The Western Front: Paintings from the Sea

Wartime Sea Painting 1: "Canada's Grand Armada, 1914," by Frederick Challener

This painting by Canadian artist Frederick Challener depicts the First Contingent of the Canadian Expeditionary Force departing from Quebec’s Gaspé Basin in October of 1914. 

In The Official History of the Canadian Army in the First World War: Canadian Expeditionary Force, 1914-1919, Historian and Soldier G.W.L Nicholson provides a detailed account of the mobilisation process leading up to the moment captured in Challener’s painting.

Following the appointment of E.A.H Alderson as commander of the Canadian Expeditionary Force in 1914, the process of moving ships, troops, equipment, and horses to England for training on Salisbury Plain began [1]. The history behind Challener’s seemingly peaceful painting is one of chaos given the many obstacles faced throughout the mobilisation process. The Canadian government decided to send a total of 31,200 troops on the first shipment to England. The loading docks were constantly busy and units often disregarded instructions which made the loading process that much more disorganised. At one point an entire vessel, called the Bermudian, had to be unloaded completely and reorganised because there was a lack of space for troops, supplies, and horses [2].  

Canada’s First Contingent consisted of more than 30 ships carrying over 31,000 troops and was escorted by the Royal Navy. Between October 1 to October 3, 1914, the ships began moving into the Gaspé Basin for rendezvous where they would move into the St. Lawrence to begin their journey to England. While sailing through the narrow exit of the Gaspé Harbour, the line of ships exceeded 21 miles in length [3].   

It took the contingent 12 days to reach England. Reports of German submarines patrolling the English Channel meant that docking in Southampton, England, was too much of a risk. As a result, the contingent sailed into Plymouth upon last-minute changes. Once in England, First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, cabled to Ottawa stating that “Canada sends her aid at a timely moment…The conflict moves forward and fiercer struggles lie before us than any which have yet been fought” [4].

Wartime Sea Painting 2: "Olympic with Returned Soldiers" by Arthur Lismer

This painting by future Group of Seven artist, Arthur Lismer, depicts Canada’s most well-known WWI troop ship and sister ship to the Titanic, the SS Olympic, returning to Halifax Harbour at the end of the war.

Military historian David R. Gary wrote an impassioned account of the Olympic’s service throughout the war. Referred to as “Old Reliable” by the Canadian soldiers who frequently sailed aboard, the SS Olympic carried 6000 Canadian troops per trip and, by the end of the war, carried more troops than any other WWI troopship [5]. The Olympic served as a troopship from September 1915 until the end of the war. Throughout the Olympic’s 3 years of wartime service, Captain Bertram Hayes served as her captain [6]. The Olympic’s primary purpose was to transport soldiers across the Atlantic, leaving from Halifax Harbour, to England, docking in Liverpool. On one occasion, however, the Olympic transported troops across the Mediterranean in the Eastern theatre of WWI.

The SS Olympic spent much of her time in Halifax Harbour. In fact, the ship narrowly escaped the Halifax Explosion that occurred on December 6, 1917. The Olympic left Halifax Harbour just 5 days before the explosion that devastated the city and killed over a thousand citizens [7].   

1917 marked an important year for the SS Olympic as she was elevated to the status of HMT Olympic, meaning His Majesty’s Troopship. Upon receiving maintenance, the Olympic was re-armed with new guns and re-painted with dazzle camouflage patterns. It is this blue dazzle design that Arthur Lismer’s painting depicts. Dazzle camouflage was a common camouflage technique used on ships during WWI. Camouflage has often been associated with invisibility. However, the dazzle technique, also known as “razzle dazzle,” consists of geometric shapes, stripes, and colours which distorts the ability of the enemy to gauge range, speed, size, and heading [8]. The Olympic’s dazzle camouflage pattern helped to protect her at the height of the German submarine torpedo threats in May 1917 [9].      

Although born in England, Arthur Lismer moved to Halifax in 1916. Upon witnessing the wartime mobilisation efforts taking place in the crucial port city of Halifax Harbour, Lismer wrote to the director of the National Gallery of Canada, Eric Brown, requesting to be commissioned by the Canadian War Memorials Fund. Lismer was commissioned in June 1918 and was granted the ability to remain in Halifax Harbour to paint wartime activities on the Homefront.

Lismer’s depiction captures the moment the Olympic arrived in Halifax to bring Canadian troops home at the end of the war on December 14, 1918. The ship, and its passengers, were welcomed into Halifax Harbour by cheering civilians. To show their appreciation, the people of Halifax presented Captain Bertram Hayes with an inscribed silver tray that stated, “In recognition of his service as Commander of H.M. Transport Olympic during the World War" [10].