Worthington Park Stuarts

[Colin Alford]

Jason,

I am not currently co-located with much of my relevant reference material, but will attempt to roughly address some of your questions.

The RCAC War Memorial (the monument flanked by the M5A1s) was erected in what is now known as Worthington Park shortly after the war (I think it was 1948). The two early images of the memorial that I have seen were taken from short range and aren’t wide enough to show the areas were the tanks are located.

I believe the M5A1s have been flanking the memorial since the early 1950s. If this is correct then they would not have been included with those sent to Portugal, and would have no connection to Levy’s/Elliots.

If my memory serves me correctly, This book:

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/143816763977...yABEgKtHvD_BwE

contains a couple of images of a parade which are key to determining the date that the Stuarts were placed in the park. I believe the images show the Stuarts flanking the monument during a roll past of M4A1 Grizzly Tanks and Grizzly APCs.

I will attempt to provide better date information soon.

I believe that the vehicles are at least partially stripped (no engines), this seems to correspond with many of the early monuments in Worthington Park.

Colin

[Colin Alford]

I have located one of the pieces of evidence.

I do not remember the source of this image but I believe I found it on the internet a few years ago.

I did not recall that one of the M5A1s was visible in the image.

I certainly have no means of determining if the date is correct.

More to follow (probably not tonight though).

[Ed Storey]

The BD uniforms in the photograph are of the correct style for 1949.

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Ed Storey

The BD uniforms in the photograph are of the correct style for 1949.

What do you say that? The open collar BD, though rare, could date to 1949 (I have one dated 1947)? These look like WW2 pattern but that's not surprising.

[Ed Storey]

Originally Posted by Bruce Parker

What do you say that? The open collar BD, though rare, could date to 1949 (I have one dated 1947)? These look like WW2 pattern but that's not surprising.

They are not open-collar BD, but wartime closed-collar BD that is being worn open-collar with a shirt and tie, which was correct for the period. The first open-collar Canadian BD Pattern was indeed 1947 and this was followed up by the 1949 Pattern. Both people in the photograph are wearing wartime BD Trousers with the small right thigh mounted First Field Dressing pocket.

[Colin Alford]

Jason,

While the image quality is poor, here is a link to another Stuart picture that was apparently taken on 24 Aug 1948, after a mishap in Alliston. (The first town south of Borden for anyone unfamiliar with the area).
Crashed Stuart Tank Barrie Examiner 2-Sept-1948.jpg
https://news.ourontario.ca/Barrie/2920869/page/10?n=


Page nine of this same newspaper edition also has an image of the MND observing an exercise from a Grizzly APC (“Kangaroo”).
Grizzly APC Barrie Examiner 2-Sept-1948.jpg


The book linked in my first reply has an image and date which purports to be the dedication of the RCAC Memorial. However, I am skeptical about some of the image captions in the book, especially those with 1940s and 1950s dates.

This LAC entry indicates the Memorial was under construction in Autumn 1948:
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Collec...98902057370280

[Jason Ginn]

Wow Colin i'm blown away!

I've brought both pics here for reference! That is wonderful confirmation of dates!

The driver who went through that bridge with a Diamond T, float and M5 would have had a headache and probably dirty shorts from the 25ft fall!

Love the APC pic as well showing the 19 Set antenna up! Makes me wonder what else is in the Barrie Examiner....

I can't thank you enough!

j

[Colin Alford]

Jason,

I have now found some old notes.

It appears that the memorial was “unveiled” in the fall of 1949.

Please see this Barrie Examiner article from 3 Oct 1949.

https://news.ourontario.ca/Barrie/pa...2908758&po=4&n

It quotes a Borden Citizen article that states the unveiling took place on a Thursday Afternoon, but I don’t know what sort of delay might have been involved between an article being published in the Borden Citizen and then subsequently reprinted in the Barrie Examiner, so the precise date is still in question.

The article also mentions that the event included the annual RCAC Association Dinner, so I can likely consult the RCAC Association minutes to firm up the exact date.

The article also mentions that 6 wreaths were laid during the ceremony. I note that the image in post 3 depicts 6 wreaths. I also note that the post 3 image doesn’t seem like an average December day in Camp Borden. This might indicate that the post 3 image was taken closer to the unveiling date in the fall of ‘49.

It is starting to seem likely that the Stuarts were part of the memorial from the start.

[Jason Ginn]

Wow ok that's interesting! If the date is correct on the pic then they were pretty new tanks when they were put there. We had only had them for 3 years at the time! Those two are on the 1946 list of those purchased from the US.

That is the earliest pic that I have seen of the 1946 Purchase M5A1's.

When was the Memorial created? I suppose sometime after 1945 and obviously before 1950.

Thanks so much!