'... through a country where nature has attempted to say something and has stuttered for miles and miles ...' was how Doug Oliver of The Globe and Mail described the view out the window of the Pilot Train as it operated 30 minutes in advance of the Royal Train through northern Ontario.
For those of you who have a 'feel' for the rhythm of a diesel-powered passenger train operating across Canada, you can imagine how the tour planners found 'things to do' for the royal couple in daytime at major terminals where engine and train crews were changed and where mechanical inspections were performed on the power and cars.
The timing of some of the terminal stops will be all the more interesting for those of you with knowledge of the challenges of operating steam locomotives and passenger equipment circa 1939 and the many little mechanical emergencies which might have arisen during this era.
And keep in mind the fact that the Pilot Train, with similar equipment, was always required to operate 30 minutes in advance of the Royal Train. The two trains were generally stopped adjacent to each other if the Royal Train was not running through the night.
Always be careful when an account starts with 'It is said that ...' .
I think Heron Bay's name originates more from the ecclesiastical - rather than the avian - realm.
* * *
Short digression:
My favourite history of a Canadian railway town ...
I have a number of railway town histories. But White River - 100 Years; ed: Mary Houston; 1985; self-published. is my favourite by far. Mary Houston was the spouse of Dr WG Houston - the White River area's long-serving physician. I was really pleased to be able to correspond with a member of her family after my first efforts with some of these images - many years ago.
Mary Houston solicited, arranged and preserved photos from all over the community in this remarkable book at just the right moment - as the originally isolated 'railway town' was in the final of many phases of metamorphosis into a modern 'services town'.
The history includes images from White River's earliest days and groups them by decade, showing how the community, the residents and the railway changed over the years.
Mary Houston solicited, arranged and preserved photos from all over the community in this remarkable book at just the right moment - as the originally isolated 'railway town' was in the final of many phases of metamorphosis into a modern 'services town'.
The history includes images from White River's earliest days and groups them by decade, showing how the community, the residents and the railway changed over the years.
The book provides the richest documentation I have seen of what happened during a typical short visit by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth during a Royal Train stop at a division point.
* * *
The Royal Train at White River
May 23, 1939
May 23, 1939
George Freethy, YMCA secretary, officially greeting
King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, White River, May 23, 1939.
King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, White River, May 23, 1939.
In Daylight Upon Magic, Tom MacDonnell records that the engineer, spotting a large crowd ahead at White River, sounded the buzzer in the royal couple's car to alert them. On detraining, the King wanted to meet White River's mayor, but, as the town was unincorporated, George Freethy was 'elected' on the spot.
HJ Humphrey, General Manager of Eastern Lines with King George VI, May 23, 1939.
The men are walking back toward the 'married quarters' - as some renamed them.
The men are walking back toward the 'married quarters' - as some renamed them.
CD Howe was later doing some 'advance work' before the arrival of the Royal Train at Schreiber. The gentlemen designated to meet the royal couple did not have the requisite gloves, although the women were properly equipped. The Schreiber men pointed out that the glove rule was 'just for the east'. CD Howe relented, saying: 'I guess I'm wrong, this must be where the West begins'.
Chapleau was passed in the middle of the previous night.
Assembled crowds usually remained silent if the train passed through
when the royal couple was likely to be sleeping.
Assembled crowds usually remained silent if the train passed through
when the royal couple was likely to be sleeping.
Daylight Upon Magic (1989) refers to the canoe
'which one of the Indians had made for her' - the Queen.
The royal couple had personalized their cars with photos and books. A small library of books by Canadian authors was supplied with the cars. The selection of international books included a copy of Mein Kampf - some of the ideas in that 'blueprint' would begin to play out three months later. The King's bedroom contained field glasses, cameras (he was an avid movie camera user), and a shelf stacked with white gloves. The Queen would read ghost stories and her Book of Common Prayer before bed.
'Mementoes were scattered through the sitting-room, including the tiny canoe, which stayed on the mantel for the rest of the journey.' Daylight Upon Magic.
The carmen who serviced the Royal Train at White River.
Mackenzie King chose to stay on board the train during the White River stop. The people remaining after the 30 minute visit (some had travelled from other settlements) were looking forward to 'the church supper and a barn dance at Spadoni's Hall' (from Daylight Upon Magic).
... so passed the short stop at White River.
