How shaming played a big role in Canada's WW I recruitment

For Canadians who weren't serving overseas during the First World War, every day was a reminder they weren't on the front lines.

Posters put out by the government could easily be found on buildings and in newspapers and magazines, all talking about the war effort. The posters were mostly found in larger, urban centres, although some were in rural communities.

In an age without the internet, TV or widespread radio, posters were the primary way government communicated with its citizens.

"It's not just one poster on a wall somewhere, it would constantly be in your face," said John Macleod, the manager of the Nova Scotia Archives.

The posters had many messages to share, but some of the key ones were the need to make sacrifices — such as rationing — for the collective good, buy war bonds and for men to enlist. If they hadn't signed up yet, the posters had a very specific message.

"There was the full-on shaming of young men, accusing them, 'Why are you not in uniform?' You know, forcing them to justify why they were staying at home while so many others were in uniform," said Tim Cook, the director of research at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.

While enlistment was initially voluntary, Canada implemented conscription in 1917 as the war dragged on and the need for more soldiers grew.

Cook said there were hundreds of different posters produced. Many of them have been digitized and can be found on exhibits by the Canadian War Museum and the Nova Scotia Archives.

The posters were usually bright, colourful and used key words and phrases. The combination of powerful imagery and "constant bombardment" had an effect on Canadians, said Cook.

"They're really at times tugging on people's heartstrings, demanding that they contribute to the war because the boys are suffering overseas," he said.

"At other times, they're playing up on guilt for young men, issues of masculinity, 'Are you man enough to serve overseas?' And the list goes on and on."

Some posters even used sports analogies, said Cook. One poster questioned why people would want to be spectators at a hockey game when they could "play a mans part in the real game overseas."

When Canada entered the Great War in 1914, its military consisted of about 3,000 members. By the end of the war, more than 600,000 men had served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

"These were citizen soldiers," said Cook. "These were citizen armies. They were raised from the civilian population and they were staggering numbers."

During the First World War, the population of Canada was around around seven million people. About one in three adult Canadian males served, said Cook.

He said recruitment posters could often be found near armouries that were in need of men.

Posters at grocery stores might include messages regarding rationing or the need to produce more butter.

Cook, the author of 12 books on Canadian military history, has studied letters and diaries from thousands of soldiers. He said that while some soldiers talked about feeling pressure to enlist, many believed in the cause.

"Others felt that tremendous pressure as the young men in the community went off to war and the absences in the school classroom or on the factory line or in the community were seen and there was more and more pressure, and I think these posters added to that," he said.

While the posters that shame men for not enlisting don't hold up well in today's society, Cook said it's important to remember that those from the First World War come from a different time and place.

But he said some of the messages still resonate, such as the need to make sacrifices for the greater good.

"Some of that messaging, we see it now every day with COVID," said Cook. "It's a part of the messaging around the need to social distance or wear masks or to sacrifice one's own civil liberties for the greater good. And this is the messaging that comes through very prominently and in some of these First World War posters."

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