War on the Homefront

This is a poster advertising the Canadian army’s need for black men to join the construction battalion. This poster is somewhat ironic because at the start of the war, the Canadian army did not want to recruit persons of colour, saying that they would not integrate well in battalions and cause disunity. This poster speaks to the consequences of dropping enrollment numbers in the Canadian army, and higher and higher casualties in Europe. Government officials were becoming nervous about not enough people joining, so they opened their mindsets about recruiting other ethnicities, one of these was the black population.

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This black and white photograph shows the devastation and aftermath of the blast of Mont Blanc explosive supply ship. The explosion was a chain reaction started by a spark from the collision of Mont Blanc and Imo. This spark ignited the gas carried by the Mont Blanc and the fire then spread to the cargo hold filled with 2925 tons of explosives. This explosion was the largest man-made explosion before the nuclear bomb. This historical event shows causation because the explosion happened as a myriad of factors, not as a result of one person. For example, the Mont Blanc didn’t fly its munitions flag, the Imo was on the wrong side of the harbour, and the sparks from the collision. This source also is significant because it reminds people of the consequences or mishandling dangerous goods and that one should always plan ahead and not act on impulse as the captain of the Imo did when his ship left the harbour without the Quartermaster’s permission. Lastly, this source shows the perspectives of the people living close to the harbour because their houses were completely ruined and many of their friends and family were killed. It really conveys the feeling of hopelessness at seeing all the rubble and remnants of what used to be a thriving metropolis.

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This picture shows staff of the Canadian Bank of Commerce all wearing masks as a result of the Spanish influenza epidemic in 1918. This picture shows staff of the Canadian Bank of Commerce wearing masks to protect themselves of the Spanish influenza epidemic in 1918. This picture illustrates the change in people’s lives caused by the constant fear of getting sick and having to care for their sick family members. I can also infer that the cause of this outbreak and the fast spreading could have been due to soldiers who were returning form war and were carriers of the virus. This resulted in an exponential almost uncontrollable infection rate. This also highlights the significance of this epidemic and changes that had to be implemented by the people, governments, and health organisations to first limit the spread and then compile the lessons learned and develop measures to avoid future outbreaks.

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This is a “recruitment” flyer for the 255th Battalion. This card is a form of recruitment that asked people to denounce men who had not voluntarily enlisted in the army. When a card like this was received by recruiters, they would locate the man on the card and try to shame and/or even threaten him into enlisting. At that time, most people believed that going to war for your country was the highest honour and not going was betraying your country. This card highlights that by appealing to people’s emotions they would be more likely to turn underlisted men in. This is a clear view of how society differs today from back then, whereas nowadays we don’t judge people for their choices. This also makes this source significant and revealing about the perspectives of that time because it shows the patriotism that people had to their countries and would support them no matter what and shows Canadians how our society’s values have evolved and changed over time.

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