committee was formed in 1924, it ed. Shares were sold at fifty cents fifteen. The decision to use a de- was decided that paintings done ceased young boy––and a civilian only by women would be pur- at that––as the subject demon- chased that year. And although strates the collegiate’s continuing that decision was not honoured, commitment to remembering the Marion Long of Toronto was com- war in a mythical manner. Instead missioned to paint the companion of focusing on the boy’s death, piece. Immediately upon receiv- the painting portrays the boy’s ing confirmation that Long would

Nutana Collegiate Archives Room Archives Nutana Collegiate joyous youth, again avoiding the accept the commission, Cameron realities of the Great War. sent her a picture of poplar trees Using a Saskatonian as the and the riverbank of Saskatoon, painting’s subject also gave the and another one of the school- The Pauline Club, 1919 gallery a local flavour. When Gri- girls’ uniforms, in the hopes that 13 continued to grow. After Long’s, the collegiate acquired one more painting in 1924, and five more in 1925. By the end of the year, they had twenty-seven paintings. And as this collection grew, so did Principal Cameron’s knowl-

LIbrary and Archives Canada, a195925 edge of Canadian art. He became acquainted with the works of the Group of Seven, whom art his- torian Laura Brandon calls “the best-known and most influential group of Canadian artists to have worked in Canada in the twenti- eth century.” As early as summer 1924, Cameron had contacted the director of the National Art Gallery in Ottawa about a close affiliate of the Group of Seven’s, Tom Thomson. Although he was never A.Y. Jackson, 1938 able to acquire any of Thomson’s works, Cameron had entered into “As a memorial to men who fought and died the field of purchasing high art you have a collection with no fight in them.” in Canada. It would, once more, change the direction of the Nutana A.Y. Jackson, 1926 Collegiate Memorial Art Gallery. In late 1926, Cameron wrote to the Group of Seven’s “natu- she would replicate the “personal is the athletic side which is very ral leader,” A.Y. Jackson, asking appeal” of the Grier piece. On highly developed with us and for some suggestions about the 17 October 1924, Pauline was which you will see is very strongly gallery. In a scathing response, unveiled to the public. typified by Grier’s picture of the Jackson called the collection Yet it is important to question boy with his baseball bat and “uniformly dull” and outdated. why the collegiate decided to glove, and there is another and He went on to speak about what have a painting of a girl when the very important phase of our school Nutana could have done, instead Memorial Art Gallery was dedicat- which might be typified in the girls’ of what it did, and concluded his ed to the memory of fallen boys. picture; it is not very easily defined letter by saying that “as a memori- Some may argue women were but it includes the aesthetic, the al to men who fought and died you also involved in the war effort, and ethereal, the social and all their have a collection of pictures with thus should have been commem- love of beauty and purity.” no fight in them.” To Cameron’s orated in this gallery. Cameron’s It seems that Long’s painting–– credit, he followed up Jackson’s hopes of Long’s painting, however, alongside Grier’s––captured the letter with great patience and seem to point to something entire- spirit of Nutana Collegiate. And so, a calm demeanour, explaining ly different. In a letter he wrote her once again, the gallery gained a Nutana’s limited resources and the in May 1924, he said, new meaning. Not only did it rep- remote nature of living in a west- ern prairie city. He also admitted “. . . there are three important resent the memory of their fallen boys, but it now was a physical the original fundraising scheme phases of our school activities, had been scrapped. No longer there is of course, first, the aca- embodiment of Nutana’s school identity. were fifty-cent shares being of- demic side, which includes the fered. Because student investment work of the class room and there Year after year, the gallery 14 was no longer a component of the the music, literature and painting may have imagined their youths, Memorial Art Gallery, the idea of of the Moderns reveal and re- playing in the fields, swinging their acquiring more art began to fade flect the highest and best of the bats in the summer sun, with a away. thoughts of their time. In the years toothy grin of innocence, unbroken Cameron was undeterred. In to come this age will be judged by war. Then again, some may 1925, he had created the Sas- by the memorials which it has left have glanced off to the corner of katoon Art Club, of which he was of the services of its sons and Nutana’s Memorial Library (this president. And in February 1927, daughters . . . [T]hese memorials is where the current art collection he confided to A.Y. Jackson about . . . will testify to our honour and hangs) and seen Off to Flanders’ his plans to establish a “Gallery reverence for those who died that Fields, reminding them of their of Modern Art” in Saskatoon. He we might live in freedom.” voyage overseas and the horrors would do so not through the use The Nutana Memorial Art Gallery that awaited them on the battle- of schools funds, but by “private became a part of the long history, fields of France. We will never subscription.” Yet the collegiate according to Murray, of “honour know exactly what these men still had a duty to complete the and reverence” through built me- would have thought of the gallery memorial aspect of the gallery. morial structures. Yet the gallery because they now belong to the And so Frederick S. Challener’s would also “ennoble and refine the pages of history. Off to Flanders’ Fields was chosen lives of the young for generations.” As for those who composed as the final painting. It was the After the ceremony, Cameron’s the art gallery, there is an obvi- only painting that came close to di- work was not done. By March ous theme: a reluctance to speak rectly addressing the war. It was of 1928, he and Murray had hopes of about the horrors of war. Metaphor passenger ships carrying its green expanding the current art gallery and allegory was used to highlight Canadian troops over to England into a city-wide one. But he ran ideas and thoughts of pre-1914. for training in 1914. into trouble. Money had dried up, Those who attended Nutana Col- On 11 November 1927, Univer- as students thought the fundrais- legiate refused to talk about the sity of Saskatchewan President ing campaign was over. Not only Great War directly because it was Walter Murray gave the Memo- that, but students no longer had so painful. The Memorial Art Gal- rial Address on Armistice Day at a vested interest in something lery made this quite clear. None- Nutana Collegiate at the unveiling in which they were not involved. theless, the gallery was a stu- of Challener’s painting to com- What completed flattened Camer- dent-run, student driven project. It plete the Memorial Art Gallery. on’s hopes for a larger modern art mythologized the war as much as He said, “Better far to observe in gallery, however, was far beyond it commemorated the collegiate’s tense silence this day and speak his control. On 24 October 1929, fallen men. But for that, Nutana not of the horror and the suffering the stock market crashed, signal- should not be faulted. There is that filled the eyes of those who ing the beginning of a ten-year only one Memorial Art Gallery in were the actors in those great depression that rocked Saskatch- Canada, and it has remained a scenes or of the pain with which ewan. The Nutana Memorial Art touching tribute to the twenty-nine the anxious ones listened for the Gallery would remain as it was: a who died too soon. approach of the messenger of ill.” memorial to its fallen students and Do not speak of the horror, Mur- ex-students. ray said; instead, speak of their There is no denying the Nutana innocence, their youth and the joy Diefenbaker Centre, MG01/

