The CREST - Vol 21 No 1 Winter 2020

VOLUME 21 NUMBER 1 WINTER 2020

THE CREST

NEWS AND VIEWS OF THE SALVATIONS ARMY
ARCHIVES CANADA AND BERMUDA TERRITORY

THE SALVATION ARMY ARCHIVES, CANADA AND BERMUDA TERRITORY
26 HOWDEN ROAD, TORONTO ON M1R 3E4
WWW.HERITAGE.SALVATIONARMY.CA

ARCHIVES ARTIFACTS ADORN On the left is Captain Abby Thompson.
The inscription under the photo tells a bit
Territorial Headquarters of the story.

The Archives is chock full of fascinating artifacts, photos, and Captain Abby Thompson was the first com-
documents that tell the Army story in our territory. Recently, manding officer of the Kingston, Ontario Corps
Estee Lau (Assistant Territorial Secretary for Business Admin- and a dynamic leader with a magnetic person-
istration) approached us to request historically significant ality. Canada’s first Prime Minister, Sir John A.
items that could be used to decorate the newly renovated Macdonald went to hear her preach. A St.
Clarence Wiseman Board Room at THQ. Estee visited the Ar- Lawrence Yacht was christened “Captain Ab-
chives and selected a number of pieces which she carefully by” and a manufacturer named a soap after
and creatively arranged for installation and display.
her.

On the right is Jack Addie and Joe
Ludgate, considered to be founders of
the Army in Canada. The inscription
reads:

At the center of the feature wall is a large framed painting of On the third Sunday of May 1882 Jack Addie
The Empress of Ireland, the ocean liner that collided with a and Joseph Ludgate had the first street meet-
freighter and sank in fourteen minutes in the frigid waters of ing in London Ontario. The large crowds they
the St. Lawrence River on May 29, 1914. 1,012 passengers attracted blocked the streets and at times the
and crew perished in this tragedy, making it the worst peace- police ordered them to move on before the
time marine disaster in Canadian history. Among the lost Chief suggested they move to the market place
were over 130 were Salvationists including key Territorial to preach.
Leaders and all but 7 of the Canadian Staff Band. This paint- Note: See page 3 for other archival items now
ing hangs in that prominent place not only as a memorial to on display in various locations.
those who were lost, but as a testimony to the grace of God
who brought healing and restoration to the Army of that day Original McNeely Sketches drawn in 1982
and continues to do so today. depicting the centenary of the Army work in
Canada. These sketches now line the wall in
Flanking the Empress are photos of the pioneers of the Army the corridor outside the Wiseman Board Room.
in our land.

THE CREST

Page 2

VOLUNTEER BOB ELLIS
Joins Archives Team

We are pleased to welcome Bob Ellis to our archive
team. Bob is an active soldier and corps librarian of
Scarborough Citadel. Retired as Senior Investigator
with CN, Bob expressed his passion for books and
archives for most of his life. He is the retired
Archivist for the Church Librarian Association of On-
tario, and served for a number of years as Advising
Archivist for the Ameliasburg Museum and school-
house project. His expertise and experience has al-
ready contributed significantly to our team. His main
project is to prepare the 16” vinyl records of the
“This Is My Story” radio programs for preservation,
Bob Ellis with framed storing, and reproduction. Bob Ellis sorting and evaluating
copy of Prince Edward the condition of our collection of
County Weekly News arti-
cle acknowledging his ‘THIS IS MY STORY’ RECORDS “This Is My Story” vinyl records.
contribution to Quitne
From the mid-1930’s to the early1950’s, the Salvation Army produced a series of
Education Museum and half hour radio programs entitled “This Is My Story”. These programs were origi-
nally recorded on reel-to-reel audio tapes, reproduced on 16” vinyl records and
Archives (QEMA).

distributed to be played in radio stations around the country. Each side recorded
about 15 minutes of programming. Radio stations of the day were equipped with a number of turntables

specially designed to play these oversize records. It was the responsibility of the ’disc jockey’ to place

the records on the turntables in exactly the right order so that when the first side of the program was
completed, the next turntable would kick in immediately to ensure that there was no interruption in the

program. The ’disc jockey’ would then flip the first record over to be ready for the next fifteen minute

segment, and then ’flip’ again. To accomplish this, records were produced so that part one of a half hour
program was reproduced on one side of the first record, and part two of that same program was record-

ed on side one of the second record. It is no wonder that these records were not available to the public,

making these items rare and very important to preserve, especially since the obsolete equipment to play
them on is equally rare and hard to find.

