History
Pte Cecil Minary penned this letter to his sisters 105 years ago today
December 30, 2022
Well girls here I am again Back at the old job again of soldiering in France and feeling fine as usual. I just got Back in time to go with the Battalion into the trenches where we are at present so please excuse the writing and the dirt as I have not washed for a few days, it is not to bad here though as we are in on what they call a quiet front, we have a little dug out and a fire in it and we have to be on our good behaviour to as the name of it is Angels Recluse.
1RCHA’s A, B Batteries celebrated 150th anniversary in 2021
December 30, 2022
The medallion is in good shape — there are no obvious scratches, chips, nicks or dents. It’s probably composed of copper or bronze. The surface has some discoloration, but that’s expected after 100 years. It’s notable the initials of the last three British monarchs are included on the medallion.
RCA Museum’s weapons vault features ‘Star Wars’ weapon
December 29, 2022
Our weapons vault contains 90-plus small arms and light weapons, and some Star Wars weaponry. During the making of Star Wars, they used contemporary, modified weapons as movie props. Our matching Star Wars small arms include a Sterling MK1 as a Storm Trooper’s E-11 Blaster rifle, a German Mauser C96 as Han Solo’s DL-44 Heavy Blaster pistol, a Lee Enfield MK3 as a Jawa Ion gun, and a Lewis MK1 light machine gun as a Storm Trooper’s T-21 Light Repeating Blaster.
13th Winnipeg Field Battery recruitment poster donated to RCA Museum
December 28, 2022
In 1986, R. Masterman donated a Second World War recruitment poster for the 13th Winnipeg Field Battery. The Gunners Wanted poster ties in nicely with Canada’s recruitment campaign during the Second World War. It also connects with the military history of Manitoba, including the history of the 13th Winnipeg Field Battery. It also links to the history of Camp Hughes, and before the name change, Camp Shilo.
RCA Museum volunteer unboxes collection of 105 millimetre charge bags used by 105-millimetre howitzer
December 27, 2022
Outstanding RCA Museum volunteer Deanne Gilbertson recently unboxed a collection of 105-millimetre charge bags used with the C1 105mm howitzer and the L5 PACK 105mm howitzer. Gunners burnt the unused charge bags in the field at least until 2010. It’s outstanding that some of these charge bags were collected and donated to the museum.
Children refer to Universal Carrier as tanks
December 26, 2022
Children will call them tanks, but they are not tanks. These military vehicles are actually light armoured general purpose carriers, with a set of tracks instead of wheels. These tracks allow the vehicle to go almost anywhere — no roads were needed.
Canada has notable history of Gunners serving in airborne units starting in 1942
December 25, 2022
There are many stories about Airborne Gunners from 1942 onward — Canada has a notable history of Gunners serving in airborne units. Canadian Gunners served in the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion as infantry paratroopers starting in 1942. They also served in the Devils Brigade — First Special Service Force — as elite commandos under United States command starting in 1942.
Collection focused on BGen Harold Wright’s war experiences
December 21, 2022
Years ago, the RCA Museum received a box containing a significant number of artifacts which belonged to the late BGen Harold E. Wright. The box was sent to us by his daughter, Marilyn Janay.
Camp Hughes’ extensive trench system trained CEF soldiers before going overseas
December 20, 2022
During the First World War, the Canadian Militia established a network of military training sites across Canada to train 600,000 recruits for the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) going overseas to fight on the Western Front. One of the 17 training sites was Camp Hughes near Carberry, Manitoba, 132 kilometres west of Winnipeg, just south of the Trans-Canada Highway.
Gunners used nine-pounder rifled gun during 1885 North-West Rebellion
December 18, 2022
Canadian Gunners used the nine-pounder rifled gun during the North-West Rebellion in 1885. They used this artillery piece in Canada from 1873 to 1897 — it was muzzle-loading and did not have a recoil mechanism. Therefore, Gunners needed to reposition the gun after each firing.
