Canadian Military History Volume 18 Issue 1 Article 4 2009 A Canadian Conscript Goes to War—August 1918: Old Myths Re- examined Patrick Dennis Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.wlu.ca/cmh Part of the Military History Commons Recommended Citation Dennis, Patrick "A Canadian Conscript Goes to War—August 1918: Old Myths Re-examined." Canadian Military History 18, 1 (2009) This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Canadian Military History by an authorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Dennis: A Canadian Conscript Goes to War A Canadian Conscript Goes to War – August 1918 Old Myths Re-examined Patrick Dennis rivate Hilaire Dennis finished his third, he was a US citizen by birth. its greatest successes of the war.”3 P“rum ration”1 and prepared to But by August 1918 this 23-year-old Finally, while history richly records “go over the top” for the fourth time former streetcar conductor was a the political dynamics that gave in three days. Wet from the previous combat veteran in the 18th Battalion. birth to Canadian conscription, the night’s heavy rainfall, exhausted Moreover, for the Canadian Corps, passage of conscripts like Dennis from lack of sleep due to enemy amidst the epic struggle and record from the peaceful streets of Canada artillery bombardment and nearly casualties of August 1918, he and to the war-torn fields of France three days of sustained combat, and thousands of other conscripts were and Belgium remains obscured. nervous about the upcoming battle, rapidly becoming one of the crucial This article attempts to breach the Dennis savoured the rum, said elements which held this formation fog that has long enshrouded the his final prayers and moved into together as a strong and effective story of the ordinary Canadian position. “Zero hour” arrived and fighting force. conscripts’ journey from “slackers” Dennis soon found himself in an old Private Dennis’ eight-month and “shirkers” to warriors and German trench about 300 yards east journey to the front is both fascinating heroes. of the Sensée River adjacent to the and instructive in what it reveals Arras-Cambrai road. This was his about the conscription process. It August 1914 to December 1917 fifth “battle” in the past two weeks. dispels a number of myths about the It was also his last. precise role that conscripts played n 1910, Sir Wilfrid Laurier declared In most respects Dennis was an in the final Canadian offensives of Ithat “When Britain is at war, Canada ordinary Canadian infantry soldier the war, better known as “the last is at war…there is no distinction.”4 At whose training and preparation was hundred days.” In this context, while the start of the war in August 1914 not dissimilar to that of some 350,000 some historians have ignored the Dennis, living in Windsor, Ontario, Canadians who had preceded him crucial role of conscripts altogether, did not join the crowds rushing to into battle. But Dennis’ story was the prevailing view of others has enlist. He was an American and different from that of most of his been that conscripts arrived too America was not yet at war. Born of comrades. He was not a volunteer, but late and in insufficient numbers French-Canadian parents in Bristol, had been drafted into the Canadian to make a significant difference in Rhode Island on 28 February 1895, army under the provisions of the the outcome of the hundred days Dennis moved to Canada at an early Military Service Act (MSA) of 1917. campaign.2 However, this study age with his family where they Secondly, as a draftee of French- confirms more recent scholarship on settled in a small French-speaking Canadian heritage he was subject to the subject, which strongly suggests community in southwestern Ontario a variety of systemic prejudices from that conscripts in fact “arrived just – Pointe-aux-Roches, in Essex County. an army that was largely composed in time to let the Corps fight its most Raised on a nearby farm, his parents of English-speaking volunteers. And extraordinary actions and garner died while he was yet a teenager, © Canadian Military History, Volume 18, Number 1, Winter 2009, pp.21-36. 