God Save the King

ROBERT BORDEN (1854 –1937)

The national anthem during WWI was not O Canada, but rather God Save the King. For the duration of the war, the anthem became a reminder to whom allegiance was due, and that Canada as a dominion inextricably bound up in the conflict. While not a wartime song per se, it was used as a rally cry for the commonwealth to support Britain’s war effort. After the war, a less militaristic version – the “official peace” version was created.

In his House of Commons speech on August 19, 1914, Prime Minister Borden stated:

“...In the awful dawn of the greatest war the world has ever know, in the hour when peril confronts us such as this Empire has not faced for a hundred years, every vain or unnecessary word seems a discord. As to our duty...we stand shoulder to shoulder with Britain and the other British dominions in this quarrel. And the duty we shall not fail to fulfill as the honour of Canada demands. Not for love of battle, not for lust of conquest, not for greed of possessions, but for the cause of honour, to maintain solemn pledges, to uphold principles of liberty...we have entered into this war; and, while gravely conscious of the tremendous issues involved and of all the sacrifices that they may entail, we do not shrink from them, but with firm hearts we abide the event.”