2015 Year In Review The 8th Hussar Museum is coming up to the end of a very successful , exciting and busy year. To all those people, and there are lots that have supported us this past year . THANK YOU! Our year started off with the Museum's AGM in February held at Resurgo Place Moncton with lunch served by Museum Board Member Diane Lutes . Our next event took place in Sussex at the Irving Chapel with NB Youth Orchestra performing Keeping Faith Concert, which commemorates the centenary of The Great War. The concert included Kevin Lau’s moving composition “A Dream of Dawn” and timeless classics by Borodin, Ravel, and Shostakovich. The Museum's focus was a display " A Vimy Memorial ", the story of two Sussex soldiers from WW I who joined up together and lost their lives together at Vimy Ridge. Family members from these soldiers stay in touch with the museum on a regular basis. During the months of January, February and March the Museum's front room was a bee hive of activity and MESS as "The Guys" worked on our new exhibit "The Ditch" where we depicted the April days in 1915 when the Germans attacked using poison gas for the first time. (click here for details ) During this time plans were well under way for the the commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Netherlands event held in Sussex , March 30th between the Town of Sussex , Town of Eelde (Tynarloo) and the Regiment. This event was actively supported by the Embassy of the Royal Kingdom of the Netherlands and was led by the Embassy military attache, LCol Krista Oppers-Beumer. Flags were exchanged between all three parties and on Tuesday 05 May at 0800 hrs the two towns raised each other’s flags, along side the Regimental flag , to mark the event. On the morning of 05 May 1945 the 8th Hussars received the following message “ Effective 05 May 45, 0800 hrs. Cease all operations” For the Hussars WW II was over after 5 long years of military operations. The Hussars would then move into a small town in the Netherlands called Eelde and there they would stay until repatriated to Canada in Jan 1946. Eelde would become a second home to the Regiment. (click here for details ) On April 1st a group of Museum Board Members traveled to the UNB Currie Center with a display for their 70th Anniversary of Liberation Event. This event was well received by the Dutch Canadian community. We did not slow down in April as we anxiously waited for summer student grant news, interviews and hiring of our summer staff. Plans were made and actioned for season opening on May 13th . Mr. Barton's grades 6 and 7 French immersion class presented the museum with a book of short stories prepared by the students . The 8th Hussar Museum was very honored and pleased to receive a copy of a project prepared by the Sussex Middle School. L'experience Canadienne a Vimy: Une restrospective. At the same time we opened our new Exhibit,"The Ditch" Visitors would see a highly realistic replica of a World War One trench at a time shortly after the gas was released. There are sandbags, mud, blood and a wounded Canadian desperately trying to breathe. HUSSARS MUSEUM REMEMBERS GAS ATTACK . (click here for details ) To keep us on our toes during the summer months activities included a visit from 2859 Sussex Army Cadets , an exhibit at the Moncton Highland Games , Monton Motorcycle group visit, a visit from the MacAulay Family which donated artifacts and archives of James MaCaulay 1895- 1969 and Carl came to the Museum to take photographs of our Regimental china dating back to the late 1800's. Late July Guy Tremblay and Andre Godin (Heritage Branch) visited. We shared many stories and "Showed off" our new exhibits that we are very proud of especially our Sussex Trench. During the summer season we had over 1900 visitors. Summer staff also worked on both our archive and Virtual Collection data bases, scanned photographs and created a library and list of books owned by the Museum. Early September Arnie Jantz and his wife Betty stopped by for a visit on their travels from Petawawa ,and more stories were shared. Flea Market and Balloon fiesta fund raising was successful again in 2015 - Also Mr. Paul Butler, President of the Army Cadet League of Canada (New Brunswick) presented an Appreciation Award to the Museum Committee of the 8th Hussars Museum at the Cadet Leagues annual meeting at CFB Gagetown. This award recognizes the efforts of the museum committee in raising funds to support four of the Regiments Associated Cadet Corps in Sussex, Moncton, Dieppe and Port Elgin during the past years during their fundraising efforts parking cars at the Sussex Balloon Fiesta and Flea Market. These two events draw over 40,000 visitors to Sussex annually. The funding supported corps events