New Brunswick, Royal Tourists, and the Anglophone Press, 1901-1959
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
THROUGH A ROYALIST LENS: NEW BRUNSWICK, ROYAL TOURISTS, AND THE ANGLOPHONE PRESS, 1901-1959 by Barry Richard MacKenzie B.A. (Honours), St. Francis Xavier University, 2007 M.A., University of New Brunswick, 2009 Ph.D., University of New Brunswick, 2019 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate Academic Unit of History Supervisor: Greg Marquis, Ph.D., History Examining Board: Sasha Mullally, Ph.D., History Wendy Churchill, Ph.D., History Jennifer Andrews, Ph.D., English External Examiner: Nicole Neatby, Ph.D., History St. Mary’s University This dissertation is accepted by the Dean of Graduate Studies THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW BRUNSWICK August 2019 © Barry Richard MacKenzie, 2019 ABSTRACT Over a nearly-sixty-year period, three generations of the Canadian royal family visited New Brunswick, sometimes at important moments in the province’s history. Each of these tours provided an opportunity for local leaders and boosters in Saint John, Fredericton, and Moncton to present a carefully staged version of their communities to an assortment of royal tourists, all the while supported in their work by the local anglophone press. These royal itineraries, supervised by Ottawa but largely of local design, varied only slightly in many respects, and yet by examining a variety of elements of these tours, the historian can learn a great deal about the times in which they took place, specifically with respect to the status of the military in civil society, the role of women, the variety of competing identities, the reinforcement of tradition, and various local issues which emerged during the planning and execution of the visits. Drawing upon coverage of these tours which appeared in the anglophone press, this dissertation contributes to a greater understanding of New Brunswick identities, specifically how the anglophone majority, and especially its middle class, perceived the province during the first six decades of the twentieth century, a period of important constitutional and cultural evolution. It fills gaps in our historical understanding of the period, while also building on the work which has been carried out on topics such as Britishness and the Loyalist Myth. Specifically, it adds to an ongoing debate about imperialism and Canada’s place in the British World after the Great War. Most importantly, this study adds another dimension to the expanding field of ii commemoration, and demonstrates the value of ceremonial occasions as markers of identity. The people of New Brunswick gathered by the thousands in the streets and along railroad sidings to catch glimpses of kings and princesses on every occasion between 1901 and 1959. The press suggested that these royal tourists captured the hearts and imaginations of the people who came out to cheer them. While spectators may have thought they were getting to know these royal guests, in fact they were learning far more about themselves. iii Dedicated with love and gratitude to my wife, Marielle, and my children, Henry and Abby. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am indebted to a great many people for their support of this project. I am grateful to Harold Wright, Olive (Weaver) O’Donnell, Heather (Baird) Perritt, and Hank Williams for the loan of photographs reproduced here. The staff of the Harriet Irving Library at the University of New Brunswick and the Angus L. Macdonald Library at St. Francis Xavier University were helpful in many ways, particularly those in the microform department at UNB. The cooperative and knowledgeable staff at the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick provided valuable advice. Elizabeth Arnold, Carole Hines, and Misty Anderson provided much-appreciated support in the office of the History Department at UNB, as have the various faculty members and graduate students with whom I had the privilege of working during my years in Fredericton. In particular, I am especially grateful to Dr. Gail Campbell and Dr. Koral LaVorgna for their friendship and support throughout this process. I also owe my supervisor, Dr. Greg Marquis, a debt of gratitude for the patience he demonstrated throughout this lengthy journey. I have been particularly blessed with support from my family and friends. To everyone at St. Francis Xavier University and the wider Antigonish community who encouraged me (and prayed for me) during the final years of this process, I am very grateful for your support and reassurance. In particular, I owe much to Dr. Laurie Stanley-Blackwell and John Blackwell, who read many early drafts and provided a sympathetic ear on countless occasions. To my mother and father, and my in-laws, who have provided such incredible support to my family and me over these many years, I will v be eternally grateful. Similar appreciation must be extended to other family and friends near and far who encouraged and challenged me to continue to pursue this dream. Most importantly, I wish to acknowledge the love, support, and encouragement I received from my wife and children, whose plans were often put on hold as a result of this project, and to whom it is lovingly and gratefully dedicated. