Speech on the inquiry of the Honourable Anne C. Cools (Remembrance Day)
Honourable senators, I rise to speak to the Great War and specifically Newfoundland's participation in that war.
When Britain declared war in 1914, Britain's oldest colony, Newfoundland, a dominion of the British Empire, was automatically at war. Given the island's close history with the mother country, men across the island responded to the call for volunteers and enlisted. A unit of the Royal Navy Reserve already existed in St. John's and was immediately available. With a population of only 2…