Jimmie Writes his Mother

A letter home from a young soldier to his mother. Jimmie’s penmanship takes a jovial tone, though he notes that the ‘continual round of pleasure’ he is having in France is not an experience shared by many. Jimmie may have been lucky and therefore truthful in this letter, yet many young men wrote in a light-hearted tone in order to circumvent distressing their loved ones back home.

Streetsville Review, 6 January 1916

Gallery

T.L. Kennedy enlisted with the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force in December 1914. He assumed command of the 2nd Canadian Division Cyclists in France, but was seriously injured in July 1915. After 10 grueling months in the trenches, he was returned to Canada for operative treatment. His medical leave was extended a number of times until it was clear that he would not be returning to active duty and he was struck off strength with the rank of major in September 1917. He later attained the rank of colonel in the militia. Prior to enlisting, Kennedy played an important role in recruiting men for the war effort. He is pictured here in the middle of his men at their camp on the Cooksville Fair Grounds in 1914.

T.L. Kennedy used the Cooksville Fair Grounds as a training ground for his recruits. In this 1914 photo they are engaged in a bayonet exercise.

T.L. Kennedy’s recruits trained on the Cooksville Fair Grounds. Pictured here in 1914, they learn to wrestle on horseback.

T.L. Kennedy demonstrates the art of slicing a suspended lemon while galloping on horseback. He trained recruits at the Cooksville Fair Grounds in 1914 and the village is visible in the background.

T.L. Kennedy’s recruits are photographed in 1914 as they salute the flag during Retreat. Training took place on the Cooksville Fair Grounds.

T.L. Kennedy and his troops march down Dundas Street and through Erindale in 1914. The steps to the right run up the hill to St. Peter’s Anglican Church.

T.L. Kennedy and his troops march down Dundas Street and through Erindale in 1914.

Men from Port Credit are photographed on Salisbury Plain in 1915. Back row, left to right: John Swain, Herbert Waters, A. C. W. Richards, William Everett, S. J. Strickland, John Leviston and William Green (killed). Front row, left to right: Bugler George Cordoza (killed), C. A. Tapp, G. A. Pearson (killed), Sgt. John Mills, Lt. William T. Bleakley, Sgt. A. G. Scott, Military Cross (killed), A. F. Lockyer and Sgt. Samuel Barr. John Mills was 15 years old when he came to Canada as a home child in 1892. He joined the active militia with the 36th Peel Regiment and served with the 36th until World War I when he was assigned to the 1st Division, 1st Brigade, 4th Battalion, nicknamed the “Mad Fourth”. Mills went overseas with John Woodhouse, a friend from Brampton, and later married John’s sister, Mary Woodhouse, whom he met at the family home while on leave in Enfield, England.

The Clarkson-Lorne Park Women’s Institute was founded in 1913 and the women worked hard to aid in the war effort. Meetings were held on the third Tuesday of each month, alternating between Carman Methodist Church and the Lorne Park Mission Hall. In this photo from 1914 the women enjoy meeting outdoors at Mrs. Morrow’s home in Lorne Park.

In this photo from 1914 the women of the Clarkson-Lorne Park Women’s Institute are meeting outdoors at the home of Mrs. Morrow in Lorne Park. The Institute was founded in 1913 and meetings were held on the third Tuesday of each month, alternating between Carman Methodist Church and the Lorne Park Mission Hall.

For two weeks in the summer of 1915, the women of Clarkson led by the Women’s Institute provided a luncheon for soldiers marching from military training in Niagara to the train in Toronto and embarkation for Europe. Here the men pose for a postcard under the patriotic banner “For Home and Country.”

During the summer of 1915, soldiers stopped in Clarkson for rest and medical inspection on their way from the Niagara region to the train in Toronto and embarkation for Europe. The women of Clarkson under the leadership of the Women’s Institute provided a lunch of pie and coffee. A little school room was used to prepare the lunch and relays of girls and women were organized to take care of the serving.

For two weeks in the summer of 1915, the women of Clarkson led by the Women’s Institute provided a lunch of pie and coffee for soldiers marching from military training in Niagara to the train in Toronto and embarkation for Europe. This postcard is a snapshot of one of the stopovers.

As shortages threatened the ultimate success of the allies, Canada made national efforts to increase food production. Young women, such as these farmerettes on the Pengilley farm in Clarkson, volunteered for agricultural work and took over jobs left vacant by men who had enlisted. The women are photographed here with the Pengilley truck.

Farmerettes on the Pengilley farm in Clarkson sit down for a meal together. To win the war, it was essential to increase food production so young women were encouraged to take the place of men who had enlisted and volunteer for agricultural work. In Ontario they joined the Farm Service Corps.

The tents pictured here belong to farmerettes camping in the Pengilley orchards in Clarkson. The women were members of the Farm Service Corps, formed by the Ontario government in 1917 to fill the demand for agricultural workers.

Children from School Section #6 in Clarkson pose with their teacher and the Union Jack flag in 1915.

George Collier Draper enlisted with the Royal Flying Corps in July 1917. On occasion he flew loops and stunts over Erindale and the home of his aunt, Miss Draper. This photo shows a successful but unorthodox landing!

McClintock’s store in Streetsville is pictured in this photo from 1923. Throughout the war it was a place where residents could buy gifts and supplies for the men overseas.

The Graydon and Clipperton families of Streetsville were among the many families deeply changed by the war. Photographed here is Ena Graydon Clipperton. Her husband, Captain William Clipperton, was shot by a sniper during the attack on Hill 70 and died of his wounds on August 17, 1917.

A girls’ baseball team is photographed in Cooksville in about 1918. Many everyday activities continued despite ongoing attention to the war in Europe.

This photograph is an aerial view of a reception held at the Hobberlin Estate to honour the soldiers of Port Credit and the surrounding township. The picnic was held on the Civic Holiday, August 4, 1919.

Members of the Clarkson Women’s Institute and veterans from the Dominion Orthopaedic Hospital in Toronto are photographed during a strawberry social at the home of Mrs. Charles Terry. The strawberry festival was an annual event from 1919 to the late 1940s. At the time, Clarkson was considered the “Strawberry Capital of Ontario”.

The Dominion Orthopaedic Hospital on Christie Street in Toronto opened in 1919. Veterans from the hospital and members of the Clarkson Women’s Institute are photographed at the home of Mrs. Charles Terry. The strawberry festival was an annual event sponsored by the Institute.

Members of the Clarkson Women’s Institute are photographed during a strawberry social at the home of Mrs. Charles Terry. The strawberry festival was an annual event from 1919 to the late 1940s for veterans from the Dominion Orthopaedic Hospital in Toronto.

Veterans from the Dominion Orthopaedic Hospital in Toronto are photographed at a strawberry social sponsored by the Clarkson Women’s Institute. Clarkson was considered the “Strawberry Capital of Ontario” at the time.

Mississauga in the First World War

Jimmie Writes his Mother

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