Memorial Art Gallery has little XVII/JGD 66 they brought everyone. He also reference to the Great War. But remarked of the important connec- perhaps this is what the deceased tion between past and present: Nutana soldiers would have “Each age has left memorials of wanted. They may have looked what they thought worthy of hon- at Pauline, and remembered their our and reverence. The pyramids first high school crush. Others of Egypt, the temples of Greece, may have looked next to it, and Allan Macmillan, one of the twenty-nine killed who went to the Cathedrals of the Middle Ages, saw The Spirit of Youth. They Nutana Collegiate, 1916 15 FEATURE

Where You At?

Finding a few of Saskatoon’s Look them up on Great War Memorials Google Maps!

~ The 46th Battalion Stone --- 52.131027, -106.632992

~ The Hugh Cairns Memorial --- 52.132429, -106.652188

~ The Star-Phoenix Clock --- 52.130810, -106.657040

16 The 46th Battalion Stone, 2015 Photo by Eric Story

Written In The 46th Battalion Stone is the smallest of Saskatoon’s Great War Memorials. But its meaning is large and everlasting, so long Stone as we choose to remember.

ow many Great War third. One can easily mistake the believed it imperative that the memorials does the Uni- university’s smallest Great War memory of their brothers remain H versity of Saskatchewan memorial for a decorative piece intact. Yet the decision to have it have? A keen observer may say on campus. On the contrary, this placed on campus reveals some- one, while an aging staff mem- stone is so much richer than just a thing even more significant. The ber might count two. But wedged decoration. battalion was born at Moose Jaw, between the Physics Building and The 46th Battalion plaque was so why would Saskatoon be an the Peter MacKinnon Building, and gifted to the university in 1933. appropriate setting for this plaque? nestled underneath a tree lays a Surviving members of the 46th Perhaps it was because of men 17 such as Reginald Bateman, the the U of S. Most U of S men who an entirely fitting name for a unit university’s first Professor of En- fought for the 46th had their best that sustained a 91.5% casualty glish, and as one of his comrades years ahead of them. Thirty two- rate during the Great War. said of him, “one of the best loved year-old Hedley McCreedy was a In the afternoon of 11 Novem- men in the Battalion.” Or maybe it car inspector and teacher when ber 1933, a crowd gathered at was because he enlist- Convocation Hall for the unveiling the battalion’s ed. George of the 46th Battalion’s memorial University of Saskatchewan University of Archives and Special Collections, A-8791 sole Victoria Peters plaque. Seventy members of the Cross winner, was only battalion were in attendance, Hugh Cairns, nineteen, alongside numerous others. lived in Sas- recently Among them were Hugh Cairns’ katoon and employed parents, George and Elizabeth. the campus as an engi- Chairman of the 46th Battalion was one of neer. Sadly, Association, Captain J.S. Wood- the more he would ward, believed that the unveiling aesthetically die at the would “perhaps [be] the last attractive tender age Past photograph of the 46th Battalion ceremony that the unit as such will locations to put it. Stone, c. 1933 of twenty-one on be called upon to celebrate.” And Then again, ac- 3 June. It was his it likely was. After the hymns had cording to Brigadier-General Alex birthday. Both men were without been sung, and the speakers had Ross, who spoke at the unveiling any military experience. But they spoke, the plaque was put away ceremony, the only way to attain put their careers aside, and took until a stone in which to mount it world peace was through “citi- up arms for their country. They was found. Once it was found, the zenship, education and common were true citizen-soldiers. The stone and plaque were put to rest sense.” For this reason, the same can be said for the majority in front of the Peter MacKinnon university was an entirely appro- of the university’s members of the Building. priate place for the 46th Battalion’s 46th Battalion. The university’s third memorial plaque. The exact reasons for its The decision to memorialize chosen location are unknown. is relatively unknown. One must the battalion with a plaque, how- be aware of his or her surround- But the decision to place it in ever, was not a foregone conclu- “The Bowl” demonstrates that the ings to find it. And even when sion. As early as February 1925, one does, it is static and dull. The University of Saskatchewan was there were discussions at the sixth a cherished and important part of stone is uninspiring in comparison Annual Reunion to create “foot- to the Memorial Gates, and rather the 46th Battalion’s identity during stones” as the memorial and place and after the war. simple as opposed to the Memori- them at each grave of a member al Ribbons. Yet the stories behind A Winnipeg woman named M.J. of the 46th. Those present at the this stone are remarkable. The Taylor was the plaque’s designer. following year’s reunion supported plumber-turned-war hero, Hugh And her design reinforces what the motion almost unanimously. Cairns, fought for the 46th, and historian Jonathon Vance calls The 46th also hoped to write a perhaps best represents what the the myth of the citizen-soldier. battalion history to memorialize memorial hoped to commemorate: The image on the plaque depicts its members. A small committee the citizen-soldier. And although it a farmer on the left with a bundle of the battalion was in the midst lays motionless, the memories it of hay, and on the right, a soldier of researching its war diaries in carries live. For the plaque says: raising his helmet to the heavens. November 1926. Yet nothing ever “They are too near to be great, In fighting at the battles named came of it. By November 1933, the but our children shall understand on this plaque, the farmer had only memorial would come in the when and how our fate was effectively been transformed into shape of a plaque. And it was not changed, and by whose hand.” a patriotic citizen-soldier. This until 1978 the battalion received depiction may be myth, but it was its written memorialization. James entirely accurate for a university L. McWilliams and R. James Steel setting at the time––particularly at published The Suicide Battalion, 18 Back of the Hugh Cairns Memorial, 2015 Photo by Eric Story Looking “It was particularly fitting that the monument should Down On be placed on the very field on which the boys had so Us All often played.”

