During the First World War, over 45, 000 Torontonians served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force or with the British Army, representing more than three-quarters of all eligible men in the city. 4, 904 soldiers and nurses died on active service. The largest English-speaking city in the country and major transportation hub, residents witnessed tens of thousands of soldiers pass through Toronto on their way to the East Coast and onward to England throughout the war. The city was also a centre for recruiting and training. One important training camp, Exhibition Park, housed tens of thousands of troops.
The city recruited many regiments during both World Wars. No less than three hold battle honours at Vimy in 1917 and Normandy in 1944, an incredible statistic. The Royal Regiment of Canada had four numbered battalions at Vimy, and during the Second World War, the regiment landed in Normandy in July 1944. Another Toronto regiment, the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada fought at Vimy with the 1st Canadian Division and landed on D-Day with the 3rd Canadian Division. The Toronto Scottish Regiment had a battalion with the 4th Canadian Division at Vimy and landed with the Royal Regiment of Canada in Normandy.
Municipal government contributed an enormous amount to the city’s war efforts too. During the First World War for example, city council donated municipal horses to the military, and to encourage enlistment, assumed the full risk of insuring the lives of all Torontonians on active service at a cost of $4.4 million. The residents of the city were no less generous. By the end of the war, Torontonians had contributed nearly $145 million to the federal Victory Loan campaign, which would be the equivalent to nearly two billion dollars today!
The city is marked with cenotaphs, perhaps the most central of which is located at Old City Hall at the corner of Queen and Bay Streets. Originally built after the First World War and modelled after The Cenotaph at Whitehall in London, the memorial commemorates all Torontonians who lost their lives in both World Wars.
Sources:
1. Sendzikas, Aldona. Stanley Barracks : Toronto's Military Legacy. Toronto, CA: Dundurn Group, 2011.
2. Bank of Canada Inflation Calculator
3. City of Toronto website. First World War Commemoration.
Featured image: Credit: Wikimedia.