The following is a re-print of a past column by former Advertiser columnist Stephen Thorning, who passed away on Feb. 23, 2015.
Some text has been updated to reflect changes since the original publication and any images used may not be the same as those that accompanied the original publication.
As the Second World War came to an end, no one wanted to see a repetition of what had occurred in the aftermath of the previous war.
In 1918 the troops had returned to see others occupying their peace time jobs, the country suffering from the combined woes of price inflation and economic turn-down, and virtually nothing in the way of support or assistance for discharged soldiers.
Higher levels of government spent much time in 1945 and 1946 to ensure that the economy shifted as smoothly as possible from a war to a peace time basis. At the local level, municipal councils and various service clubs did all they could to welcome the men and women home, and to help them to become integrated quickly into the community.
A major factor that had not existed after the First World War was the Royal Canadian Legion. Branches braced themselves for a deluge of new members a generation younger than the existing membership.
Elora’s actions were typical of small communities in this respect. Early in 1946 council appointed a Civic Reception Committee, consisting of Jim Cameron, V. E. Waters and J.K. MacDonald. The latter two were members of Elora council, and MacDonald had been an officer in WWI. To provide working funds to the new committee council transferred a surplus of $1,566 in its Victory Loan Fund. Council later topped off the fund with a further $1,000 grant.
The Civic Reception Committee performed some informal tasks to help returning veterans, but its main task was arranging public ceremonies. Most of those were planned for November 1946, to coincide with Remembrance Day. The committee cooperated with other groups in town, and particularly Branch 229 of the Legion.
The Legion in Elora had established a supporting relationship with the Boy Scout and Girl Guide movement in the 1930s, and that association would last for decades. On Nov. 9 of 1946, Elora’s Scouts spent the day selling poppies on the main street and door-to-door. In the evening Legion members treated the boys to a film show at the Armory Hall (now Elora’s liquor store), followed by a supper of hot dogs.
Remembrance Day fell on a Monday in 1946. A rain fell steadily through the morning. Legion members from both wars paraded from the Legion’s rooms to the cenotaph for a brief ceremony. Chaplain Rev. C.J. Loat, assisted by Rev. T.J. Rees, conducted a brief service that included the laying of seven wreaths. Lois Ruller played The Last Post.
Public interest in the Nov. 11 service was almost nil in Elora, as was the case in most places in the late 1940s. Bank branches and government offices closed, but otherwise it was business as usual. Perhaps a dozen people stopped to observe the Elora ceremony.
During the following two weeks, various organizations held events for veterans and their wives. The Women’s Association of Elora United Church put on an entertainment for servicemen’s wives, some of whom were war brides and totally unfamiliar with small town Ontario life. Mrs. C.A. Burt acted as chairman for the evening of music and games, assisted by Eva Gofton, Dorothy Hosking and Mrs. E.K. Wilson. All the guests received gifts of cups and saucers.
Elora’s Women’s Institute also took a special interest in the war brides, with speakers and demonstrations to help them get established in running their households, and to make them feel welcome in the community.
On the Sunday after Remembrance Day, Nov. 17, there were special church services for veterans at 3:30 in the afternoon, dedicated to honour the memories of those who had died in the recent hostilities. Led by the Fergus Pipe Band, the veterans marched in formation from the Legion rooms to St. Mary’s Church. Catholics fell out of the march there, which continued on to Knox Presbyterian Church for a simultaneous service for Protestants.
Rev. H.G. Lowry officiated at Knox. He had been a squadron leader during the war. Rev. C.J. Loat of St. John’s Anglican delivered the memorial address, followed by the playing of The Last Post. The highlight of the service was the presentation of inscribed silver rose bowls to the mothers of deceased veterans, on behalf of the Civic Reception Committee. Rev. Theo Rees of Elora’s United Church followed with a message of Rededication. The voices of the choirs of all three churches joined to make the musical selections particularly memorable. They were joined on two selections by William La Penotiere, scion of an old Elora family.
At the same time as the Knox proceedings, Father Shea conducted a Holy Hour service at St. Mary’s Church. Veterans occupied the front rows. His address praised the sacrifices of those who had served overseas. Rose bowls were presented as part of the program.
The Civic Reception Committee had identified 10 deceased soldiers as Elora natives. There was some discussion within the committee concerning who should or should be included as an Elora native, but there was nothing like the animosity that had been generated in producing a similar list 20 years earlier for WWI. Both churches turned over the collections at the services, about $40 at each church, to the Legion.
The Civic Reception Committee intended the Sunday services to be in memory of those who had died during the war. For surviving veterans the committee scheduled its big event, a banquet and dance, for Nov. 20, a Wednesday.
Work on the event had been under way for several months. It was not a public event; rather, it was for veterans, their partners, next-of-kin of deceased soldiers, and invited guests only. Elora’s Boys and Girls Band led a parade from the Legion to the Armory Hall, which was suitably decorated for the occasion. They were warmly welcomed by Reeve Harry Walser.
The Amoury Hall was the obvious choice for the dinner and ceremony. It had been the scene of other ceremonies for returning soldiers three times in the 80 years since it had been built. The structure was brand new the first time in 1866, when the village honoured the Elora Rifles on their return from the Fenian campaign. And there had been ceremonies in the building for veterans of the South African War and WWI.
The crowd of about 135 sat down to an ample turkey dinner, prepared by the Legion’s Ladies Auxiliary, and organized by Janet Boyd and Luella Figg. The Boys and Girls Band provided musical selections during the meal.
Afterward they enjoyed a variety show, led by impersonator Len Burt of London, with three other performers. All had been active in entertaining soldiers overseas. Several veterans had seen them in Europe. Following The Last Post and a few moments of silence, Squadron Leader Rev. H.G. Lowry delivered the main address, aimed specifically at the veterans. He skillfully used humour in his talk about what the men would remember and what they would forget about their war experiences.
The Civic Reception Committee gave each of the veterans a specially commissioned ring. Reeve Walser made the presentations on behalf of the people of Elora. There were 104 names on the list, and subsequently the committee added three more. Only two were women: Agnes Cowe and Margaret Cameron. The rings came from a Toronto jeweller who prepared a special die for striking the crest on the rings. Speaking for his fellow veterans, Corporal Doug Brown briefly expressed appreciation for the gifts, the entertainment and the welcome. He concluded by saying the soldiers were “once more at peace in their home town.”
Elora people always have had an intense dislike of long-winded speeches. A.A. Badley (representing Victory Bond salesmen), J.K. MacDonald (for the Legion), Jim Cameron (for the Civic Reception Committee) and Bandmaster Robinson all addressed the assembly, but their comments were over in a few minutes.
By then everyone wanted to get up and stretch. Willing hands cleared away the tables and the crowd, augmented by non-veterans, got ready to end the evening with a dance, to music provided by the Bob Martin Orchestra of Guelph.
The committee went to the trouble of securing a liquor permit for the event. Imbibers did not have much choice: the Liquor Control Board allowed them to purchase two cases of rye whiskey for the event.
The final task of the Civic Reception Committee was the engraving of the names of the fallen soldiers on the Elora cenotaph. At the same time, the committee reset the monument, originally dedicated in 1928, and cleaned two decades worth of soot and grime from it. With that work complete, the committee dissolved in 1947.
The Elora Legion put on a Remembrance Day dinner in the late 1930s, but it was discontinued during the war.
Branch 229 revived the event for 1947, and it has been a major annual event in the village ever since, prepared invariably by the Ladies Auxiliary.
*This column was originally published in the Advertiser on Nov. 4, 2005.
