NOTES WRITTEN BY DAVID-DANIEL RUDDY IN SEPTEMBER 2009
REGARDING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A MUSEUM AT CMR

In November 1965, having been prevented by a heavy snowstorm from taking my car (an open sports car purchased in England that summer), I took the bus from Montreal to Saint-Jean and entered the College from the north gate.

I had never been in the residential area of the College before and noticed a very beautiful crown on the northern façade of this old building on my right. I had never visited that building. On looking through the windows, I saw a fire pump and wondered if this building had been built as a fire station for the College. Making enquiries from some of the original staff, I was told that no, this was the old guardhouse at what had been the only entrance to Fort Saint-Jean, and that it was now used for storage.

I thought then that it was such a beautiful building that was being waster (containing old fire equipment) and approached Colonel Ross, the then Commandant, in the Officers’ Mess. I told him of my discovery and asked for permission to clean it and convert it into a museum so that various historic memorabilia located about the College could be displayed there. I was pushed into it by the librarian who wanted to get rid of a big showcase standing in the middle of the main aisle of the library. It contained uniforms and various other memorabilia donated to the College. I protested that, as an historian, these were too valuable to simply throw out and I used that excuse with the Commandant to back up my plea for the use of the old guardhouse.

A meeting was held, and it was decided to grant me my wish; I soon received the Commandant’s approval for the conversion of the building into a museum. With the help of volunteer officer cadets in the winter of 1965-1966, the building was repainted and refurbished. I hunted all over the College to find showcases in which to display artefacts. The audio-visual department contributed a lot in enlarging photographs and maps for the walls. There was even a small budget which was sufficient for our needs as most of the work was supplied free of charge by the support staff.

As soon as word got around St-Jean that a museum had been set up, artefacts of all sorts were contributed by townspeople, some of whom had worked on the construction of Le College and kept them at home for safekeeping.

The three small cells were used to display the historic periods (1666-1951) and the large cell [the drunk tank] was for the display of memorabilia from Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean which had opened in 1952.

I might add that on my many trips to Ottawa to research the history of Fort Saint-Jean, I approached the staff of the Canadian War Museums to get pointers on what makes a military museum. I also enquired about the help that they give to Base museums. Within a year, I contacted many of the soldiers and sailors, who had been put in charge of Base museums, to find out their expertise and modus operandi. The upshot was that I established a new organization which I named the Organization of Military Museums of Canada (OMMC).

The OMMC, of which I became the first president, holds annual meetings in every region of Canada to discuss military museum problems. The OMMC still continues to offer help to Base museums.

The CMR museum was opened on special occasions until it was recognized as an official museum of the Canadian Forces in May 1973 when Colonel Cadieux was the Commandant. All of the previous Commandants (Colonel Thériault, Colonel Chouinard, Colonel Reid and of course Colonel Ross) had been very supportive of the undertaking. The official opening occurred on 5 May 1974 under Colonel Vandal. In the years that followed, I must not forget mentioning the amount of support received from Colonel Evraire and historian Jacques Castonguay.

It is strange how fate works ~ all this is due to my walk by the old guardhouse on a stormy day!

David-Daniel Ruddy
Museum Director from 1965 to 1988
Professor Department of Social Sciences from 1963 to 1988
Member of the CMR Club Quart de Siècle

Mr. Ruddy has written this short biography of himself.

Born somewhere between the Alleghenies and the Alps, I spent most of my boyhood in and about New York City, with several journeys in the 30s on the zeppelins to Germany, and to Italy and France. I was educated by the Jesuits at Fordham University. My university career was interrupted by the Second World War and my obligation to serve. Having joined the U.S. Navy, I started my military career as an organist and choir director. That soon changed with my assignment to the S.B.N.O.A.W.A., Bermuda. In the inimitable words of W.S. Gilbert, "don’t ever go to sea", and except for trips to Argentia, Newfoundland and various ports in the Caribbean, the Azores and the Mediterranean, I didn’t. The end of the war saw my return to academia and my bachelor’s degree in history, followed by the Master of Arts.

A holiday trip to Britain on the R.M.S. Queen Elizabeth in 1948 resulted in a five-year residency at St. Andrews University, where I avoided academic studies by indulging in archaeology and expeditions in my 1923 Daimler. The latter was the hit at the first garden party given at Holyrood Palace by H.M. the Queen.  The friendships made in my student days in Scotland range from Mr. Evelyn Waugh and Monsignor Ronald Knox, to those of my fellow students with whom I have maintained a connection over the past half century.

On returning to North America, I found my life’s work at le college militaire royal de Saint-Jean. Living in Montreal for the thirty-six years until retirement was a very rewarding experience, but my move to Victoria, British Columbia was a fulfilling experience. My frequent trips to Europe and to Asia and Australia were equaled by my bi-annual drives across Canada to Victoria. In addition to academic work, I have been involved in military museums and the work of the Heraldry Society of Canada. A more detailed biography may be found in the Canadian "Who’s Who."