Mere minutes after the First World War ended, that day was proclaimed a holiday in Bradford.
The church and fire hall bells rang out the glad news, as the town prepared a huge celebration.
Jimmy Brydon even had a “dandy suit of combination overalls and smock” he donated to be stuffed with straw for a “pretty fair looking kaiser” effigy, which was hung with wire across the main street from Green’s to Thornton’s corner, according to a Bradford Witness article on Nov. 13, 1918.
“Oh what a difference there was in the sound of the church bell from the many times during the past years when it tolled the mournful message that another soldier had laid down his life,” read the article. “There was real music in the sound of the bell this time.”
But as residents prepared to celebrate what the Witness called “the most memorable day in the world’s history,” they got bad news: the war was actually not over.
“When the evening papers came the announcement that the message was not official put a damper on the whole thing,” read the Witness.
But that all changed four days later on Nov. 11, 1918. The Great War had ended.
This time, the Witness printed WORLD WAR ENDED in bold print.
Mr. S. Martin told the newspaper he was the first Bradford resident to hear the news while having dinner in Newmarket, and he immediately penned a poem:
We have won the war because we were in the right,
All glory to our victors for their gallant fight,
The proud and haughty Hun with all his boasted might,
By our gallant troops has been completely put to flight.
As the news spread, excitement erupted once more, and that day was immediately proclaimed a holiday.
A lively procession starting at the high school kicked off celebrations at 2 p.m., with children clutching “noise making devices of all descriptions,” packed tightly into trucks from the flour mill and livery stable, according to the Witness.
“They sure made lots of clatter when a dollar was offered to the one who made the most noise,” read the article, noting George Mooney, armed with a tin box and cowbell, ended up winning the prize.
High school teachers and students carried banners in the procession, followed by a crowd of citizens.
Local resident Alex Sutherland also had boys bob for dimes in a dish filled with black syrup. “Black and smeary faces were the result,” read the article.
Around 3 p.m. on the main corner, Rev. MacLean gave a “short, spicy address,” and he called for three cheers each for little Belgium, the British Navy, the British Empire, and “our brave Canadian soldiers.”
Later that evening, hundreds of residents packed into Town Hall to continue the celebration — and they had a special guest.
The first returning Bradford soldier — Lt. T. W. McConkey — got into town that day.
He was invited up on stage, where several local politicians and clergymen welcomed him, before they launched into a religious service filled with praise to the Almighty and hymns. Miss V. Broughton was the piano player.
The celebration ended with a rousing chorus of O Canada.
And whatever happened to Jimmy Brydon’s best pair of overalls from the false armistice? Well, they still got burned as part of an effigy — along with three other effigies torched over the course of the two celebrations.
“He will refuse to pay his poll tax this year,” read the Witness. “Many a one, however, said that if the report were only true he would give the best pair of pants he had.”
Church bells will ring again this weekend:
At sundown on Nov. 11 this year, church bells will toll 100 times to mark the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day and the end of the First World War.
Trinity Anglican Church in Bradford West Gwillimbury will be participating.