21 Published by Scholars Commons @ Laurier, 2009 1 Canadian Military History, Vol. 18 [2009], Iss. 1, Art. 4 after which he sought employment Borden announced that effective suffered in combat, underscored the in the border cities of Windsor and 1 January 1916, the government fundamental truth that without an Detroit. He found work as a streetcar intended to put 500,000 men in increase in the rates of enlistment, conductor with the American-owned uniform, doubling the size of the the Canadian Corps would soon be Sandwich, Windsor and Amherstburg Canadian army.6 attrited out of existence. In April 1917 Railway. Over the next year the Canadian the Corps suffered 10,602 casualties As the war dragged on, the army would steadily grow to become at Vimy while only adding 4,492 clamour for new recruits continued a robust four-division corps, whose volunteers.7 This ratio of wastage to increase. Though of fighting age, victory at Vimy Ridge in April 1917 to recruitment led Borden to the Dennis resisted the call to arms, would confirm its reputation as one difficult decision that conscription reflecting a growing consensus of the premier fighting formations was necessary to sustain the corps. against the war shared by French- in the British Expeditionary Force Dennis’ fate was all but sealed.8 speaking Canadians throughout (BEF). But with this battlefield Returning to Canada in the Ontario.5 Meanwhile, as casualties on triumph emerged two cold realities. middle of May 1917 from a tour the Western Front steadily grew, the By the second half of 1916 there was of Vimy Ridge, and having just national enthusiasm for enlistment a significant decline in the number of participated in the first Imperial War abated, not only in Canada but young men volunteering for service Conference in London, Prime Minister throughout the Empire. Nevertheless, on the Westen Front. This factor, Borden announced to the House of Canadian Prime Minister Robert combined with the large losses being Commons that, since it appeared that “The voluntary system will not yield further substantial results,” it was necessary to propose a programme of “compulsory military enlistment.”9 Subsequently, on 11 June Borden’s government introduced a Military Service Bill which would make all males (British subjects) between 18 and 60 liable to serve. The initial 10 objective was to raise 100,000 men. Photo supplied by author. supplied by Photo On 29 August 1917, the Military Service Act (MSA) became law. Events affecting the conscription process then began to move quickly. On 13 October, “a Royal Proclamation called on all men in Class One [young men, either unmarried or childless widowers, between the ages of 20 and 34] to register. But by 10 November, the deadline for registration and claims for exemption, only 21,568 had reported for service, while a remarkable 310,376 (93.7 percent) had applied for exemption.”11 This result was predictable given the broad grounds for redress identified in the act. Local tribunals had the power to declare individuals exempt Hilaire Dennis was an American by birth who grew up near Windsor, Ontario. Before being conscripted in early 1918 he worked as a streetcar conductor with the American-owned Sandwich, Windsor and Amherstburg Railway. 22 https://scholars.wlu.ca/cmh/vol18/iss1/4 2 Dennis: A Canadian Conscript Goes to War The large number of casualties on the Western Front in 1917, particularly at Vimy Ridge in April (right), caused a reinforcement crisis in the Canadian Corps. These high losses led Robert Borden, the Canadian prime minister, to advocate for conscription. or non-exempt. In fact, in reviewing this crucial portion of the act, it is a wonder that every registrant was not declared exempt. Dennis was caught up in this process. He presented himself for his mandatory medical examination on 10 October, three days before the royal proclamation was issued. Taller than average (5 feet, 10½ inches), 1021 Library PA Canada (LAC) and Archives Dennis was found to be in good Franco-Ontarians like Dennis were England health and ready for service.12 included in this tally is unknown.14 February–May 1918 Events on the Western The military was given formal Front highlighted the need for guidance to treat MSA men the same n 4 February 1918, Private reinforcements. The Canadian as earlier volunteers but the recruiting ODennis, along with 1,607 other assaults on Hill 70 and Lens (15-25 system made a sharp distinction right recruits, embarked for England August) cost the Corps some 9,198 at the outset. Recruits did not sign the aboard HMT Grampian. After a slow casualties. Next came the mud of usual two-page “Attestation Paper” but uneventful passage, Dennis and Passchendaele Ridge (26 October-14 on enrollment but rather completed his fellow draftees disembarked November) where the Corps lost a different one-page document titled at Liverpool on 16 February. From another 15,654 casualties.13 “Particulars of Recruit Drafted Under there it was a 300-kilometre journey Still, the 1917 federal election the Military Service Act, 1917. ” south by rail to Bramshott Camp, held in December, essentially a These particulars were generally a major training base for the CEF referendum on conscription, offered similar to those of volunteers – both which in March housed nearly 17,000 the 20,000 plus conscripts who had were referred to as “recruits,” but soldiers.