Contexto de la organización

The outbreak of war prompted an outpouring of voluntary support as communities across the dominions offered what they could to support the imperial war effort. Voluntary

11

Katie Pickles, Female Imperialismand National Identity: Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire, (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2002), 32.

12 _{Darren Ferry, Uniting in Measures of Common Good: The Construction of Liberal Identities in Central}

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societies had played an important role in supporting previous deployment of dominion soldiers overseas. When military contingents were raised to fight in New Zealand, the Sudan, the Northwest Territories, and the Transvaal, colonial and dominion governments relied on voluntary efforts to send additional comforts to soldiers overseas, provide for the families left behind, and support those who returned permanently disabled.13 Under the guidance of a respectable middle class, the people of the dominions stood once again ready to contribute when war broke out in 1914. The dominion governments, without an established military-industrial complex and drawing on this long tradition of voluntary action to support wartime mobilization, relied once again on generosity and goodwill to provide for the needs of their newly-raised expeditionary forces. Though popular and pervasive, the patriotic response to support the war effort through voluntary means was far from perfect.

One of the biggest complications of this reliance on voluntary contributions was the fact that patriotic donations did not always meet the needs of dominion military forces. In the fall of 1914, Canadian farmers offered part of their crops to help feed the soldiers of the First Contingent mustering at Valcartier. Victor Sinclair, a barrister from Tilsonburg, Ontario, wrote to Sir Sam Hughes on behalf of local farmers who offered their harvest of winter apples to the expeditionary force, if the Department of Militia could wait three weeks while the rest of the crop was prepared for storage.14 The

contingent, however, was scheduled to depart before the donation could be distributed to the soldiers.15 Elliot G. Stevenson wrote on behalf of the Independent Order of Foresters of Toronto to donate apples from the orchard maintained by their Orphan’s Home in Oakville, but only if the Department of Militia could “see to the freight or expenses.”16

13

Oppenheimer, All Work and No Pay, 11-18; Desmond Morton, Fight or Pay: Soldiers' Families in the Great War, (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2004), 53, 143; Tennant, The Fabric of Welfare, 83.

14 _{Letter from Victor Sinclair to Sam Hughes, 11 September 1914. RG 24. Vol 1036. H-Q 54-21-33-1.The}

Farmers of South Oxford Offer oats and apples to Contingent. LAC.

15

Ibid.

16

Letter from E.G. Stevenson to Sam Hughes, 6 Oct 1914. RG 24. Vol 1036. HQ 54-21-33-4.Offer of apples to Overseas Contingent, by Independent Order of Foresters. LAC.

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When it was discovered that Camp Valcartier was closed, Stevenson informed the Director of Supplies and Transport, Colonel J. Lyon Biggar, that the Independent Order of Foresters had no means of storing the apples for a subsequent contingent, and would sell the apples at market value if the Department of Militia did not pay the freight to bring them to where they were needed.17 The Department of Militia agreed to ship the apples, but due to an error, they were delivered to Captain Wilson of Toronto’s Salvation Army and distributed among the urban poor, rather than to soldiers of the CEF.18

Australians likewise responded to the outbreak of war with generous offers of support. A register kept by the Australian Department of Defence lists almost two

hundred separate donations of cash and kind made in the opening months of the war. The items varied from a barrister’s offer to draft soldiers’ wills, free of charge, to “a quantity of papaw ointment.”19 Donations of foodstuffs, particularly those with a longer shelf life, were readily received while some gifts, such as the use of 500 camels and their drivers from Abdul Wade of Wangamana, New South Wales, were dismissed as “not required at present.”20 Other donations seemed useful but were difficult to accept. Gifts of livestock were a particular challenge for defence authorities, who did not possess the facilities or manpower to tend these animals or to slaughter and process the carcasses into rations. Melbourne barrister E.J. Cordner brokered a donation of 100 sheep on behalf of his clients, but these were simply sold by the Department of Defence for £118/15.21 The Premier of South Australia presented the Defence Department with a gift of 500 sheep, meant to feed South Australian soldiers, but the gift was declined unless the sheep were

17

Letter from E.G. Stevenson to Col J. Lyon Biggar 16 Oct 1914. Ibid.

18 _{Letter from Capt A. Bell to Col J. Lyon Biggar, 30 November 1914. Ibid.}

19 _{Lines 87, 117. AWM 27. Records arranged according to AWM Library subject classification. Box 576.}

File 3. Register of gifts to assist the war effort, arranged by military district. AWM.

