First-run flag forgotten at local museum

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This article was published 15/02/2025 (262 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CFB SHILO — One of the last remaining original Canadian Maple Leaf flags in existence played a role in Canada’s proud peacekeeping history.

And this weekend, in honour of the 60th anniversary of Canada’s national flag — National Flag of Canada Day — that original flag will be on display at its home in the Royal Canadian Artillery Museum at Canadian Forces Base Shilo.

The museum’s flag, which was originally sent to Shilo from Ottawa, was also the first Maple Leaf flag flown in Cyprus by Canadian peacekeepers in 1965, and travelled to that country with the Ontario-based 4th Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery from CFB Petawawa.

“They took it to Cyprus during one of the early peacekeeping missions,” said RCA Museum director Andrew Oakden on Friday morning. “They started in ‘64 so this was in ‘65. They would have raised it in Cyprus during their mission.

“It’s the 60th anniversary of the flag, and we have one going back 60 years, which is great. And this one was actually in theatre, so that’s pretty cool.”

Canada’s participation in the United Nations peacekeeping operation in Cyprus ran from 1964 to 1993, with more than 25,000 Canadian Armed Forces members having served in the effort over the decades. The new Maple Leaf flag made the nation stand out on the world stage as Canadians served abroad, Oakden said.

The information card that accompanies the artifact states that the flag now in the RCA Museum’s possession was one of 12,000 first-run flags that were rushed into production and “showed quality control problems in colour and materials.” For this reason, there are very few first-edition flags left intact.

The Canadian government website, Canada.ca states that the early days of the Maple Leaf flag’s existence were not easy, for in the months following its first appearance the bright red colour of the flag faded in the sunshine, “turning from red to pink to rust.”

“In June 1965, then-prime minister Lester B. Pearson tasked the National Defence (DND) with maintaining the integrity of the new national flag,” reads the government website. “As one of the country’s primary flag users, DND maintained specifications for various flags.”

A committee made up of representatives from DND and the Canadian Government Specifications Board (now the Canadian General Standards Board) created the first national flag standard: 98-CP-1, A Standard for the National Flag of Canada (Nylon Taffeta).

While the flag at CFB Shilo was flown in Cyprus, the colours of the flag have not faded much, suggesting that it was used less often than the flag of the United Nations, Oakden said.

Ironically, until Thursday the museum staff were not aware of the flag’s existence as it had been misplaced in one of the archival rooms years earlier. A call from The Brandon Sun looking for an original Canadian flag prompted Oakden and his staff to search the archives for an early version.

“We were struggling, trying to find an old Canadian flag, and then we found one, which seems like a perfect one from 1965 from the first batch of flags,” Oakden said. “So it’s great for us, because we’ll put it in our peacekeeping display and show it with some of the early peacekeeping in Cyprus.”

While searching for an early Canadian Maple Leaf flag, museum staff also found some other historic artifacts from Feb. 15, 1965, when the new flag first flew on Canadian soil. They include three photographs taken at Shilo’s Canoe River Memorial Park depicting the lowering of the old Red Ensign flag, which combined the British Union Jack and the Canadian coat of arms on a red field, and the raising of the new flag over Shilo 60 years ago today.

Along with it is a copy of the proclamation speech given that morning, and a copy of the royal proclamation by Queen Elizabeth II confirming the flag, which arrived on base sometime after the flag was first raised.

The RCA’s original 1965 flag will stand in the foyer of the museum for the next several months, Oakden said, and if visitors to the museum have questions about the flag or about Canadian peacekeeping missions abroad this weekend, he said he would be happy to offer assistance. Although the museum is normally closed on weekends, Oakden says it will open to visitors on Saturday.

The historic flag will go back into storage before the year is over to keep the colour from fading any further.

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