In Whitby, shortly after Britain's declaration of war on August 4, eighteen volunteers from the 34th Ontario Regiment, which originated in Whitby in 1866, enlisted for military service. In addition, sixty men who were involved in the construction of the Ontario Hospital at Whitby volunteered. These initial volunteers were sent overseas with the first Canadian Expeditionary Force in October.

Not everyone who volunteered was fit for active duty. Volunteers all across Canada were turned down for a variety of reasons including age, race, cultural background, medical condition, and citizenship. In Whitby, the men who were turned down formed the Home Guard, led by Theodore McGillivray, in November 1914.

According to the Whitby Gazette and Chronicle, forty of Whitby's prominent men attended the inaugural meeting on November 16 where they announced they were 'willing to prepare themselves by drill and training to partake in a defence of the home shores, should such ever be required.' The group felt Whitby was under the greatest threat from Germans living in the United States.

The motto of the Home Guard was 'Be Prepared' and in order to ensure this, the group drilled every Wednesday and Friday evening at 8:00 at the Whitby Collegiate Institute. By December there were 100 members. The initial excitement, however, did not last long and by May 1915 the Home Guard had disbanded.