Stewart Family Donation
In our archives, I found a letter from Major G. D. Mitchell to the Stewart family (Mary and LCol James Stewart) from Kingston, Ontario, dated 14 December 1981. LCol James Stewart was the son of Brigadier James C. Stewart (Sr). Along with the letter, there are 47 photos and postcards of RCA Gunners’ training during summer camps at Camp Hughes and Camp Petawawa from 1924 to 1931. All of the items were still in the original mailing envelope.
These images had initially belonged to Brigadier J. C. Stewart (Sr). The RCA Museum has the medal set originally belonging to the Brigadier, who had a long and distinguished career starting in 1908 until his retirement in 1947. He held many senior command posts during WW2, including Commander of the Royal Artillery 1st Canadian Division from December 1939 to July 1940 and Commander of the Royal Artillery 1 Canadian Corps from December 1940 to July 1941.
Major Mitchell thanked Mary and James for the photos and postcards in the letter. Mitchell spoke of the Stewart family’s long service to the RCA. Other family members of Brigadier Stewart joined the Canadian Artillery, including his brother Lt A. R. Stewart who was killed in action during WW2.
Major Mitchell wrote that he would have “the RCHA photos copied for our Right of the Line.” In the early 1980s, as the author, Mitchell worked on the draft for “RCHA – Right of the Line.” The RCHA Historical Committee published the book in 1986, which is an excellent secondary source on the history of RCHA. I have a copy on my desk that I often use for research purposes. It appears he picked three of the images for publication, which are also in our archives.
A photo of Brigadier J. C. Stewart, CBE, DSO, CD (1891– 1972) with medal set.
The photo below includes Brigadier Stewart standing next to Ham Roberts (Great Gunner Major-General John H. Roberts), who led the ill-fated Dieppe Raid in August 1942. Note the photo below with the inscription: “Artillery Camp School, Camp Hughes June 1924.” Any image of Camp Hughes after 1918 is rare; one with two generals is very rare indeed.
From 1929 to 1934, Brigadier James C. Stewart (Sr) was the RCHA Brigade’s Commanding Officer. In this capacity, he was the Commanding Officer at Camp Petawawa. Most of the images are of Camp Petawawa from 1928 to 1931. There are good photos of the RCA in the field with outdated Artillery, including 4.5 Inch Howitzers, 6 Inch Howitzers, 18 Pounders, and 60 Pounders. Many of the 60 Pounder photos have the inscription on the back saying 3rd Medium Battery, RCA.
In 1964, Brigadier Stewart’s son, LCol Stewart, added inscriptions to the postcards and pictures regarding their significance. There are photos with captions of the early six-wheeled gun tractors, a first-aid vehicle, a rations wagon, church service in the field, and men diving from a boat pier. Note the photo of the church service at Petawawa, above to the left. On the back of the image, LCol Stewart wrote, “Old football field, stables, house on the left now where armed units offer Mass… 1929.” On the back of the diving photo, he wrote, “1928-1930, Old pier – Now main beach.”
Altogether, this is an impressive collection on the Canadian Artillery during the Interwar Years that belonged to a notable family in RCA history.
By Andrew Oakden