The Magellan Times was founded just a few months before the outbreak of the Great War, which began in August 1914. Progressively, the war reporting was supplemented by commentary, extolling Allied virtues and "successes" while denigrating the enemy. As the war became more costly and intractable, the criticism turned to vilification. This was little surprise, given the ultra-British attitudes of its editor, and its target readership in the predominantly British-owned and/or -managed sheep ranches. Throughout the war years, the German version of events was reported in "Chile Austral", a Spanish-language paper also published in Punta Arenas. As might be expected, the two differ starkly in their reports. No doubt, the pro-British newspaper (published in English) was seen as an essential information and propaganda counterpoise in the struggle for Patagonian minds.

As part of the British "patriotic" effort, public subscriptions were started and publicized through the pages of the Magellan Times. Funds were raised directly in Punta Arenas, while ranch operators in the outlying regions were exhorted to raise contributions among their employees. The following funds were targetted directly at the British expatriate community.

Fortunately for the family historian, the newspaper printed complete lists of subscribers to each of these funds, often specifying the place where they donated (in Chile and in Argentina) -- a sort of census, in fact. It is clear, both from the number of people contributing and from the amounts donated, that they came from all economic levels. We may also suspect that the participation rate was high. Whereas only the "boss class" normally got mentioned in the news columns, this was a rare instance when the "workers" received equal treatment. Not all donors were British -- there are some hispanic names (presumably host-nation nationals), while others are continental European. Additional lists were published of those men who volunteered for war service: the majority of these had their passages to Britain paid by the Patriotic Fund.