Somewhere stuck in the public conscious of Saskatoon is Hugh Cairns. He was a Great War hero and now has a memorial in his name. Too often forgotten in the myth that has developed around Cairns are those commemorated on his memorial. They were soldiers. They were soccer players. They were also Saska- tonians. 19 ugh Cairns V.C. has in December 1896. He was the and Albert were determined to come to symbolize the third child of eleven to George make the transition from citizen to H Great War in Saskatoon. and Elizabeth Cairns. By 1911, his soldier together. Few locals have trouble conjur- family had immigrated to Canada, Being a part of the 46th Bat- ing up the name plastered on a and found residence in Saskatoon. talion meant Cairns was subject school, an armoury, and a street in Although Cairns did not follow his to some of the bloodiest battles the city. Yet many do not know of father’s career path as a carpen- of the Great War, including Arras, the Hugh Cairns Memorial locat- ter, he did take up a job in the Vimy and Passchendaele in ed on the west side of University trades. By the time he enlisted in 1917, and Amiens in 1918. Cairns Bridge. It lies at the south edge of 1915, Cairns was an apprenticed excelled at soldiering, and imme- Kinsmen Park, and, in the spring, plumber. diately distinguished himself as an summer and early fall, is surround- It is difficult to determine the elite machine gunner. Following ed by a beautiful array of flowers. exact reasons for Cairns’ enlist- the Battle of Vimy Ridge, on 3 Towering above the flowers stands ment. Each and every Canadian June 1917, the 46th was ordered Hugh Cairns, a soccer ball be- enlistee had very personal and dif- to attack the enemy line. When neath his foot, and a hand on his ferent reasons another battal- hip, his gaze stern. From afar, this for enlisting. Yet ion began to re- memorial would seem a perma- it seems a num- treat, Cairns led nent reminder of one man’s impact his machine

ber of factors LIbrary and Archives Canada, 3521878 on a sporting community, as well aided in Cairns’ gun crew for- as the importance of that sport in decision to sign ward, provid- Saskatoon. Upon closer inspec- his attestation ing covering tion, however, the seventy five- papers in Au- fire. Cairns name honour roll of Saskatoon’s gust 1915. One himself re- fallen soccer players located may have been covered two below Cairns’ feet actually demon- his allegiance to of the retreat- strates a profound loss of life, and Canada’s moth- ing battalion’s Carrying in the wounded at the perhaps even the fall of a beloved er country and Cairns’ machine guns, Battle of Vimy Ridge, April 1917 sport in a small city on the banks home, England. Many and turned them on of the South Saskatchewan. English-born soldiers the enemy. One of his Hugh Cairns was born in Ash- hoped to see their families and mates, Bill Musgrove, described ington, Northumberland, England friends once again when enlisting Cairns’ actions: for overseas service. However, the “Cairns saw some of the Germans most important factor in Cairns’ coming out of their trench trying enlistment was his older brother, to cut our men off at the flank. Albert, signing his own papers He lined his gun on them and on the same day. Both described drove them back. His two help- as “keen footballers,” the Cairns ers on the gun were casualties. brothers were inseparable, having He grabbed two men from the “gone through thick and thin retreating battalion and put them together.” Brothers for life, Hugh loading the ammunition drums. LIbrary and Archives Canada, 3191892 Canada, Archives and LIbrary LIbrary and Archives Canada, 3194937 Canada, Archives and LIbrary