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………………………… ii DEDICATION………………………………………………………………………………………. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………………………… v TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………………………... vii LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………………………….. viii INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………….. 1 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………………………………… 24 CHAPTER 2: THE 1901 ROYAL TOUR…………………………………………………… 71 CHAPTER 3: THE 1919 ROYAL TOUR…………………………………………………… 144 CHAPTER 4: THE 1939 ROYAL TOUR…………………………………………………… 196 CHAPTER 5: THE 1951 AND 1959 ROYAL TOURS…………………………………… 272 CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………………………. 351 BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………………………………………. 360 CURRICULUM VITAE vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York at the time of their 1901 tour. 82 Figure 2: South African War Veterans receiving their medals from the Duke of Cornwall and York. 90 Figure 3: The controversial arch at the corner of King and Germain streets in Saint John. 103 Figure 4: A royal welcome from the Daily Gleaner, 17 October 1901, page 1. 115 Figure 5: An editorial from the Freeman, 26 October 1901, page 4. 131 Figure 6: The Prince of Wales aboard HMS Renown during his Canadian tour. 163 Figure 7: The Prince of Wales presents colours to the 26th Battalion, Saint John Globe, 21 August 1919, page 4. 167 Figure 8: The New Freeman reflects on the success of the 1919 tour, 23 August 1919, page 1. 182 Figure 9: Young New Brunswick women participate in an allegorical pageant to welcome the Prince of Wales to Saint John. 187 Figure 10: An invitation to the garden party hosted by lieutenant governor Pugsley at Rothesay. 190 Figure 11: King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in Ottawa during their 1939 tour. 209 Figure 12: Doaktown’s welcome arch, 1939. 218 viii Figure 13: Brownie Olive Weaver presents a bouquet to Queen Elizabeth at Doaktown, 13 June 1939. 218 Figure 14: The Daily Gleaner announces plans for “Indian” children to gather along royal route, 10 June 1939, page 12. 232 Figure 15: A page from Newcastle Royal Visit program, including the text of Mayor Daniel Creaghan’s address. 242 Figure 16: The Evening Times-Globe reports the decision of the City of Saint to provide $5,000 towards the royal reception, 20 April 1939, page 11. 255 Figure 17: Prince Philip and Princess Elizabeth in 1950, a year before their Canadian tour. 285 Figure 18: Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip are presented with travelling rugs decorated with the New Brunswick coat of arms during the 1951 tour. 300 Figure 19: Union Jacks can be seen decorating this building along Union Street in Saint John in 1959. 313 Figure 20: The Daily Gleaner breaks the news that the royal couple have contributed to the Fishermen’s Disaster Fund, 14 July 1959, page 1. 321 Figure 21: The Queen meets widows and children of some of the men who perished in the Escuminac Disaster, Daily Times, 31 July 1959, page 5. 327 Figures 22 and 23: The Edward VII Bible, showing the signatures of several generations of the Royal Family who visited Christ Church Cathedral. 337 Figure 24: Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip with Albert Angel (a Great War veteran who served in England and France with the 104th and 26th Battalion bands), Nursing Sister Sarah Miles, a Second World War veteran, and mayor Tom Horsler of Fairville. 341 ix Figure 25: An armband issued to a member of the Canadian Legion of the British Empire Service League at Fredericton. 355 x INTRODUCTION The monarchy, though it seems in the last few decades to have lost a degree of the magic which once kept its subjects spellbound, is still the subject of fascination among Britons and Canadians alike. The CBC, our national broadcaster, still carries, and produces, a broad array of royal programs and documentaries. Canadian newspapers and magazines, though they no longer publish royal news on a regular basis, still on occasion find room for stories and photographs chronicling the movements of the Queen and her family, particularly during royal milestones like weddings and jubilees, and during royal tours. In New Brunswick, the media are no exception. There is little doubt that the monarchy still periodically captures the imagination of many anglophone New Brunswickers, even if their conception of its connection to Canada, if they conceive of a connection at all, is difficult to pinpoint. That, however, is not something which this dissertation seeks to prove or disprove. To comprehend the fascination many people have about the monarchy, one would necessarily have to somehow differentiate between old fashioned loyalty to the Crown, and the popular interest in, and identification with, royals as celebrities. One recent poll suggests that 54% of Atlantic Canadians oppose the abolition of the monarchy in Canada, whereas only 43% of Canadians overall feel the same way.1 This complicated duality did not emerge in the age of Charles and Diana, or William and Kate, however, but generations earlier.