ONTARIO'S IMMEDIATE REACTION TO THE NEWS THAT WAR HAD BEEN DECLARED 

 All Western Ontario was tremendously stirred by news that Great Britain had joined the melee of nations in Europe. Developments of the past week were such as to rouse interest to keenest pitch, and the cities and larger towns of the province were waiting at the end of the telegraph wires, as it were, for the worst that might come. Residents of communities all over The Free Press' district called this office on the long distance telephone in great numbers. Demonstrations of the people of Brantford, Preston Woodstock and other places were reported in dispatches to The Free Press. At Woodstock the officers of the 22nd Oxford Rifles had opened a recruiting office, and the recruiting got a sudden impetus from the news. On the streets of Woodstock the people sang 'Rule Britannia' and the National Anthem. and there was enthusiasm exhibited in many other places, but most striking of all was the way in which the Town of Berlin received the news. Residents of the city sang 'Rule Britannia' where they were gathered in theatres. There was a parade of members of the 24th Grey's Horse, and the people cheered the cavalrymen as they went by. Loyalty to the empire was shown in unmistakable fashion by the German-Canadian citizens of Busy Berlin. St. Thomas City Council heard the news while in session and arose in a body to sing 'God Save the King.' The crowds on London streets cheered when war between Germany and Great Britain was definitely announced. Suspense and pent-up excitement, generated by the developments of the day, found expression in a yell when the bulletins told at last that the empire was at war. 'Three cheers for Kitchener' called someone in the crowd in front of The Free Press office, and they were given heartily. 'Three cheers for the King' was asked for and given ... The streets were in a turmoil for hours after the fateful announcement and the Old Boys' Reunion and all other matters were given a very secondary place of consideration. At 10.40 enthusiasts started a procession on Richmond Street, with four Union Jacks and a trombone player from the Seventh Regiment Band as a basis, and it soon became a big parade, shouting and singing down the streets. At 11 o'clock the crowd on Richmond Street was singing 'Three Cheers for the Red, White and Blue' and the National Anthem.

From:  London Free Press, 5 August 1914