The Battle of Passchendaele, Hugh Cairns, c. 1914 November 1917 20 ever planned to come back after was hit and killed. Another bullet Abbie [Albert] got killed.” entered Cairns’ body. When the firefight finally ended, a handful of By November 1918, Cairns’ Germans exited the courtyard with thirst to avenge his brother’s their hands held high. Cairns had death had grown too strong. On 1 killed his fifty Germans. But he too November before the Battle of Va- had lost the fight. The following lenciennes, Cairns was ordered Library and Archives Canada, 3520999 Canada, Archives and Library day, on 2 November, Cairns was to not partake in the upcoming pronounced dead. confrontation. Cairns refused to stand down: “. . . [E]ver since On 1 November 1919, Cairns Albert was laid out beside him . was posthumously awarded the Canadians entering Cambrai, . . [Cairns] always said he had a Victoria Cross for his “superhuman 9 October 1918 lot to get evened up . . . [H]e went deeds” at Valenciennes. He was While his back was turned those before the C.O. and said if he also awarded France’s highest two beat it. Boy, Hughie was mad.” were left behind he would follow honour, the Legion of Honour. In the battalion into action,” one of 1936, a street was named after Afterward, Cairns colourfully told his comrades recalled. Two local him in Valenciennes: L’Avenue the two soldiers’ adjutant of their historians argue that Cairns’ pro- Hugh Cairns. His parents were actions. Alarmed by the young ceeding “superhuman” feats were present at all ceremonies. sergeant’s language, the adju- induced by the death of his older tant recommended Cairns for a Cairns’ story is one of coming- brother. court martial, but Colonel William of-age, heroism and the impact Robert Dawson, instead, decided Cairns hopped the parapet. of death, yet too often over- a Distinguished Conduct Medal He killed seventeen Germans, looked are those whose names (DCM) recommendation was more took eighteen prisoner, and are etched on the Hugh Cairns appropriate for Cairns’ heroics. Of captured three machine guns. He Memorial. Below the stone carving course, he did not forget to remind then proceeded to reconnoiter a of Cairns are seventy-six names the young man of his manners in forward area, and found a small (including Cairns’). Although they front of his superiors. courtyard packed with Germans. may not have received a Victoria He slipped back to his unit, picked Cross, these men too have tales Although quite humourous, up four men, returned and kicked to tell. this story speaks to some of the down the courtyard door, Lewis characteristics Cairns possessed. Of the seventy-six names, guns blazing. Sixty-some alarmed There is no doubt he was heroic. sixty-eight were found to have Germans threw their hands up in Yet he was also fiercely loyal to enlistment and death records. The surrender, unaware that only five his fellow men, repulsed by any- makeup of this group of sixty-eight men had ambushed them. One one who placed their own needs is predominately English and German officer, however, realized in front of the collective. Cairns’ Scottish. Thirty-eight were born in the actual number, pulled out his admiration for camaraderie was England, while twenty-one were in pistol and shot. Cairns fell to his likely forged on the soccer fields of Scotland. And so it is no surprise knees, but his machine gun re- England and Saskatoon. that the majority of these men mained hot. He mowed down the enlisted in the early years of the Cairns did have a breaking officer, and many other grey-clad war in 1914 and 1915. Septem- point. At the Battle of Cambrai in figures. A firefight broke out and, ber 1914 saw the highest number September 1918, Cairns was se- already in pain, Cairns felt another of enlistees at eleven, while the verely wounded. He would never bullet hit him, this time shattering second highest was October with be the same. This wound came his wrist. He kept shooting. Finally, eight. Strong ties to the mother in the form of his brother’s dead he was hit a third time. Cairns col- country, a desire to travel and body. On 10 September, Albert lapsed, blood pooling around him. seek out adventure, and consis- was killed. One of Cairns’ mates The Saskatonian’s limp body was tent pay likely played a role in this recalled, “Hughie said he’d get fifty roughly thrown onto a door-turned- group’s decision to enlist. Seven Germans for that. I don’t think he stretcher, when the bearer too of the sixty-eight were born in 21 ing of the Hugh Cairns Memorial these men enlisted, their deeds on 8 June 1921. Yet the memorial (and misdeeds), and the details almost completely ignores the war. surrounding their deaths needs The only indication these men had to be answered. But we must not fallen in the war was an inscription forget that their stories do not start on the bottom pillar of the memo- and end with the war. Memorials University of Saskatchewan University of Archives & Special Collections, MSS C555/2/1_25w rial that reads: “In Memory of Our such as Hugh Cairns’ demonstrate Fallen Comrades 1914-1918.” exactly that. Although these men Otherwise, this memorial would were soldiers, they too were soc- seem a tribute to a soccer player cer players. and flourishing soccer community. A memorial to the dead often This decision reflects the commu- invokes a sense of finality. Howev- nity’s decision to avoid remember- er, the soccer scene in Saskatoon ing the horrors of the Great War. did not die. Although the Great Instead, it chose to emphasize War brought a halt to soccer in the fallen men’s identities be- Saskatoon, as the city league was fore the war. Additionally, Mayor postponed from 1915 to 1918, Young highlighted the important soccer once again flourished in geographic location of the memo- the 1920s. The city league was rial: “It was particularly fitting that re-established, and a Mercantile the monument should be placed Hugh Cairns Memorial, c. 1921 League was reborn. Touring teams on the very field on which the from Great Britain also visited Canada. And of these seven, only boys had so often played.” Soc- Saskatoon, demonstrating the one is native to Saskatoon. James cer games were predominately sport’s popularity and the city as a Thomas Clinkskill, the son of played at City Park (known today central location to play it. One of Saskatoon’s first mayor, enlisted in as Kinsmen Park), and that was these teams was from Scotland, September 1914. He would die at where the Hugh Cairns Memorial and they visited in June 1921. Be- the Somme in September 1916. was placed. Yet again, this de- fore the match, they participated cision reinforces an identity built There are two sets of brothers in a memorial unveiling ceremony. around sport as opposed to the The Scots placed a wreath at the on the Hugh Cairns Memorial. Great War. One of which was the McNeil bottom of this memorial. When brothers, who enlisted on the Few stories have been told of they looked up, they saw a man same day on 4 January 1916. the men whose names cover the with a ball beneath his foot. Hugh Much like Hugh and Albert Cairns, Hugh Cairns Memorial. Yet many Cairns would be watching them it seems their motivation to enlist more remain hidden. Cairns’ has play. was aided knowing they would be been told for almost one hundred doing so with one another. Sadly, years, his the first to die was Fred in May name featured in articles 1917 following the victory at Vimy Saskatchewan University of Archives & Special Collections, B-586 Ridge. His brother, Stanley, would in The Star survive the war, but for only two Phoenix, more years. He died five days posted in before Christmas in 1920, and small book- is the only soldier on the Hugh lets and even Cairns Memorial whose body is larger, full-size interred within city limits. It lies in monographs. the Woodlawn Cemetery. But others, like the McNeil Less than six months after brothers, have Stanley had passed, his name not. Questions was immortalized with the unveil- about why Saskatoon Soccer Team, 1914 22 FEATURE Who Would Have Known?