such as field trips, accoutrements and in some cases band instruments. In Mid- September the Association of 8th Canadian Hussars held their annual AGM in Sussex with a memorial service held at the Museum The Service was opened by MLA Bruce Northrup, Dr Lee Windsor presented an account of the liberation of the Netherlands at the closing of World War II and as usual Lee did an outstanding job of making us feel like we were there and gave us a lot to think about . The Roll of Honor was read and service was closed by the laying of wreaths at the cenotaph . Veterans Mary and Gordon Bickerton and Raymond MacAulay were in attendance as well as the Commanding Officer Lieutenant-Colonel Michael Bech and Regimental Sergeant-Major Chief Warrant Officer Thom Halfkenny , Soldiers , Veterans ,and many family members of veterans and friends . After the service an excellent dinner was served at the Royal Canadian Legion Sussex branch. We move into October - On the morning of 3 October 2015 8th Hussar Museum Board Members, Volunteers and Friends traveled to Gagetown for the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps 75th Anniversary Parade . On the parade square there was a spectacular line up of tanks from the very large leopard to a vintage Bren Gun Carrier and Ferret! The Vintage vehicles lead the parade, a Ferret Scout Car owned and driven by Mike Baxter , followed by the Bren Gun carrier owned by the 8th Hussars Museum Sussex N.B. The Bren Gun Carrier was driven by Museum Board member Darren Spicer , dressed in an original War II uniform. Our Bren Carrier was used in the roll past and by the inspecting officers Gen Bowes, and Gen Dean, out going Colonel Commandant of the Armoured Corp. Gen Dean, He specifically asked for it since his first experience with the military included a ride in a Bren gun Carrier. A proud moment for the 8th Hussars Museum! (View a Power Point) All year long behind the scenes Chairman of the board Tom McLaughlan was setting up plans for our exhibit at Lest We Forget History of Service Exhibition Moncton November 10th and 11th. Museum Board Members , Volunteers and Friends worked together for weeks to build an exhibit that walked people through the 167 year history of the 8th Hussars from the beginnings, 1785 through to present day Regiment. We had panels with corresponding photographs created to tell the story along with a few artifacts and mannequins dressed in original or replica uniforms. We have a blog click here that will walk you through from start to finish. This has been our largest outreach accomplishment to date. We had a small time frame to set up and we had to be totally prepared. With only a couple of small glitches our Exhibit was an outstanding success and enjoyed by many. As we were knee deep in preparation for Less We Forget , a phone call in late October from Lorraine Pollock asking if we could participate on November 5th in helping plant the Dutch-Canadian Friendship Tulip Garden . Yes we sure can was our answer as this garden is planted in front of Town Hall in Sussex surrounding the flag poles where on each year on May 5th flags will be flown between the Town of Sussex , Town of Eelde (Tynarloo) and the Regiment. How cool would it be if the tulips were up on May 5th 2016? That is our hope . (click here for details) November 11th the 8th Hussar Museum was opened to the public for Remembrance Day. We had an awesome day and visit with veterans over coffee and donuts once again sharing many stories. Gary Bowser was very proud and honored to place a wreath in Sussex for friend and board member Diane Lutes, in memory of her brother, F/O Robert Howard who was with the RCAF and was killed in service on a flight from Ottawa to NORAD HQ on 29 April 1960 when the entire crew were lost due to a weather related crash. This was Gary's 50th year in a row presenting a wreath or memorial on Remembrance Day. Click here for details To end off the year a Christmas Dinner was held in Hampton by the Harold Gamblin Chapter. A great time was had by all. A few behind the scenes activities included our Archive data base moved over to a new AtoM website, our Museum was chosen as a small museum in Canada to participate in digital preservation policy and procedure plan, we attended AMNB Conference in Moncton, a CANB workshop in Fredericton , monthly zone meetings in various locations and the 8th Hussars Museum has a new and updated website . The people behind the scenes are a diverse group of people all coming together regularly with different talents to keep the Museum running smoothly . We are all volunteers with a strong devotion to preserve, display and illustrate the military history and heritage of the region through education, and outreach using various