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Canada
'Victory—and Peace' November 11, 1918
The official notice that
hostilities had ceased
between Germany and
the British Empire was tele-
graphed to Huron County at
about 4:00 am on Monday,
November 11, 1918. The
Great War was finally over
and a cause for jubilation in
Huron County.
Exeter was, perhaps, the first
Huron County town to get
word of the war's end. In antic-
ipation of the news, a certain
Miss Sanders, the local tele-
graph operator, stayed at her
post all night awaiting the bul-
letin. When the telegraph
arrived, Miss Sanders had little
difficulty getting the news out
because by daybreak all of
Exeter was rejoicing. The ring-
ing of the town's bell
announced the news to the
countryside. The Reeve
declared a public holiday. The
town's people were called to
an open air meeting in front of
the library for an afternoon
service of Thanksgiving.
The town, however, did not
wait until the afternoon. A pro-
cession of 'gaily decorated
automobiles' drove up and
down the main street. Horns,
tin whistles, band music and
the 'rattling of pans and kettles'
kept up a discordant but joyful
noise throughout the day and
far into the night. Exeter's cele-
brations ended with a giant
bonfire at the town hall.
In Wingham, the town's bells
began pealing about 4:30 am.
The 'Wingham Advance'
reported 'rejoicing people,
blowing horns, beating tin
pans and singing' throughout
the day followed by a civic cer-
emony, parades a concert and
bonfire at the town park
About 7:00 am in Goderich,
the town 'went wild with
enthusiasm' as people took
to the streets. An civic and
religious Thanksgiving ser-
vice was held at Courthouse
Park followed by 'an endless
parade' of automobiles and
wagons. A bonfire on the
Huron History
David Yates
Square at night drew a crowd
estimated at 5 000 people
who cheered when the Kai-
ser's effigy went up in flames
In Clinton, at 8:00 am, the
town's bell began ringing. They
did not stop until past 10:30 at
night. The streets took on a
'lively appearance: The 'Clin-
ton News -Record' reported
that 'women dropped their
washing' and workers took to
the streets as 'people laughed
and cheered, stores and dwell-
ings were quicky decorated
and everyone who could get
one carried a flag:
When he donned his tophat
and best coat, Clinton Mayor
Charles Thompson had ample
reason to be thankful as he
prepared to address his town
at the afternoon's 'Peace Dem-
onstration.' Both his sons
whom he had sent to war in
October 1916 would be return-
ing home alive.
Private Ernie Walton, who
happened to arrive home on
leave on the morning train
found himself the object of the
town's adulation. He was
paraded on horseback through
the town's streets by a thou-
sand people who dropped him
off at the bandstand for the
civic ceremony. Crowds
thronged into Clinton from the
countryside to take part in the
celebrations. A torch light
parade and sky rockets ended
Clinton's day of jubilation.
The 'Seaforth News' pro-
claimed that 'never did the
word Victory sound so good
to the world: All morning,
Seaforth's Main Street was
crowded with people. Flags
and bunting sprouted from
nearly every shop and home.
Father Goetz of St. James
Church delivered a homily at
Victoria Park 'on the years of
agony' that the country had
borne. Out of respect for the
fallen, a dance at Cardo Hall
was postponed.
Celebrations in Hensall and
Bayfield involved gunfire as
shot gun blasts rent the air
throughout the day. The Bay-
field correspondent expressed
relief that the high price of
ammunition limited the gun-
fire. In Bayfield, the Orangemen
led the parade while the St.
Andrew's 'church bell rope was
tested to its limits: It rang until
after a bonfire on ClanGregor
Square burned itself out. Trag-
edy marred Blyth's victory cele-
bration when Reeve Neil Taylor
was killed in a car accident
when he lost control of his auto-
mobile on the way home.
The Kaiser had a particu-
larly hard day in Huron.
Every town's celebration
ended with his burning in
effigy. In Wingham, the Kai-
ser was given the added
indignity of being dragged
from the rear of the Mayor's
car before he was burned.
Celebrations were damp-
ened by the knowledge that
the war might be over but the
dying was not. The same
papers that carried such vivid
descriptions of the joyous
Armistice day events contin-
ued to bring news of the war's
dead and wounded. Wmgham
High School graduate, Private
Dan O'Toole was killed in
action on October 28, 1918 as
was Private Charles Coultes of
Cranbrook. Private Harold Bis-
sett of Exeter was reported
killed on November 1, 1918.
Corporal W. E. Hicks of Goder-
ich died of wounds on Novem-
ber 3. Private Herbert Bond of
Wingham died of gunshot
wounds to the head on
November 6. Lieutenant
DeLemme Millyard, the son of
the minister of Exeter's Main
Street Methodist Church, was
reported missing on Septem-
ber 30 and confirmed dead in
the first week of November.
Private Russel Woods parents
in Blyth received a telegraph
informing them that their son
was killed the same day as they
learned of the Armistice. For
these families, the war's end
brought little comfort.
News of the Armistice
extended a three week holiday
for children whose schools had
been dosed since mid-October
closed because the Spanish
Influenza was ravaging the area.
Students at the Clinton Colle-
giate and public schools were
instructed to be 'in their places
so that lost time maybe gained'
due to the flu. It was not until
mid-November that church ser-
vices resumed. In Wmgham, 14
'serious cases' of the'floo' were
reported in the' Advance:
The names of flu's victims
were listed in the local papers
along side the names of the
war's casualties. In a reversal of
fortune, Private J. Gorbutt of
Clinton survived the war but
his nineteen year old wife,
Irene Gorbutt, died of the
influenza on November 6.
Despite the pestilence, Huron
County gathered in large
crowds to celebrate the Armi-
stice. The 1918-1919 influenza
outbreak killed nearly as many
Canadians as the Great War.
Never again would Novem-
ber 11, 1918 be a day for cele-
bration. As soon as the war
ended, every town, hamlet
and village paused to reflect
on how best the living can
honour the memory of the
War Dead. War memo
Her younger brother died
just three days before rials and
cenotaphs were not enough.
In 1919, by command of King
George V, November 11 was
set aside as Remembrance
Day. It has become Canada's
most hallowed observance
and a time to mourn the
nation's dead and be eternally
grateful for their sacrifice.
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