Duty, loyalty and sacrifice
Over the next two years it became clear that Canada
was engaged in a grinding total war that would not soon
end.NewBrunswickers steppedup their recruitment and
during1915and1916 theyraisedmanymoremilitaryunits,
includingat leastninemore infantrybattalions, severalfield
and heavy artillery batteries, as well as field ambulance
and forestry corps units. In Britain many of these units
were typically broken up for reinforcement drafts, and in
due time many more boys fromNew Brunswick found
themselves at the front inFrance andBelgium (Flanders).
By theendof thewar27,061NewBrunswickershad joined
up, 17,016ofwhomwent overseas.
Thewar effort at home gainedmomentum as people
stepped forward to “do their duty.” Non-government
volunteer civilianorganizations like theRedCross Society
were front-and-center in supporting the effort. Women’s
organizations like theWomen’s Institutecontinuedsending
comfortstosoldiersabroadandsupportingsoldiers’ families
at home. “Loyalty and sacrifice” became their guiding
principles. LadyAliceTilley, thewifeof SirLeonardTilley
—oneofNewBrunswick’sFathersofConfederationanda
former lieutenant-governor—wasanactive fundraiserand
organizer for thewar effort, especiallywith theRedCross.
New Brunswick farmers took on the challenge of
increasing foodproduction,whichwasmadedoublydifficult
by labour force shortages created by large-scale enlistments.
Yet our farmers delivered tens of thousands of bushels of
produce, especiallypotatoes, toBritain.NewBrunswick also
contributed to the country’s rapidly expanding munitions
industries by converting foundries like T. M. McAvity and
Sons inSaint John to shellmanufacturing.Here again as in
othersectors,womenplayedakeyrole in thisachievementby
joining thework force in larger numbers,many for the first
time in their lives.
By early 1917,NewBrunswick’s soldiers hadbegun
to fight in battles like Second Ypres, Festubert, Mount
Sorrel, theSomme, andVimyRidge. Family after family
began receiving the dreaded notification of the death or
injury of loved ones, and the enormous human cost of
this war became increasingly clear on the battlefields
and at home.