~ The Nutana Memorial Art Gallery is incomplete. In March 1922, Principal Alfred Pyke sent a letter to artist George Reid, enquiring about a “central piece” painting for the collection. Reid was initially receptive to the idea; however, it would have to wait until 1923 because of insufficient funds. It was not until 1924 that the idea resufraced, but it seems that financial considerations forced Pyke’s hand. The painting would never be painted

~ The designer of the 46th Battalion Stone was a woman. She was from Winnipeg, and her name is M.J. Taylor

~ The University of Saskatchewan considered moving the Memorial Gates in 1988. Due to a heavier volume of traffic, the Memorial Gates were becoming increasingly less suitable as a gateway. The idea was even- tually scrapped and, instead, a new five-lane road was constructed just west of the gates as an entrance to the Royal University Hospital. The utilitarian aspect of the memorial was no more. It would remain a mark of remembrance and only that

~ The Star-Phoenix Clock was moved in 1967. After the newspaper office of The Star Phoenix moved, so too did the clock. It was moved to its present-day location on Twenty-Fourth Street East and Fifth Avenue

~ The Saskatoon Cenotaph was also moved. On 15 August 1957, the memorial was moved from its location on Twenty-First Street and Second Avenue to City Hall Square

23 up the son of Stephen Lawson, a well-known clergyman and farmer. Lawson lived on the Island until he was twenty-one, when he and his family moved to Canada’s fron- tier in 1897. Two years later, he moved out with his two brothers

Photo by Eric Story Newton and Oliver, relocating to a quarter section of land just south- east of his father’s. Today, it would be located in the Lawson Heights area near Spadina Crescent and Ravine Drive in Saskatoon. Once he had settled onto his quarter section, Lawson became involved in the horse trade. One of his associates remembered his The Star-Phoenix Clock, 2015 claim to have never lost a dollar in selling horses: “He would size up The Tragic Story the men who came to him, cross question them, and if he thought they were telling the truth the of horse was theirs; strange as this might seem, these men invariably came back and paid him,” he said. Clearly, Lawson was an intelligent Talmage Lawson yet caring businessman. After six years of homestead- ing, Lawson became acquainted with W.F. Herman and his family, who had recently moved from the United States. Herman was he clock stopped. At short time, the shadow’s shoulders hoping to take up a homestead 11:59 PM, the blackened rose and fell in a deep, saddened T hands of the Star-Phoe- sigh, its breath escaping in a nix Clock, its dial illuminated in cloud of mist. The shadow then the cool fall air, grinded to a halt. proceeded to open the back of It seemed the new clock, installed the clock, inserted a crank and only five days earlier, on 6 Oc- began to wind. Just as the shadow tober 1920, was broken. Shortly closed the backing, the hands of after the hands stopped, a dark the Star-Phoenix Clock began to shadow approached the clock inch their way towards midnight. It Windsor The Star from a short distance away. Just was not broken after all. It just had Photo courtesy of as the shadow reached the large to be re-wound. The shadow then memorial, it stopped and began walked away––its head down and to read a small passage engraved mist escaping with every breath it near the foot of the clock: “Erected took. by W.F. Herman To the Memory Talmage Lawson was a Mar- of TALMAGE LAWSON Killed in itimer. Born at Prince Edward Action October 8th 1915.” After a Island in 1879, Lawson had grown W.F. Herman, date unknown 24 paper together. Herman had years of experience, while Lawson’s father, Reverend Stephen Lawson, had published The Presbyterian and The Protestant Union out of Prince Edward Island from 1875 to 1881. Lawson had likely grown up

