The John Dick Collection
Artillery museums are not just for weapons; they house artifacts that embody the stories of the past, including cap badges, decorations, service badges and unit patches. In 2022, LCol John Dick, a retired artillery officer, donated thousands of pocket-sized artifacts to the museum. In terms of numbers, it is one of the most significant donations to the museum in decades. I thank LCol Dick for donating this extensive collection of RCA artifacts. Large donations are of immense importance, not just for preserving the artifacts, but also for fostering a deep understanding of military history.
Various Cap Badges, circa 1900s.
Various Pins.
LCol (retd) John B. Dick joined the Canadian Forces in 1968. He served in various artillery units, including airborne, light, and medium. LCol Dick served in Germany and participated in two peacekeeping missions in Cyprus, one of which was during the 1974 war. He spent three years as an instructor and later as the Chief Standards Officer at the Artillery School in Gagetown. Additionally, he held several staff officer positions, including in Ottawa at Headquarters and for the Canadian Defense Liaison Staff in Washington, DC. In 2005, LCol Dick retired from the Canadian Forces.
The John Dick Collection includes 116 Gunner medal sets, mainly rank-and-file soldiers who served over the past 150 years, with the majority serving during WW1 and WW2. LCol Dick painstakingly researched each Gunner, finding newspaper articles, reports, and miscellaneous papers. He completed the requisite paperwork for the service files from Library and Archives Canada and included the genealogy files with the donation. Perhaps most importantly, behind campaign medals lies a story of courage, resilience, and sacrifice.
Most of the collection included buttons, service badges/titles, unit patches, and other items Gunners wore on their military uniforms. Our curators grouped the artifacts in hundreds of batches. Other common artifacts included buckles, cloth crests, collar badges and assorted army insignia. There are hundreds of miscellaneous badges, coins, patches, and tokens. Other notable artifacts include berets, CF caps, cross belts, lanyards, miniature figurines, ties, shell casings, sweatshirts, and t-shirts.
My favourite artifact is a metal tankard inscribed “Canteen, B, RCA,” circa 1883 to 1893 – the formative period of the Regiment. The Canadian Militia established the Regiment of Canadian Artillery in 1883 with the initials RCA. The “B” stood for B Battery, out of Quebec City. It’s unknown if B Battery sold the cup or used it to distribute rations and sales items. At any rate, it is a rare and unusual artifact that found its way to the museum.
The John Dick Collection provided curators with additional artifacts for temporary and permanent exhibit display. Curators recently incorporated 33 of these military decorations in the Gunner Gallery, adding a short bio for each of the Gunners, representing 40% of the medal sets in the gallery and a significant contribution. LCol Dick helped ensure that these stories were celebrated and remembered.
LCol Dick spent many years putting this collection together, and it will take our curators many more to sort and place each artifact in permanent locations. The John Dick Collection helps us to tell the story of the Canadian Gunner, preserving history, educating the public, and honouring sacrifice. It helps our museum retain and preserve the historical record with tangible links to the past.
By Andrew Oakden