media and social techniques. Click here to meet our team . The 8th Hussars Museum is sponsored by the Association of 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louises) Inc. http://www.8chassociation.com/. We are supported by the Province of New Brunswick ,Grants were received from the Heritage Branch and the NB Council of Archives to hire an employee to update the Virtual Collections program and convert our old archive database over to the new provincial system, AtoM. Both programs are available to the public through the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) and the NB Provincial Archives. This work was completed by 30 Mar 15. We were the first museum in NB to complete this first phase of the establishment of this program. The 8th Hussars Museum is also very much supported by the Town of Sussex . To show our appreciation we, the 8th Hussar Museum board members presented the Town of Sussex during a council meeting a Miniature Guidon. A special thanks to Jason Thorne for approving and allowing us to use all available space in the Train Station to display our Exhibits. Plans are under way for events in 2016. PHEW !! When we started this post off we said , "The 8th Hussar Museum is coming up to the end of a very successful , exciting and busy year." WE SURE DID !! Happy New Year and we will see You in 2016!! "It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes or bags!... Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! "Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more!" ~Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
Merry Christmas to All from the 8th Hussars Museum ! On November 9th 2015 the 8th Hussar Museum set up a large exhibit at the Lest We Forget History of Service Exhibition. The purpose of the History of Service Exhibition was to educate the public on our rich and interesting military history and showcase the contribution of our local people who have served. Museum Board Members , Volunteers and Friends worked together for weeks to build an exhibit that walked people through the history of the 8th Hussars from the beginnings 1785 through to present day Regular Regiment . We had panels with corresponding photographs created to tell the story along with a few artifacts and mannequins dressed in original or replica uniforms. Thanks to EVERYONE that helped over the past year.The 8th Hussar Museum Exhibit was awesome !!! From start to finish a Slideshow of set up , through to clean up November 11th and 12th ..Enjoy .. Gary Bowser, a Board Member of the 8th Hussar Museum 50 years ago as an Air Cadet with 101 Moncton High School Cadet Corp at his first Remembrance Day Parade in 1965. On Remembrance Day 2015, he was very proud and honored to place a wreath in Sussex for friend and board member Diane Lutes, in memory of her brother, F/O Robert Howard who was with the RCAF and was killed in service on a flight from Ottawa to NORAD HQ on 29 April 1960 when the entire crew were lost due to a weather related crash. Over the past 50 years Gary has not missed a single Remembrance Day Service including those abroad and various locations across Canada with the exception of the one in Cyprus when he was on patrol during the service. Gary served more than 33 years with the Reserve and Regular Force 8th Hussars. Following his retirement he has continued to serve as a Commissionaire at CFB Gagetown for the past 14 years. He has been an avid supporter of the 8th Hussars Museum and has contributed many artefacts over the past 10 years. For the last 15 years he has assisted in the placing of the Memorial Wreath at the Fox Hill Cairn, home of the 8th Hussars. Thanks Gary from all of us! Why are we here? Written and Read by Lorraine Pollock, a Member of Sussex Community in Bloom. The 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise’s) is Canada’s oldest continually serving cavalry/armoured regiment. Established on 04 Apr 1848, the Regiment has resided in Sussex, New Brunswick, Canada for the entire period of their 167 years of service. The history of the Town and the Regiment has been closely linked for that whole period. During WW II, the Regiment was called to active service in 1940 and they eventually traveled overseas as the 5th Armed Regiment. In early 1945, the Regiment was moved from the Italian campaign, up through France to the battlefields of North-West Europe and they fought their way through Belgium and finally into the Netherlands where they ended the war . On 05 May 1945 the following message was flashed to the Regiment and duly recorded in the Regiment History: Cancel all offensive operations, ceasefire at 0800 5 May 1945. The Regiment stayed in Netherlands an extra 9 months helping to rebuild villages and towns. Many connections