Monthly Archives: December 2018

Remembrance, Riflemen

New Swift Grave Marker Unveiled

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Earlier this year……

On the evening of 9 June 2018, the Regiment marched from Moss Park Armoury to St James Cemetery where they joined our museum team and other members of the regimental family to dedicate a new grave marker for Bugle Major Charles Swift.

Swift first served with The Queen’s Own Rifles in 1866 at the age of 14 as a boy musician at the Battle of Ridgeway. In 1885 Swift and the QOR were again mobilized in response to the North West Resistancen.  As Bugle Major for 46 years, he helped raise the international profile of the Regiment, leading the band on tours to England in 1902 and 1910. He served with the Regiment for an incredible 57 years!

The short ceremony included a recitation of Swift’s service, a prayer of dedication, the Last Post, Rouse, and Sunset, and of course the unveiling.

The CO, a Swift cousin, and the Director of Music unveil the new marker.

After the unveiling, those in attendance broke into three groups and were led on tours of the graves of other members of the Regiment who were buried in St James – including three casualties from Ridgeway, the first Commanding Officer, and the CO who led the Regiment through most of Europe during WWII. Soldiers in each group placed small QOR flags at each QOR grave.

You can find the complete walking tour of forty-seven QOR soldiers buried or memorialized at St James, below:


The Regiment then marched back to Moss Park Armoury where some awards and promotions were presented, after which everyone enjoyed a BBQ dinner prepared by the QOR Association Toronto Branch.

You can find see our complete June 6, 2018 photo album on our Flickr site.

Thanks to all those who donated to this project:

  • Josef Amodeo
  • Beverlee Bamlett
  • Kevin Bishop
  • Cheryl Copson
  • Linda Di Felice
  • Grant Dunbar
  • Kathryn Emanuel
  • Philippe Escayola
  • John Fotheringham
  • Tim Hannan
  • Graham Humphrey
  • Jason Keddy
  • Shaun Kelly
  • Darnel Leader
  • Sheila MacMillan
  • Dave Marsh
  • Henry McCabe
  • Jason McGibbon
  • Harry J. Rollo
  • Mark Shannon
  • John Stephens
  • Swift Family
  • Usman Valiante
  • John Wilmot
  • Susan Wilson
  • Andrew Zamic
  • The QOR Sergeants’ Mess
  • 2 x Anonymous donors
Exhibits, Fenian Raid

McEachren tunic gets new exhibit case

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Ensign Malcolm McEachern, first QOR soldier to fall at the Battle of Ridgeway, June 2, 1866

As every member of the Regiment knows, the first soldier of The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada to fall in combat was newly commissioned Ensign Malcolm McEachren of No. 5 Company.  He was taking part in the Battle of Ridgeway on 2 June 1866 and died shortly after being mortally wounded in the abdomen by the American Fenian invaders.

One hundred years after that battle, the tunic he wore that fateful day was presented to The Queen’s Own Rifles by Old Fort Erie of the Niagara Parks Commission having been handed down by McEachren’s daughter.

Former tunic case

After 152 years, it has obviously suffered its share of insect and light damage although without any condition reports surviving, its impossible to know when this damage occurred. We do know that it has faded from rifle green to almost olive drab – although not under the arms or at the back – and the light damage has also made the material brittle. And museum staff have often joked that the exhibit case it was stored in, was old enough to qualify as an artifact itself!

We can’t reverse the deterioration that’s taken place, but my goal from day 1 of becoming Curator in 2012, has been to find a way to preserve THE most valuable object in our collection for the future.

And now after 6 years it has finally become a reality! Thanks to a very generous bequest from the estate of the late Chief Warrant Officer Scott Patterson, we were finally able to place an order with Zone Display Cases for a custom-made museum quality case with frameless UV filtering glass, Abloy security locks, and an airtight exhibit compartment with desiccant tray to ensure a constant humidity level.

This week it arrived at the museum and last night our museum team set up the new case and moved the tunic into its new home which we hope will help to preserve this extremely important object for many years to come.  In the new year, we will be redesigning the complete Battle of Ridgeway exhibit and of course this tunic and its new case will continue to have pride of place.

The Patterson bequest covered about 75% of the costs for this project and we are still hoping to raise the remainder before the end of our 2018 fiscal year. Thank you to all those who have contributed to date, and to those who would still like to help, you can make a donation online to the QOR Trust fund via CanadaHelps.