Where Duty Leads: Waving Off The 109th

Community celebrates the centenary of the sendoff for the 109th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force from Lindsay, Ont.

The Friday night dinner was based on the menu at the farewell banquet for the 109th in 1916

Thinly sliced tongue served on crackers at the commemorative dinner.

Sir Sam Hughes, portrayed by a local actor, and Nancy Payne, editor of Kayak

The uniform of local nursing sister Florence Sennett of Lindsay on display at the commemorative dinner

Vintage vehicles in the Waving off the 109th commemorative parade

An actor playing Lady Eaton, originally from nearby Omemee, wishes the troops well

Lt. Col. J.J. Fee, the local man who commanded the 109th, as portrayed by an actor, vows to keep the colours unstained

“Lady Eaton” presents the colours of the 109th to a representative from the Royal Canadian Legion, Sir Sam Hughes Branch 67

The Concert Band of Cobourg and First World War re-enactors watch the ceremonies.

by Nancy Payne

Throughout the First World War, nearly every community in Canada said a stoic farewell as its young men left to fight in Europe, and often, its young women went to serve as nursing sisters overseas. In Lindsay, Ont., residents had a unique chance to recreate that emotional experience as the Victoria County Historical Society hosted “Where Duty Leads: Waving Off The 109th,” with events on Friday, May 13 and Saturday, May 14.

The weekend started with a commemorative dinner at the Victoria Park Armoury on May 13, using a meat-heavy menu is based on the one used for the battalion’s 1916 banquet. Afterward, Soldiers of Song paid tribute to The Dumbells, a popular comedy and variety group that performed for troops and toured as a vaudeville act after the war.

A century ago, more than 1,000 young men from the former Victoria County (now the city of Kawartha Lakes), members of 109th Battalion of Victoria and Haliburton Counties, gathered in Lindsay to board trains for a journey that would end on the battlefields of Europe. On Saturday, May 14, that gathering was commemorated with a parade that included cadets, bands, veterans, vintage restored vehicles and costumed re-enactors marched along Lindsay’s main street. The parade concluded with a re-enactment of the 1916 presentation of the colours by an actor playing Lady Eaton, who came from the nearby village of Omemee.

Capping off the events was a farewell concert at the town’s historic Academy Theatre on Saturday evening, featuring a wide range of music and dramatic contributions by local high school students.

Event organizer Carly Power anticipated a good show of support from the local community and beyond, because the events were not meant simply as spectacle. “We are commemorating the men and women who served in the First World War, and we are hoping this weekend will help people will become more aware of their sacrifices and this area’s contributions.”

Perhaps Lindsay’s most famous contribution to war operations was the erratic and self-aggrandizing Minister of Militia Sir Sam Hughes, a local newspaper publisher and the area’s MP at the time of the war. The local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion is named for Hughes, who will be portrayed throughout the events by a retired actor.