Collection search - Hamilton, Harry C. -- Interview

Record information – Brief

1

Hamilton, Harry C. -- Interview

Item number (ISN):

379719

Series title:

[The Great War and Canadian Society]

Hierarchical level:

Item (Accession level)

Date:

1974-06-17

Item number (ISN):

379719

Link to related resource:

Type of material:

Sound recordings

Found in:

Archives / Film, Video and Sound

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Record information – Details

Fonds/collection:

THE GREAT WAR AND CANADIAN SOCIETY PROJECT

Accession:

1975-0098

Media:

Sound

Part:

1 of 1

Production date:

1974-06-17

Production company:

Opportunities for Youth

Production credit:

interviewer, Pauline Pytka

Description:

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Interview of Harry C. Hamilton, who was born in Bourne, Lincolnshire, England in 1881, moved with his parents to Belfast, Northern Ireland and Tacoma, Washington, and then to Canada in 1895. His father was a Presbyterian minister. The family settled in Toronto. Hamilton talks about: life in Toronto; the street railway in Toronto; stores such as Eaton’s and Simpson’s; Toronto churches; Massey Hall; his work in the printing industry, proofreading and typesetting; his working conditions and wages; his studies at the conservatory to become an organist; his work as a music teacher in Lindsay, Ontario from 1901 to 1912; residing in North Bay from 1915 to 1917, where he taught piano and organ; enlisting in Toronto in the Medical Corps in 1917, “instead of killing people”; the optimism people felt when the war broke out, taking victory for granted; conscientious objectors; conscription; his decision to enlist when he realized the seriousness of the war; his fondness for the music and other beauty Germany had given the world and his consequent regret that there was war with Germany; being at Camp Borden and Niagara-on-the-Lake; being sent to the British Columbia coast; on hospital duty to care for people who had come down with influenza; the declaration of the armistice; being sent to Vladivostok for several months, with the army of occupation; camp duties in Vladivostok; his return to Canada in the spring of 1919; hearing Nellie McClung speak about the war and women’s rights; blackouts; changes in society after the war, including laxity about religion, alcohol and tobacco; his marriage; his wages and the cost of living; how war made him more tolerant of the diversity of people; the army as a melting pot; army rules and regulations; the background of other soldiers and the gentlemanly behaviour of some soldiers.

Language:

English

Notes:

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1. The interviews took place in 1974 and resulted in the publication of a book entitled "The Great War and Canadian Society" edited by Daphne Read - copyright 1978 - New Hogtown Press, Toronto.~2. Release forms, data sheets, and summary analysis/transcripts are available in binders labelled Opportunities for Youth - War and Canadian Society in VSA's audio-visual section.~3. Part of a series of recorded interviews with elderly citizens who lived in Canada during the period of World War I. The interview material consists of their opinions and observations about the war, the war years, and the effect on Canadian society during and after WWI.~4. The interviewee signed an agreement giving consent for a recording of this interview to be placed in the Public Archives of Canada for the purposes of historical research and also signed a publication agreement allowing any transcribed portions of the interview to be used in the book under the condition that no full names, addresses or phone numbers would be published.~5. Subject description is based on information found in the fact sheet, deposit agreement, publication agreement and summary analysis.
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Date modified:: 2024-06-27