20

Line 104. Ibid.

21

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slaughtered and shipped overseas at the donors’ expense.22 Other donations were less practical. A.E. Gadd of Nagambie, Victoria offered a pair of binoculars, on the condition they were returned at the cessation of hostilities, while Miss A.M.A. Gibson donated her binoculars but was told to have them repaired before they could be accepted.23

Farmers in New Zealand were equally ready to contribute to the deployment of the dominion’s expeditionary force departing for Samoa. James Allen, Minister of Defence, approached the New Zealand Farmers Union for assistance in finding and feeding the contingent’s draught animals. The branches of the Farmers Union offered sufficient forage to supply all four troopships for the expedition and enough draught horses were donated to meet the requirements of the artillery and transport

detachments.24 Other organizations were less suited to supporting the dominion’s military mobilization. Twenty members of the Napier Motor Cycle Club offered to form a new motorcycle corps for home defence, arguing that such a corps “would form a highly useful arm of defence.”25 In responding to a similar offer from the Pioneer Motorcycle Club in Christchurch, Major-General Alexander Godley, General Officer Commanding New Zealand Forces, replied that there was “no present necessity” for such a corps.26 Professor Siblini of the Siblini Company found his troupe’s tour interrupted by the outbreak of war and offered to hold a patriotic concert of “conjuring, novelty musical acts, ventriloquism, ... singing and hypnotism” in Wellington, on the condition that Wellington City Council provide a hall and newspaper advertising, and let Siblini keep

22

Line 170. Ibid.

23

Line 141, Ibid.

24 _{Memo for Minute Book, August 1914.MSY-0237. Dominion meetings and conferences – Minutes,}

1914-1916. New Zealand Farmers Union. National Library of New Zealand, Wellington (hereafter NLNZ).

25

Copy of letter from Charles C Macdougall to James Allen, 15 August 1914. Army Department (AAYS) Inwards letters and registered files (8638) Record Group AD1.Box 772. Record Number 23/60/10. Administration and Miscellaneous - Motor cyclists - Offering services NZEF. Archives New Zealand, Wellington (hereafter ANZ).

26 _{Telegram from MGen A.J. Godley to P.R. Harman, 5 August 1914. AAYS, 8638, AD1, 772/9/24.}

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forty percent of the show’s revenues. The Town Clerk politely declined Siblini’s offer.27 Donations at the outbreak of war were often hastily assembled, based on what donors had to offer. These were of sometimes limited value to national mobilization.

Donations were offered in the spirit of patriotism, but patriotic zeal had its limits. While donors offered surplus foodstuffs, equipment, or services, these gifts were

sometimes offered with the expectation that the state would subsidize part of the costs or at least allow the donor to recoup some of the lost profit. Pragmatism was as

characteristic of these donations as patriotism. Farmers offered surplus apples, provided the state bore the costs of shipping, packing, or storing those apples so they could reach the troops. Sheep were offered whether or not they were needed, and some were simply sold for cash while others were returned unless they were slaughtered, frozen, and shipped. Entertainers were prepared to perform for patriotic purposes, provided they could still earn their living by retaining a share of the show’s takings. Some gifts, such as the use of 500 camels and their cameleers, were not deemed of any use. In making these gestures of generosity, donors struck a fine balance between patriotism and pragmatism, just as agents of the state weighed the costs and benefits of accepting these gifts and investing the additional expense of shipping, storage, or repair that was required to make them useful. The outbreak of war prompted widespread patriotic enthusiasm that

manifested in a multitude of donations to support the national and imperial war effort. The reliance on voluntary contributions to sustain the dominion war efforts turned wartime mobilization into a dynamic exchange between the state and its constituents, which shows how both sides of this compact understood the process of mobilization. Under this system, the outbreak of war afforded an opportunity for individuals and communities to feel more involved with the conduct of the war overseas. Whether it was apples, sheep, or a circus act, donors offered what they had on hand or offered to

purchase or produce material that they believed was essential to the war effort. In many cases, there was an expectation that the state would accept responsibility for some of the

27 _{Letter from Prof Siblini to Town Clerk, Wellington, 17 August 1914. 00233: 265 :1914 / 1627 -}

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cost of storage or shipping, or provide some other compensation in exchange for a donation. The agents of the state could accept or reject these gifts in the interests of an efficient war effort. The calculus that determined the value of a donation was complicated by the personal relationships that motivated patriotic gifts.