Museum looks to unfurl flag’s history

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This article was published 02/09/2021 (1540 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CFB SHILO — The Royal Canadian Artillery Museum is on the hunt for the former owner of a Manitoba flag believed to have once called the Kandahar Airfield dining hall home.

Museum senior curator Jonathan Ferguson said he is hoping to include the flag in the museum’s permanent Afghanistan exhibit with details on the object’s history.

“I just want to nail down the story, because there is a story to tell,” Ferguson said.

It has proven challenging tracking down the initial owner, as the flag has no mention of units, dates or rotations that can place the artifact at a specific place and time.

Ferguson said this suggests the signers could be civilian contractors or troops from other nations. 

He has looked through the Department of National Defence Directory based on the names on the flag, but has been unable to make any direct matches.

The Royal Canadian Artillery Museum is now reaching out to the community to try to connect with the original owner, a man believed to be named Bill, to learn more about the artifact’s history.

The large nylon flag measures 1.8 metres by 0.86 metres and has been signed by several people with messages addressed to a man named Bill.

“There’s a couple of suggestions that it’s from Kandahar,” Ferguson said.

The notes on the flag are for the most part well wishes. Ferguson described them as messages similar to what one would find in a high school yearbook.

“Some of them are a little bit colourful, some of them are just a signature. It’s a variety,” Ferguson said. “There’s at least one that mentions CAF for Kandahar Airfield and another that mentions a great Canadian.”

The flag was provided to the museum by a donor from Brandon. The donor purchased it from a friend’s store in the city and Ferguson is hoping to learn more details about how it journeyed from Afghanistan to the Wheat City. The flag was originally located in 2014 and later arrived at the museum in 2015.

“It’s been sitting there waiting for an opportunity like this, but unfortunately we haven’t made a direct connection with the original owner,” Ferguson said.

The museum can still exhibit the flag without finding the original owner, but connecting with them would allow Ferguson to tell a more complete story of its origins.

He described the objects on display as “only half of the message” because the context of an item provides a deeper meaning for guests.  Ferguson used military medals as an example, explaining how museum displays can be enriched by the stories and people associated with them.

“It wouldn’t be as much as a testimonial as it would be if we knew the when, the where and the why,” Ferguson said.

He is now endeavouring to connect with people who served in Kandahar who could potentially remember the flag, who it was with and where it was located.

The museum is redeveloping its permanent Afghanistan exhibit, which will feature a Sperwer UAV drone that flew operations in the country. The exhibit will coincide with a travelling exhibit developed by The Military Museums based out of Calgary.

The new exhibit has been in the works for a while now, and Ferguson is hoping to include the special Manitoba flag as an artifact in the gallery.

Anyone who recognizes the flag or who wishes to donate to the Royal Canadian Artillery Museum collection is encouraged to contact RCAMuseum@forces.gc.ca or call 204-765-3000 (Ext. 3570).

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