Photog by Eric Story hearing stories of his father’s rath- er vicious publishing reputation. In March 1912, Herman and Lawson decided the time had come. They purchased the weekly newspa- per The Capital, and changed its name to The Saskatoon Daily Star. In 1913 and 1914, Lawson again travelled extensively. He and farm himself, Engraving on the Star-Phoenix Clock local newspaper visited China, Japan, India and but his hopes were office, while Law- Africa, the latter which he trekked short-lived. Herman had previous son continued dealing horses. over five hundred miles. He loved experience working in the newspa- Yet, in 1910, tragedy struck to explore, see new things. At the per business, starting at a small- when Lawson’s mother, Alice, risk of his own life, he was moti- town newspaper in Nova Scotia, passed away. It seems Lawson vated to visit and explore every- and then moving to Boston, Mas- took the news quite hard. In later thing he possibly could. When he sachusetts with higher aspirations. years, Herman would call Law- was in Africa, he travelled as far Almost immediately after moving son an “extensive traveller, [un] as the railway would take him, to the North-West Territories, his contented to see a place through a and then continued by foot. After wife, Adie, sensing that Herman car window.” And according to the only a few days of hiking and was not destined to be a farmer, Henderson’s Saskatoon Directo- sleeping on the ground, Lawson sent a letter to Saskatoon’s local ries, Lawson did not own property came down with a fever. He had newspaper, informing them of the in the city between 1908 and to return to the train, but his illness arrival of a “crackerjack printer.” 1911. He may very well have left grew gravely worse. He eventually The following day, he had a job at after his mother’s death, not just reached the railway, but his fever The Phoenix newspaper. to see the world, but to escape the worsened. For nine days aboard As the years passed, Herman pain of losing someone close. the train, Lawson became deliri- ous. But with the help of two men, and Lawson developed a close When Lawson returned to friendship. Perhaps it was be- “a most rugged constitution” and Saskatoon in 1911, he moved into “great strength,” Lawson survived. cause both men were born and the Herman household. It seems raised in the Maritimes, or maybe Herman hoped to return the favour Although Lawson was one of it was because they had similar Lawson had offered his family five the proprietors of The Saskatoon business interests. Nonetheless, years before when they first ar- Daily Star Herman ran the news- these two men grew fond of one rived on the open prairie. Lawson paper. Lawson instead chose to another. By 1908, both men had may also have desired a place travel. But his travels were cut moved into Saskatoon, opting to near his aging father, Stephen, short when Britain declared war live across the street from each who was now in his mid-seventies. on Germany on 4 August 1914. other. Lawson purchased a lot on Although it took a few weeks for the east side of Second Avenue For a number of years, Lawson news to reach Lawson, he knew near Twenty-Third Street, while and Herman had been in business he had to return home. At the end Herman took one on the opposite together. Although it is unclear ex- of August, amidst his tour of Africa, side. Herman remained at the actly what that business was, they he was alerted of the declara- both dreamed of running a news- 25 day that the lowest-ranking soldier would receive. Nor did he have any immediate family in England. So that begs the question: why did Lawson enlist? University of Saskatchewan University of Archives & Special Collections, The answers lie in Lawson’s deep-seated Canadian patriotism, LXX-135 as well as his local pride. During his journey back to Canada after hearing of the war’s outbreak, he stopped in England. Yet he did not enlist. And once he returned to Canada, he could have enlist- ed anywhere along the way back home to Saskatoon. Yet again, he chose not to enlist. It was not tion. He boarded a Volunteers from Humboldt, August 1914 bit strange, espe- until he reached his home that he steamship prepared cially in compar- finally found himself at a recruiting to don a uniform. ison to the majority of Canadian booth. It was soon after he arrived in enlistees. Most enlisted out of a But to dig even deeper, it was Saskatoon that Lawson enlisted desire for adventure, to return likely not out a desire to enlist in October 1914. By the time he home to England to see familiar and fight with familiar faces that had done so, however, there were faces, earn a consistent wage, or Lawson chose to enlist at Sas- more than enough enlistees to fill simply to fight for king and country. katoon. For he was a lone wolf. the necessary ranks. And this fact Yet it seems that Lawson desired A former mayor of Saskatoon was pointed out to him. Lawson’s none of these. He had travelled remembered Lawson “cultivating business partner, Herman, re- the world extensively over the few intimate friends,” while Her- membered him replying that if it past five years, having more than man, when speaking of Lawson’s was necessary, he would travel enough adventure for anyone’s travels, admitted he spoke to very to England to enlist if Canada lifetime. And because of these few people about the details of his would not take him. Once he had travels, as well as the assertion of voyages. And so Lawson enlisted enlisted, Herman said, he was “as his business partner that he was a out of a sense of duty to Canada. happy as a school boy.” successful businessman, Lawson Even more importantly, however, certainly did not require $1.10 per he wanted to represent his home Lawson’s enlistment seems a when he did so. He was a proud Saskatonian. A full year after Lawson’s enlistment, a telegram arrived at his brother’s home. Oliver opened it: “Deeply regret to inform you 73952 Pte. Talmage Lawson, 28th Batt., officially reported killed in Action October 8th,” it read. That day, on 22 October 1915, the city of Saskatoon was rocked with one of the first deaths of a beloved local citizen. The following day, a flood of letters were sent to The Saskatoon Daily Star’s office. Front page of The Saskatoon Daily Star, 4 August 1914 Although he had been a lone wolf, 26 Lawson was remembered fondly of Saskatoon. and who gladly gave up his life by the community. Mayor Freder- in defence of the Empire, to pass But perhaps no one was more ick Harrison wrote, “I had the hon- away without a word from one who affected than his business partner, our of numbering [Lawson] among knew him best.” Herman. The two had met ten my friends and I in common with years prior, lived in each others’ Lawson’s passing reflects the many, many others will mourn the quarters, shared business propo- reverberations of death in the passing of Mr. Lawson for more sitions and even owned a news- Great War. Even in the city of than one day.” Former mayor paper together. The following day Saskatoon, which, by 1916, had James R. Wilson wrote directly to after Herman received the shock- a population of over 20,000, a Herman, ing news, he wrote a column in single death sent some of Saska- “Knowing him as I did, I can un- memory of his partner and friend, toon’s most prominent citizens into derstand what a blow his death is saying, “. . . no person knew him mourning. Whether it was because to you. A manly man of ideal prin- as well as myself, [so] it might not of his father’s distinction as a rev- ciples, very reserved, cultivating be out of place here to set down erend in the community, his title as few intimate friends, but those who a few things to illustrate this.” proprietor of the local newspaper, had the pleasure of knowing him Herman gave a short account of or his ties to the pioneering days intimately could not fail to appre- his partner’s life, detailing their of Saskatoon, Lawson’s death was ciate his sterling qualities, which dreams of owning a newspaper, felt widely and deeply. were borne out in his service to his his strengths as a businessman, Yet Herman’s lengthy column King and Country.” as well as his travels overseas. He was not enough. In October 1918, Prominent businessman J.F. concluded with a moving passage three years after Lawson’s death, Cairns also wrote to the paper, to a friend he would deeply miss: Herman announced plans to erect speaking of his last encounter with “Mr. Lawson needs no eulogy from a clock in his partner’s name. Two Lawson: me. His numerous friends in the years later, on 6 October 1920, “The last time I talked to Talmage city and country can attest to his that clock was unveiled to the pub- Lawson was the day he left for many excellent qualities. They lic. It was located at the corner of the front. At that time I was giving know that his heart was as big as Twentieth Street East and Second an order for a dollar’s worth of his body. But I didn’t want one who Avenue, just outside of the doors merchandise to every private and has been more than a friend to me of The Saskatoon Daily Star’s N.C.O. who left Saskatoon. Mr. and mine, a man who has done office. It was Saskatoon’s first Lawson came to my office to thank so much in his own way to further Great War memorial. And its most me and said he had used my or- the best interests of Saskatoon, personal. der for something which would be The purpose for erecting the a remembrance and that he would clock where it stands demon- carry it into battle with him . . . strates the personal nature of the The bitterness of the sorrow of his memorial. One writer speculates friends may be tempered by the Herman placed it where he did immortal badge of honor, ‘killed in because the city had moved the