were made and recognized with thanks by the Dutch. Within the holdings of the 8Hussars museum, are significant artifacts and documents related to the period between Jan – Dec 1945 Last year, as a tribute of respect to the Regiment, and as a sign of friendship between the communities of Sussex and Tynaarlo, it is agreed that the municipalities shall fly each other flags supplemented by the Regiment pennant on 05 May annually. The ceremony to fly the flag will be conducted at 0800 hrs at each location. Now the new twist: As Canada’s major importer of Dutch Bulbs, Vesey’s recognized that a celebration of the very special 70th anniversary ending WW2 was incredibly important and should not pass by without their involvement. Commencing with discussions that began in the Fall of 2014, Vesey’s has worked closely with the Canadian Garden Council, The Canadian Tulip Festival, the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association and the National Capital Commission to see how it could be possible for them to replicate the original gift of 100,000 tulips to the Canadian people. Since Vesey’s customers are spread across the entire nation, the company wanted to make this a truly Canadian Gift. To accomplish this goal, they made available 140 tulip gardens, each containing 700 red & white tulips, to various communities across Canada. Communities in Bloom made an application for Sussex and was honoured to be selected. There will also be 7,000 red & white tulips donated to the Canadian Tulip Festival for a planting in Ottawa this fall as a reminder of both the original gift and the Anniversary gift from Vesey’s Bulbs. Today we have included representatives of school children, Mrs. Dunfield and her Grade 4 class, MLA Bruce Northrup, Graham Milnar, representing the Town, Members of the 8Hussars Museum including Borden McLellan and Scovil Brown, Veterans of the Sussex Royal Canadian Legion, Members of the CIB committee to help plant and make this a very special occasion. With the help of Lasting Image Landscaping, Vesey's and your planting and Town Works Crew, today, it is our hope, that the red and white tulips will be blooming when we raise our twin's flag of Tynaarlo on May 5 2016. The Town of Sussex has been chosen through an application from Communities in Bloom to help celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Liberation of The Netherlands. 2015 marks both this anniversary and the end of the Second World War. It is also the 70th Anniversary of the Dutch Gift of Tulips, a gift of 100,000 Dutch tulips bulbs sent to Canadians as a symbol of appreciation for the role Canadian soldiers played in the liberation of the Netherlands and the hospitality Canada provided to the Dutch Royal family during the war. The 2015 celebration will involve the distribution of 700 bulbs to each of 140 communities nation wide to create Dutch-Canadian friendship gardens, all connected to a symbolic garden of 7000 bulbs in Canada's Capital . To mark the 70th Anniversary of the first bloom of the Dutch gift of tulips to Canadians, all of the Dutch-Canadian Friendship Gardens will be featured in full bloom on a website (click here) in the spring of 2016. Associated with each garden gift will be a planting ceremony event in the fall of 2015, embracing the community, telling the story and including local students, veterans and dignitaries. Board Members, Volunteers and Friends of The 8th Hussars Museum, Sussex New Brunswick, have been invited to the Town Hall in Sussex on Thursday, November 5th 2015 at 12:30 to participate in this event. 8th Hussar Museum 70th Anniversary of Liberation: On the morning of 05 May 1945 the 8th Hussars received the following message “ Effective 05 May 45, 0800 hrs. Cease all operations” For the Hussars WW II was over after 5 long years of military operations. The Hussars would then move into a small town in the Netherlands called Eelde and there they would stay until repatriated to Canada in Jan 1946. Eelde would become a second home to the Regiment. Recently the Regiment, the Town of Sussex and the Town of Eelde (Tynarloo) exchanged flags in preparation of celebrating the 70th Anniversary of this event. On 05 May at 0800 hrs the two towns every year will raise each others flags to mark the event. This close connection makes the tulip garden being planted at the flag raising site at Town Hall very significant to the 8th Hussar Museum. More information on this event can be found on the 8th Hussars Museum website. (Click Here) The Tribute to Veterans is an initiative in Hampton, NB to publicly honour veterans of the Armed Forces and RCMP. Banners featuring photos, names and service years of local veterans will be mounted on poles by the Cenotaph and throughout the