It might be a Long Way
to Tipperary, but it was even a longer way home to Canada.
Some of the nearly half million Canadians serving overseas
in the Great War had family in Britain, but others found themselves far from
home, perhaps for the first time. Many were still in their teens, and unused to
large cities like London, which was also notoriously expensive.
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| Princess Patricia of Connaught - by W&D Downey |
While Canadian officers were welcome at established British
clubs – the Royal Automobile Club often being mentioned in memoirs, for example
– there was nothing similar for enlisted men.
Concerned for their welfare when on leave or convalescing,
and in the hopes of keeping them out of trouble in London, Lady Drummond of
Montreal – who was head of the Canadian Red Cross Information Bureau in London
- instituted the Maple Leaf Clubs for Canadian soldiers. They provided a hot
bath, clean bed, decent meals, and a homey place to congregate for a minimal
cost. They were subsidized by contributions from organizations in Canada, like
the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire (IODE) and Canadian Clubs, as well
as private citizens.
Rudyard Kipling and his wife were on the Board of
Directors, and volunteers who helped serve meals included Princess Patricia,
whose father, His Royal Highness the Duke of Connaught, was Canada's Governor
General from 1911-1916. The King was so impressed that he asked they be named
the King George and Queen Mary Maple Leaf Clubs.
One of my characters is involved in setting up a fictional Maple
Leaf Club outside of London in The Summer Before The Storm.
Women were not forgotten, as the IODE established a club for
Canadian nurses in Lady Minto’s London townhouse. Lord Minto was a former
Governor General of Canada.
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