action,’ which Lawson bore with KeithPhoto courtesy of Boswell old Stephenson Clock away from him in passing out. He has left Second Avenue, which upset him. them a sad but proud legacy in the Yet the friendship that developed blessed memory that he saw his between Herman and Lawson tells duty and did it well.” a different story. The clock stood Each person writing to the pa- outside The Daily Star because per seemed genuinely upset about it served as a daily reminder to Lawson’s passing. Regardless Herman of his deceased friend. In- of his limited number of personal deed, as the phrase on the clock’s relationships, Lawson touched the dials said, “The Star Goes Home.” The star was Lawson, and his hearts of many in the community Talmage Lawson’s Grave in Belgium home was Saskatoon. At least the 27 clock had brought the memory of Herman’s business partner back to Saskatoon. When he would arrive in the morning and leave in the evening, he would remember Talmage Lawson. In 1928, The Saskatoon Daily Star and The Daily Phoenix amalgamated into The Star-Phoe- nix. And from that day forth, the Daily Star Clock became the Star-Phoenix Clock. Of all Saska- toon’s Great War memorials, the Star-Phoenix Clock is the most personal, and thus evokes great emotion. It is dedicated to a proud Canadian who travelled the world, but kept his roots in Saskatoon. He was a strange man, with few close friends, but still had a vast impact on the Saskatoon commu- nity. Talmage Lawson deserved to be remembered. Every Monday at 11:59 PM, the Star-Phoenix Clock made sure of it.