community. The banners, which were purchased by the families or a sponsor, have been installed by the Town of Hampton and will remain on display until after Remembrance Day. Already there is significant interest in the continuation of the project next year. Congratulations and thanks are owed to Lyla McCrea and Bill Campbell for their leadership in this endeavor. Eight members of the 8th Hussars are found among the 29 banners placed this year. Princess Louise herself is one of them. Her story is one of compassion and humanity found in the midst of the devastation of war. From 1944 to 1973 Princess Louise was the Regimental Mascot of the 8th Princess Louise’s (New Brunswick) Hussars, renamed the 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise’s) in 1957. Found in 1944 in a pasture near Coriano Italy, injured and circling her dead mother, the filly was rescued, treated and protected by soldiers of the 8th Princess Louise’s (NB) Hussars. Hidden and transported through 4 countries, she accompanied her soldiers for the remainder of the war and celebrated the end of the conflict with them in Eelde, Holland. Three months after the Regiment set sail for home in New Brunswick, she followed. The Princess was an integral member of the Regiment, marching proudly at the head of parades in her full regalia: 8th Hussars badges and flashes, 5th Canadian Armoured Division maroon patch, and her campaign medals (1939-45 Star, Italy Star, France-Germany Star, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and three wound stripes). Princess Louise’s banner will be displayed in a place of honour at the Hampton Cenotaph where she lies in her final resting place with her daughter, Princess Louise II. More information on the history of the 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise’s) and the foal that became a Hussar, can be found at the 8th Hussars Museum in Sussex, NB. The 8th Hussar Museum located in Sussex New Brunswick is entering an exhibit to recognize the contribution of New Brunswickers who have served in our Military, at the Lest We Forget Tribute, Moncton Coliseum on Nov 10 and 11, 2015. The people of New Brunswick have a proud history of service in the military. The exhibit by the 8th Hussars Museum will be found under a tent , with a maze depicting the history of the Hussars from the Boar War through to present . We will also have some artifacts including our vintage Bren Gun Carrier and mannequins showing the many different uniforms worn by the Hussars throughout the years. Also Included will be the 8th Hussars Book of Remembrance and the Lest We Forget Videos produced by the Belleisle Regional High School . Be part of this extraordinary event and help ensure that the memory of service is kept alive for future generations. Detailed Schedule of History of Service Exhibition is found on the Atlantic Maple Leaf website - history-service-exhibition . The purpose of the History of Service Exhibition is to educate the public on our rich and interesting military history and showcase the contribution of our local people who have served. The Board Members , Volunteers and Friends of the 8th Hussars Museum are very proud to be participating in this event . Plan to come out to support us . Almost every family in New Brunswick has someone in their past or present who has proudly served our country. Who will you remember? On the morning of 3 October 2015 8th Hussar Museum Board Members, Volunteers and Friends traveled to Gagetown for the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps 75th Anniversary Parade . On the parade square there was a spectacular line up of tanks from the very large leopard to a vintage Bren Gun Carrier and Ferret! The Vintage vehicles lead the parade, a Ferret Scout Car owned and driven by Mike Baxter , followed by the Bren Gun carrier owned by the 8th Hussars Museum Sussex N.B. The Bren Gun Carrier was driven by Museum Board member Darren Spicer , dressed in an original War II uniform. Our Bren Carrier was used in the roll past and by the inspecting officer Gen Dean. He specifically asked for it since his first experience with the military included a ride in a Bren gun Carrier. A proud moment for the 8th Hussars Museum! Click here to view a video of the roll past by Rick Cosman and below enjoy the slideshow of photographs taken by the 8th Hussar Museum Chairman Tom McLaughlan. 0:12/10:14 We certainly like to meet everyone in person however we have a large audience of friends from far away and friends who are not on facebook so we will duplicate our facebook posts and you can join us here.
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Welcome to the 8th Hussars Museum Archives
August 2021
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