* * *
Unless otherwise indicated, photos and captions for the following section come from:
Canadian Geographical Journal; July 1939; Canadian Geographical Society.
'Arriving at Port Arthur, His Majesty inspected a guard of honour supplied by The Lake Superior Regiment, and with the Queen drove to Fort William, receiving a warm welcome beneath the towering elevators in the great grain ports.'
The royal party toured the Lakehead cities for about 90 minutes.
The royal party toured the Lakehead cities for about 90 minutes.
 |
| from: Daylight Upon Magic; Tom MacDonnell; 1989; Macmillan. |
Main route near Portage and Main, Winnipeg.
The visit to Winnipeg was marked by the most steady rainfall in years. Remember that the 1930s had generally been grim years for agriculture on the Canadian prairies. In spite of its effect on the atmosphere of the tour, the late spring rain was welcomed by farmers.
'On the steps of Manitoba's Parliament Building, Their Majesties stand with Premier John Bracken while the National Anthem is rendered.'
'Two black beaver skins and two elk head were presented to His Majesty by the Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company at the ivy-coated gate of Upper Fort Garry, in Winnipeg. Provision for payment of these 'dues' to a reigning monarch should he visit the company's territory, is contained in a charter granted by King Charles II in 1670.'
In fact, it seems that the letter of the original charter was that live animals would be provided. Fortunately, the substitution of elk heads was deemed acceptable.
In fact, it seems that the letter of the original charter was that live animals would be provided. Fortunately, the substitution of elk heads was deemed acceptable.
(scroll right to find Mackenzie King)
'From Winnipeg, geographical centre of Canada, King George VI broadcast an address to his people on Empire Day, in which he declared: "Canada and the United States have had to dispose of searching differences of aim and interest during the past hundred years, but never has one of those differences been resolved by force or by threat. No man, thank God, will ever again conceive of such arbitrament between the peoples of my Empire and the people of the United States" .'
Considering the time difference between Winnipeg and Britain, and the fact that the King insisted on broadcasting his speeches 'live', this speech was given 'earlier' - before that day's stops at St Boniface and at Fort Garry, as seen above.
Prime Minister Mackenzie King, in London for King George VI's Coronation in 1937, made the request for the unprecedented Royal Tour directly to the King at Buckingham Palace. As the project developed, he was assisted by the Governor General John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (whose book, The 39 Steps, was also in the royal railway car library) and Canada's High Commissioner, Vincent Massey.
In a shared limousine, on the way to opening the international bridge over the St Lawrence River at Ivy Lea in August 1938, Mackenzie King mentioned the tour to US President Franklin Roosevelt. The latter then produced a handwritten note inviting the royal couple for an informal visit to the United States.
The precarious state of peace during Hitler's aggressions against Austria and the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia affected and threatened the arrangements for this tour right up to the last minute. The King, who had served in the Royal Navy and was present at the Battle of Jutland, chose to use a liner instead of a warship for the Atlantic crossing to ensure the latter was available in Britain in the event hostilities began while he was away.
The Royal Tour of 1939 was grudgingly approved in late 1938 by the British government to help ensure that Canada, in particular, and the US, as well, did not drift into isolationism in the event that war started in Europe.
* * *
A quick note on Canada/US relations in the context of the speech, above:
Prime Minister Mackenzie King, in London for King George VI's Coronation in 1937, made the request for the unprecedented Royal Tour directly to the King at Buckingham Palace. As the project developed, he was assisted by the Governor General John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (whose book, The 39 Steps, was also in the royal railway car library) and Canada's High Commissioner, Vincent Massey.
In a shared limousine, on the way to opening the international bridge over the St Lawrence River at Ivy Lea in August 1938, Mackenzie King mentioned the tour to US President Franklin Roosevelt. The latter then produced a handwritten note inviting the royal couple for an informal visit to the United States.
The precarious state of peace during Hitler's aggressions against Austria and the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia affected and threatened the arrangements for this tour right up to the last minute. The King, who had served in the Royal Navy and was present at the Battle of Jutland, chose to use a liner instead of a warship for the Atlantic crossing to ensure the latter was available in Britain in the event hostilities began while he was away.
The Royal Tour of 1939 was grudgingly approved in late 1938 by the British government to help ensure that Canada, in particular, and the US, as well, did not drift into isolationism in the event that war started in Europe.