Living History Program - The Troops
One of David Stewart’s earliest history projects, after establishing the Montreal Military Museum in the blockhouse on Ile Ste Helene in 1955, was to help the Canadian Army with the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair tattoo, and specifically a scene which portrayed a re-enactment of the 18th century Compagnie Franche de la Marine, the first permanent policing force in New France from 1693 to 1760. He helped with researching the uniforms, obtaining the equipment and teaching the modern soldiers the musket drill of their 18th century predecessors. It was a huge success. The uniforms and equipment were returned to Montreal the following summer and students were hired to perform the same drills, sponsored by Molson’s Brewery, and then paid for by the City of Montreal. Their summer parades took place on the parade square at the Fort on Ile Ste-Hélène where the Museum had been moved to.
In anticipation of Expo67 David Stewart, along with Colonel J. R. Harper decided to show Canada’s anglo roots and chose the 78th Fraser Highlanders to be re-created from all the British Regiments who had served in Canada during the Seven Years’ War. Similar research was undertaken, students were dressed and equipped in the 18th uniforms and began parades in 1965 at the Fort. David Stewart was extremely proud of this program and explained that living history was a very important way to teach history. The artifacts one sees in a museum served a function and showing how they worked in a context would be memorable to students and visitors. From today’s perspective, living history is commonplace at historic parks around the world, but in 1965 this was a relatively new phenomenon, whose only antecedent in Canada was the Fort Henry Guard in Kingston and clearly in his optic of making history exciting. In addition, he praised the program for giving teenagers a disciplined and outdoors summer jobs to help further their education. Both troops animated the Fort every summer from 1965 to 2013 and were considered a major draw for tourism in Montreal and a way to attract visitors to the Museum. In the heyday there were 35 Compagnie Franche de la Marine and 24 78th Fraser Highlanders supported by a staff of armorers and equipment managers. From the early 1970s, in May and June, these students gave guided tours and demonstrations to thousands of school children, the largest such program in the province. Even today, visitors recall coming to the Museum on school trips. Both groups were also ambassadors for the City of Montreal and travelled extensively. They were everywhere at Expo67 and provided guards of honour for visiting international dignitaries such as Queen Elizabeth and Charles de Gaulle. In Canada, the squads have been seen in Louisbourg, PEI, New Brunswick, Quebec City, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Kingston, Calgary, and British Columbia. In the United States, New York City (the Thanksgiving Parade), Fort Ticonderoga, Cape Cod, Philadelphia, Washington, Detroit, Saint-Louis, Buffalo. The Compagnie Franche de la Marine have undertaken a 19-day tour of France in 1983, and the 78th have toured Scotland, twice. Quite an experience for these young adults. Close to 1,000 young men and women have gone through this program in the 50 years of its existence, and they have developed an extensive network of supporters. Both groups raise funds through various means. When the merge occurred with the McCord Museum in 2013 this program, which had already been reduced to 12 soldiers for each group, was cut from the McCord- Stewart Museum for budgetary reasons. The Lake St. Louis Historical Society assumed responsibility and, in 2014, arranged with the Chateau Ramezay to host the students for the summer months. They were an instantaneous success with visitors and tourists in old Montreal, where they march the streets and put on demonstrations at various sites. When one considers the difficulties of attracting visitors to Ile Ste Helene, old Montreal was the opposite. As one of the animators expressed on the first day “I have already seen more visitors this afternoon than in all of last year at the Fort.” Both groups are financed by supporters who hold various fundraising events and activities. Although the 78th Fraser Highlanders has had a separate charitable corporation for years, a new incorporation was created called Les Anciennes Troupes Militaires de Montréal and it obtained charitable status. Summer youth employment grants have been received from government and revenue from presentations also help the financing. These troops are in many ways a lasting tribute to David Stewart who dedicated much of his philanthropic endeavours to the awareness, knowledge and appreciation of our national military history for present and future generations. Link to ATMM: https://atmmontreal.com/en/home/ Link to 78th Frasers: http://www.78thfrasersmontreal.org/ |