McGregor Armoury holds treasures of the past

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This article was published 16/09/2010 (5830 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Gord Crossley calls it one of the country’s best-kept military secrets.

 

Crossley is a volunteer curator for the Fort Garry Horse Museum at the McGreg­or Armoury, located on McGregor Avenue in Winnipeg’s North End.

The museum is home to thousands of Canadian military artifacts, some dating back as far as the First World War. Sadly, only a handful of people visit the museum each week, he said.

“We’d love to see walk-in traffic increase, but due to the volunteer nature (of staffing) and limited hours of operation it’s tough,” said Crossley, who is also a chief warrant officer with the Canadian Forces.

The armoury opened in 1913 as part of Canada’s military expansion during the First World War.

The museum was established in 1978 and features items chronicling the Fort Garry Horse regiment’s history. It is also home to an extensive military research library.

Crossley said members of the public regularly contact the museum to access its military records.

“We get a few students each year but it is mostly families looking for history on family members,” he said.

University of Western Canada student Stephanie Potter spent a week in August pouring over the museum’s First World War and pre-war collection for her PhD dissertation on Canadian cavalry.

“I’ve been looking at documents, files and diaries on-hand to get a better idea of a mounted unit in a modern war,” she said, noting the amount of archives the museum has is staggering.

“The archives here are great. Diaries are typed out and most of the stuff is digital.”

Potter said the effort of the cavalry in the First World War should not be overlooked.

“They were often brought in to break up stalemates on the western front, when a gap was developed. They were brought in as a kind of shock troop as they were a highly mobile and, fast unit,” she said.

The majority of the muse­um’s operating budget comes from private donations. It also receives some smaller grants from the various levels of government.

The Fort Garry Horse regiment was comprised of about 100 men during its inception in 1912.

 “When the First World War started, (it) grew to 1,223 men,” Crossley said.

While the image of soldiers on horseback armed with swords and lances may seem a little strange today, cavalry units played key a role during the First World War, according to Crossley.

“They were used to find gaps in enemy lines on the Western Front,” he said.

Despite no firearms,  mounted cavalry nonetheless cast an imposing presence.

“There was 308 pounds of equipment on the horse and at full gallop a sword or lance would pierce just about anything,” Crossley said.

By the Second World War, the cavalry had been converted to a tank regiment.

“Our first tanks were four American ones shipped up as scrap metal. There were about 150 men training with each tank. We turned them into the Canadian Ram Mark II tank, which were the precursor to the United States’ Sherman tanks,” Crossley said.

The regiment went on to distinguish itself in the Allied advance through France after landing in Normandy on D-Day.  The regiment ended the war in the German city of Oldenburg, accepting the surrender of German troops in the area.

The active regiment was demobilized in January 1946, but carried on as a militia.

“Post-war the regiment served all over the world doing reconnaissance. We’ve helped out during various floods over the years and anywhere they have been needed,” Crossley said.

In 1965 the regiment moved into the McGregor Armoury.  

It is still a hub of activity to this day. Operations Warrant Officer Dan Gryszczuki said the armoury houses approximately 120 Fort Garry Horse members who are either full-time or part-time reservists.

“Our task is reconnaissance, finding the enemy and reporting back,” Gryszczuki said, who noted some of the domestic or non-military work of the Fort Garry Horse has included flood response as well as work at the 2010 Olympics.

Members have also carried out duties in Afghanistan, he added.

“We have one member currently there, another preparing to go and 11 who have just returned,” he said.

Crossley noted the armoury is busy every night of the week.

“In addition to regiment training, we have a pair of Air Cadet Squadrons as well as Army Cadets,” he said.

The museum is open to the public Monday evenings from 7:30 to 10 p.m. throughout most of the year.

For more information about the museum and armoury, visit www.fortgarryhorse.ca.

rob.brown@canstarnews.com