By 1917 due to low numbers of volunteers, Prime Minister Borden introduced a conscription law. All able bodied men between 20 and 45 were to sign up, however 93% of the men filed for exemptions on the basis that they were the family provider or were part of a profession integral to the community. Borden cancelled all exemptions in 1918 and ordered enlistment officers to round up men hiding from the draft. Though many men successfully avoided conscription, 100,000 were put in uniform, 50,000 of them were sent overseas, and 25,000 went to the front. Men like this 44 year old York Region teacher, Walter Rolling, were called to fight for their country.
Walter Rolling's Teacher Evaluation, YRDSB M&A Collection
Excerpt from Walter Rolling's Teacher Evaluation
"There are few schools in the Province that have been able to do as good work as this one. It has maintained a very successful Fifth class for many years, while the majority of schools never have a Fifth class pupil."