Rebel - Claudius Corneloup - We were there - Canada and the First World War

Rebel - Claudius Corneloup - We were there - Canada and the First World War - Library and Archives Canada

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Important Notices

Rebel
After the Battle of the Somme, reinforcements became a pressing issue. Caught in the bureaucratic complexities established by the Minister of the Militia, Sam Hughes, the troops were not even able to leave England. In Canada, the pool of volunteer soldiers had been exhausted and the last battalions left the country often not having reached authorized strength. Reform had become inevitable and the only solution being considered by political and military authorities was compulsory military service, an unlikely alternative as long as Hughes was in office. With the Minister's resignation in November 1916, Prime Minister Borden made an about-face. Having promised that compulsory service would never be imposed, Borden went back on his promise, running up against overwhelming opposition among the people of Quebec to any measure leading to compulsory service. On July 25, 1917, the Military Service Act was passed, and opposition continued to grow.

To garner government support with respect to soldiers, it was decided that soldiers' parents would be exempted from compulsory service. In spite of this decision and the crying need for reinforcements, many soldiers were opposed to the measures. Corneloup was one of them and, during a period of calm after the Battle of the Somme, he wrote a letter of protest to Henri Bourassa of the newspaper Le Devoir. The letter also accused a number of officers of incompetence. Lost by the author, this letter was found by a battalion officer. Courneloup was court martialed and sentenced to a humiliating punishment, which was later somewhat reduced. Nevertheless, Courneloup finished the war on a more honourable note, earning a promotion to warrant officer, the Distinguished Conduct Medal and a military medal.