THE PRESERVATION PROCESS

Our collection of 300 of these records are still stored in their original paper sleeves, which have signifi-
cantly deteriorated over the years. Dust, minute particles, and grimy substances are the great enemy to
maintaining the condition of the vinyl. Bob, with the advice of a local expert, has developed a preserva-
tion and recording process. Once the records are removed from the original decayed sleeves, each rec-
ord is carefully reviewed under a magnifying glass and its condition described and recorded in detail.
Each record is then meticulously treated with a soft brush, soft cloth, air dusted, and placed in a new acid
-free and enclosed sleeve. Once this is complete, we hope to digitize these records for posterity.

VOLUME 21 NUMBER 1

Page 3

Meighen Residence
Picture of Jesus

Some of the residents of the Meighen Retire-
ment Residence felt that it was important for
us to have a picture of the Lord Jesus hung in
the building. Through a loan agreement with
the Archives of the Salvation Army we were
able to obtain a picture of Jesus that we had
rematted and reframed and hung on the wall
of the main floor to be seen by all.

This picture indicates to those who live and
work here and all who visit that we are a
Christian residence and provide a haven for
all who need a place to make their home. It is a reminder of the fact that the Meighen Retirement Residence
is built and operates on the principles of Scripture. It speaks of our trust and faith in the God who says,:
In my Father’s house are many rooms… I go to prepare a place for you.”

Major Caroline Braddock
Chaplain

Meighen Retirement Residence
**********************************************************************************

Canadian Territory’s First War Cry World Wars Memorial Plaque
This framed copy of the inaugural issue Unveiled on Good Friday, 1915, this
of the Canadian War Cry dated Satur- memorial plaque lists the names of
day, November 1, 1884 is now dis- West Toronto Corps comrades who
played on the entrance wall of the Trade lost their lives in the world wars.
Store at THQ. When West Toronto Corps closed,
this plaque came to the archives, and
is now displayed on the office wall of
Chief Secretary Colonel Edward Hill.

Cadet History Cabinet
CFOT Cadet Patrick Penton has a keen interest in Army history and has created a beautiful display cabinet of Ar-
my artifacts in his quarters at the College. Among those items is a bonnet that we sent from the archives to be dis-
played with the other items he had collected. How inspiring it is to know that a Cadet has such a passion for our
rich heritage and history.

THE SALVATION ARMY ARCHIVES, CANADA AND BERMUDA TERRITORY Page 4
26 HOWDEN ROAD, TORONTO ON M1R 3E4

Researchers Visit The Archives

Windsor Grace Hospital

May 2020 marks the 100th Anniversary

for the Windsor Grace Hospital. Lt.
Col. Irene Stickland and Mrs. Millie

Jarvis, who graduated from the nursing

school in 1960, visited the archives to
research the history of the Hospital to

gather items that could be used in the

centennial celebrations, as well as
help prepare materials for the 60th re-

union of their graduating class. Nu-
merous photos and documents were

photocopied and scanned. Five items

were loaned, including an original
copy of their graduation year book
Lt. Col. Irene Stickland (l) and Millie Jarvis which will be available for display. Irene and Millie search historical
(r) hold the Year Book of the Windsor Grace Congratulations! Have a great time of items, reminiscing about their Nurs-
Nursing School graduating class of 1960. ing School days at Windsor Grace.

celebration and memories.

Gray Family — Todmorden, Riverdale Roots

Nelson Gray Nelson Gray has visited the Archives on several occasions doing extensive
research on his family’s Army roots. His grandmother and grandfather emi-
grated from England to Toronto in the early 1900’s. His mother Florence was
born in Toronto, and started coming to the Army, where she met and married
his father Reg. Reg and his four brothers established strong ties with
Todmor-den in the early days, and eventually became heavily involved at
Riverdale corps, where his uncle George became bandmaster. Years later,
Reg launched out as one of the early and founding members of Scarborough
Corps, where he was actively involved until he went to be with the Lord.
Among the many photos and artifacts discovered are these valuable photos
below, that speak to the great heritage of this incredible Army family.

. Reg, Nelson’s father is seen on back row far right.

Todmorden Band with Hall in background dated 1931