A rare helmet plate of the Gananoque Garrison Artillery.
This plate is not listed in Mazeas's Pre 1914 Canadian Militia badge book.
All brass construction, 3 7/8 inches high 3 1/5 inches wide and nicely toned with repairs on bottom scroll and (2) lugs replaced, one lug missing.
Marked Gananoque Garrison Artillery on the bottom ribbon.
Before the First World War Gananoque was the home of a militia field artillery battery. Canada entered the war on 3 August 1914. Three weeks later 130 men marched out of town led by Russel Britton, owner of a large local business and the artillery battery commander. He was killed in action on 3rd May 1917.
In 1914 Gananoque had a population of about 3,500 people. About 550 men and women enlisted during the war, which claimed the lives of 58 men. Virtually all were volunteers, as Canada did not introduce conscription until near the end of the war. Among the dead were a soldier age 15, one age 50, a father of 12, and four sets of brothers. Private Harry Brown posthumously was awarded the Victoria Cross for his valor at Hill 70 in August 1917. A cairn in the Gananoque Town Park describes the action, which earned him the highest bravery award in the Commonwealth.
