October 3, 1914

At Pleasantville, the old cricket ground beside Quidi Vidi Lake in St. John’s, Newfoundland, the soldiers of the First Newfoundland Regiment are leaving the tented camp where they have just completed a month’s training to prepare them to campaign with the British Army. Pleasantville Camp consists of 47 bell tents contributed by the Church Lads’ Brigade, three marquees from Government House, and about 50 smaller tents of various sizes from families and businesses all over St. John’s. The troops, too, have a somewhat unofficial look about them, for they are dressed in locally made uniforms topped off with Canadian Militia greatcoats and odd navy blue puttees, another contribution from the Church Lads. Despite its status as a dominion of the British Empire, when the war was declared Newfoundland’s only armed force was a small Royal Navy Reserve division; the last British soldier left St. John’s in 1870, and the last militia unit folded soon after. Consequently, the declaration of war on August 4 presented Governor Sir Walter Davidson and Prime Minister Sir Edward Morris with an interesting challenge: how to raise a regiment of infantry from a population of fishermen, lumberjacks and subsistence farmers? Governor Davidson and Premier Morris went about this task very carefully, for the key to success in any public enterprise in Newfoundland is getting the support of church leaders, especially the Anglicans, the Roman Catholics and the Methodists.

Governor Davidson began the project with a brilliant coup: the foundation of the Newfoundland Patriotic Association at a huge public meeting on August 12 at the Church Lads’ Brigade Armoury in St. John’s. Nominations were taken for a Committee of Citizens to raise, equip and reinforce a regiment of infantry for overseas service and home defence, and on August 17, after a week of careful selection to ensure the most advantageous representation, the committee met for the first time with Governor Davidson as Chairman. Recruiting began on August 21, with a Governor’s proclamation calling on men aged 19 to 35 to enlist “for the duration of the war, but not exceeding one year”, and promising volunteers from the outports free transportation to St. John’s. So far, the clergy have been the island dominion’s most effective recruiters.

In Newfoundland, Cadet corps tend to be associated with the various Christian denominations: the Church Lads’ Brigade (Church of England), the Catholic Cadet Corps, the Newfoundland Highlanders (Church of Scotland), and the Methodist Guards. These organizations bring boys aged 13 to 19 to weekly drills and summer camps for parades, field-craft and marksmanship. The Church Lads’ Brigade Armoury quickly became the headquarters of the Newfoundland Regiment, and 275 men—many of them present or past members of the various cadet corps—were enrolled by August 28; one evening, 40 members of the Catholic Cadet Corps arrived in a body to sign up. On September 2, with 743 volunteers and 250 attested after passing a medical examination, the First Newfoundland Regiment moved to Pleasantville. The first officers were appointed on September 21, their commissions signed by Governor Davidson, who also accepted the position of Lieutenant-Colonel commanding.

The streets of St. John’s are crowded with the largest gathering of Newfoundlanders ever seen, and every business is shut. At 4 p.m., the First Newfoundland Regiment falls in at Pleasantville and marches out of camp in column of fours behind the Catholic Cadet Corps band. Of the 537 men in this contingent, more than 400 were born and raised in St. John’s. Dressed in their one uniform, sadly soiled from a month under canvas, most of the Newfoundlanders are bareheaded, and their only distinction is the blue puttees. Both the Governor and the Premier and members of both houses of the legislature are on the pier for the official farewell, and the bands of the Church Lads’ Brigade, the Methodist Guards and the Salvation Army play as the soldiers board their transport, the SS Florizel. By 6 p.m., the boarding is complete, and the Florizel moves out into the harbour to wait for the tide.

Sources

Col G.W.L. Nicholson, The Fighting Newfoundlander: A History of The Royal Newfoundland Regiment. St. John’s: Government of Newfoundland, 1964.

A.J. Stacey and Jean Edwards Stacey, Memoirs of a Blue Puttee: The Newfoundland Regiment in World War One. St. John’s: DRC Publishers, 2002.

Industry Canada Collections, Newfoundland and the Great War: http://collections.ic.gc.ca/great_war/home.html

Church Lads Brigade

Methodist Guard's Brigade

The Newfoundland Highlanders

The Catholic Cadets Corps