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Vol. 63, Issue 149
Proudly serving Cranbrook and area since 1951
www.dailytownsman.com
‘The World Convulsed’ This is the first in a four-part series describing the outbreak of World War One, 100 years ago this week, as seen through the pages of the Cranbrook Herald BARRY COULTER With files from Jim Cameron
“T
COURTESY KATE FOX
A broken ankle and being relegated to a wheelchair doesn’t stop Gail Mercer from doing her volunteer duties with the Cranbrook Health Care Auxiliary. See more on this example of unstoppable volunteerism on Page 3.
he World Convulsed” was the banner headline stretching across the top of the front page of the Cranbrook Herald, on Thursday, August 6, 1914. Five weeks earlier, on July 2, 1914, the Herald had printed a short article on page five, reporting the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir apparent to the Austrian throne. It was to be the catalyst that would lead to the war in Europe one month later although few in Cranbrook would have recognized it as such at the time. The region was still in shock and grief, in the aftermath of an explosion in the Hillcrest coal mine near Blairmore, Alberta, which took the lives of 189 men, many of whom were known to the people of Cranbrook. It remains the worst coal mining disaster in Canadian history (Jim Cameron, Janus, June 13,2014). But as the convoluted web of European alliances and mobilization plans of various nations began to inevitably play out, a European crisis began that would push all other headlines of the front pages. Britain declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary on August 4, meaning that the Dominion of Canada was automatically at war as well. The
Governor General of Canada — Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn — officially declared war on Germany the next day, Wednesday, August 5. It would be another month before Canadian troops arrived in Europe. The war, as expected, began with free maneuvering in Belgium and Northern France, as French and Belgian troops moved to counter the advancing German’s “Schlieffen Plan,” a two-pronged attack through France and Belgium (it was Germany’s violation of Belgium’s neutrality which prompted the British, and thus Canadian, declarations of war). The British Expeditionary Force would arrive in France on August 16. In 1914, the Cranbrook Herald, along with its rival the Cranbrook Prospector, were going through difficult times, made even more so by the advent of the war. J.R. Thompson was the Herald editor at the time. L.P. Sullivan, a long-time employee, would become editor later that year. There was no news, per se, of Canada’s declaration of war, the following day, Thursday, August 6. But Herald staff had compiled a rather comprehensive summary of international events as they were occurring.
See THE WORLD , Page 4
Trustees commit to schools opening on Sept. 2 BC school trustees are urging government, teachers to work together so school can start on schedule next month SALLY MACDONALD Townsman Staff
School trustees around the province are urging the government and the B.C. Teachers’ Federation to work together to reach an agreement. The B.C. School Trustees Association (BCSTA) issued a “Back to School Action Plan”
last week, at the same time as the Ministry of Education announced that parents of students under 13 would receive $40 a day per child to offset childcare costs during the strike. Instead, the trustees urged the government to put all money it had saved as a result of the strike and lock-
out into a Learning Improvement Fund that would support students, student learning, and class size and composition. “Boards of Education are deeply concerned about the impact of the continuing bargaining impasse on students, families, staff, and the reputation of B.C.’s public educa-
tion system,” read the statement. “As the governors of B.C.’s local school districts and employers of staff who make our schools successful, B.C. school trustees know that a balance must be found between the bargaining objectives of the BC Teachers’ Federation and the economic
mandate established by the provincial government. We believe that such a balance can be found.” As well as asking the government to commit its strike savings to a fund for learning, the trustees also put forward two more suggestions, with the goal of having schools start on time in September.
First, the trustee association urged the BCTF to modify the benefit increases teachers are seeking so that the overall compensation package will fall within the range accepted by other public sector unions.
See TRUSTEES , Page 4 See related story, Page 5