Working on addition to 1st House all day
Sent letter to Mr. J. Neat
Germans nearing Ostend.
Hugh Neill calls stays 11 pm
Tuesday 15 September 1914 – cloudy
Germans are committing terribly atrocities in Belgium & France.
To work at Keith Road School all day
Hugh Neill calls at night & plays cards with Charles & myself.
*The Rape of Belgium – During the occupation of Belgium German troops were accused of killing civilians en masse on multiple occasions as well as destroying large amounts of civilian property. The events were quickly used as anti-German propaganda in England and North America and referred to as the Rape of Belgium.
Friday 11 September 1914 – rain
Raining hard. Slight earthquake struck at 8:25 am
At 7:30 pm I go to the Public School Ground with Mr. Purdie. Instruct the members of Lynn Valley Home Guard in Military Drills. At 8:40 pm to St. Clements Church to attend choir. Hugh Neill called in evening.
Thursday 10 September 1914 – dull & occasional showers
At work on Keith Road School.
Hugh Neill calls in evening.
Monday 7 September 1914 – rain all day
Hugh Neill calls in morning
Stays all day with Charles
I go to Neat’s at 10:30 am, take flowers. Miss Ethel (Sissy) Neat goes away. I stay to lunch.
I take Dorothea & Frances to the Vancouver Exhibition. Have a very good time & arrive home at 7:30 pm. We started at 2 pm. Stayed for supper & afterwards we played cards till 11 pm.
Saturday 22 August 1914 – fine
To work on Keith Road School in morning. In afternoon I to Vancouver & met Hugh Neill at the Ferry Wharf. “We go to the C.P.R. Depot & see the 72nd Highland Regiment off to the war. (via Valcartier, Quebec) They left at 3:30 pm.” To Quirt’s & chat awhile. I leave Hugh at 5:30 pm & go to Theobald’s, where I have late dinner. Afterwards to Quirt’s (7:30 pm). Myrtle is not at home. I say good-bye to Mrs. & children & leave for Rex Theatre. Home to Lynn Valley at 10 pm.
*The 72nd Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders of Canada, were part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during WWI. They were mobilized out of Vancouver, and fought in France and Flanders though the entirety of WWI.
Friday 14 August 1914 – very hot
Working on Schools Keith Road. Hugh Neill calls in evening & has chat – feels lonely
The heat is very intense.
German Cruiser Leipzig is outside Cape Flattery. HMS Rainbow is in Esquimalt, also Shearwater & Algerine.
*HMS Rainbow –An Apollo-class cruiser originally built for Great Britain’s Royal Navy but was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy in 1910. The Rainbow was brought into Vancouver to assist with the Komagata Maru incident; it also patrolled the west cost of North America during WWI.
Wednesday 22 July 1914 – very hot
Working on Keith Road.
Fixing creek. Making Plank Bottom. Mr. & Mrs. Hugh Neill take a walk in my garden. To Shiells in evening. Buying odds & ends. He leaves to Calgary Monday.