28 Conclusion

askatoon has many Great War memorials. This Although I have uncovered a large portion of Sas- short magazine covered seven of them, yet there katoon’s “Hidden History,” there is much, much more to S are many more. The Vimy Memorial Bandstand, explore, the memory of the Great War included. Various Next-Of-Kin Memorial Avenue and the Soldiers’ Cairn strands of memory need to be recalled, beyond those that at the Woodlawn Cemetery are just three examples of are visible to the public eye. As I have already said, Sas- Saskatoon’s “Hidden History” that needs to be found katoon’s Great War memorials are inherently Anglicized. and written. Although this magazine was meant to be For the most part, they were created by English-Canadi- extensive, Saskatoon’s Great War memorials story is ans, for English-Canadians, and in memory of English-Ca- not yet complete. nadians. And in many cases, they reflect a male-focused For the seven that were covered, there are a few memory strand of the war. themes that run through many of these memorials’ Aboriginal peoples and other ethnic minority groups stories. One is the commemoration of the citizen-sol- tend to be disenfranchised from the dominant collective dier. Many of Saskatoon’s military men were not trained memory. Yet this does not mean that these groups do not soldiers, but rather ordinary citizens who responded have memories of the war. It is simply that they are not to the call to arms. The 46th Battalion Stone reminds as easily recognizable as a cenotaph or an art gallery. us of the many farmers who exchanged a plough for a Women too tend to fall outside of Saskatoon’s collective gun to fight for king and country. A second theme in this memory of the war, yet they also played key roles in the magazine is the purposeful neglect of addressing the war effort. They fundraised, sewed and nursed, making war directly in the city’s memorials. The Nutana Memo- sure their citizen-soldiers were as comfortable as they rial Art Gallery, for example, avoided the horrors of the could be in the muddy trenches of Flanders. Yet their roles first modern war in each of its paintings, and instead are downplayed, as a pair of socks sent to a son overseas attempted to remember the golden years before 1914. is less easily commemorable as taking a bullet for one’s Yet another common theme is the Anglo-nature of country. the memorials. Although many different ethnic groups Oral histories, mapping and deep digging into the from Canada fought in the Great War, the built memori- archives can help uncover more of these hidden histories. als tend to remember those of Anglo-Canadian descent. Hopefully in the following years, others can help uncover This tendency is perhaps best represented in the com- the treasures of Saskatoon’s history. Until then, happy petition to design the Saskatoon Cenotaph, when only hunting! British citizens were allowed to submit applications. The most prominent theme that runs through each and every memorial, however, is an unconditional com- mitment to remembering the fallen men of the Great War. They were brothers and fathers, sons and grand- sons. They were loved by many, and their deaths were felt throughout the community. The decision to erect memorials around the city helps us understand how im- portant it was for Saskatonians to remember the Great War. Maybe not the war itself, but certainly the men who helped fight and win it. The memorials were an attempt to keep the memories fresh for generations to come. 29 Bibliography

Primary Sources

46th Battalion Association C.E.F. of Canada, 1926 Year Book (Moose Jaw: Western Press Ltd., 1926) Bateman, Reginald John Godfrey. Reginald Bateman, Teacher and Soldier: A Memorial Vol- ume of Selections From His Lectures and Other Writings. London: Henry Sotheran and Co., 1922. Henderson’s Saskatoon Directories, various years. The Saskatoon Daily Star, various articles. The Saskatoon Local History Room, various files. The Saskatoon Phoenix, various articles. The Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, various articles. University of Saskatchewan Archives & Special Collections, various files.

Photographs taken from University of Saskatchewan Archives & Special Collections, Library and Archives Canada, Archives of Ontario and the City of Saskatoon Archives.

Secondary Sources

Bowering, Clifford H. Service: The Story of the Canadian Legion, 1925-1960. Ottawa: Domin- ion Command, Canadian Legion, 1960. Brandon, Laura. “Shattered Landscapes: The Great War and the Art of the Group of Seven.” Canadian Military History 10, no. 1 (2001): 58-66. Carline, Gerry. “46th Canadian Infantry Battalion.” The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Ac- cessed July 6, 2015, http://esask.uregina.ca/entry/46th_canadian_infantry_battalion_cef.html. Cook, Tim. At The Sharp End: Canadians Fighting in the Great War, 1914-1916. Vol. 1. Toron- to: Viking Canada, 2005. Hayden, Michael. Seeking a Balance: The University of Saskatchewan, 1907-1982. Vancou- ver: University of British Columbia Press, 1983. ------. “Why are all those names on the walls?.” Saskatchewan History 58, no. 2 (2006): 4-14. Kerr, Don and Stan Hanson. Saskatoon: The First Half Century. Saskatoon: NeWest Publish- ing, 1982. McWilliams, James L. and R. James Steel. The Suicide Battalion. Edmonton: Hurtig Publish- ers, 1978. “The ‘Saint’ In Trouble.” Grip Magazine 15, no. 4 (August 21, 1880). Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation. “For Valour”: Saskatchewan Victoria Cross Recipients. Szalasznyj, Kathlyn. “The Saskatoon Cenotaph.” Heritage Office of City Hall, December 19, 2011. Vance, Jonathon. Death So Noble: Memory, Meaning, and the First World War. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1997.

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