Navy League of Canada, Grande Prairie Branch. — 1961-1971. — 2 cm of textual records.
Agency History
The Navy League of Canada was established in 1895. It conducted various youth training activities, including the Navy League Cadet Corps, which was formed in 1948 for boys aged 9 to 13. The purpose of the cadet corps was to give the boys “mental, moral and physical training through the medium of naval and other instructions, with the object of developing principles of patriotism and good citizenship and instilling in them a sense of duty, discipline, self-respect, and a respect for others.”
The Grande Prairie Branch of the Northern Alberta Division of the Navy League of Canada was established on January 1, 1961. At the time, there was already a Royal Canadian Sea Cadets group running for the 12 to 18 year-olds, which was delivered in partnership by the Navy League of Canada and the Department of National Defence. The new Navy League Cadets Corps was meant for the younger children waiting to enter the RCSCC, and was run entirely by the Navy League. This group, a “Mic Mac” corps, grew quickly to 29 cadets by the end of 1961 and remained strong until well in the 1970s.
The activities which occupied the Cadets included drill parades and inspections; exhibitions such as boot pulling and tumbling; corps band practices; marching in public parades such as Remembrance Day, the Battle of the Atlantic Sunday Church Parade, and the Gold Spike Parade in 1969; fund-raising work such as bottle drives, doughnut drives, a light bulb drive, Daffodil Sale in April, and Carnation Sale for Mothers’ Day. Attendance at drill parades and regular meetings was expected, and cadets were discharged for low attendance.
Custodial History
The records were collected by Trenton Perrott ca. 2009 when the D Coy Armouries was being cleaned out, and because the club no longer existed, was deposited at South Peace Regional Archives. No authorization for deposit was found, and the records were accessioned in 2015.
Scope and Content
The fonds consists of the original certificate of Warrant from the Navy League of Canada, attendance records for the Mic Mac Corps from 1961 to 1971, a manual titled “The Regulations for the Administration of Navy League Cadet Corps”, and another manual titled “Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Manual”. The latter manual is for the Sea Cadets, which was an older group than the Navy Cadets.
Notes
Acquisition note: Accession No. 2015.073
Historical note: Information for Agency History taken from the records.
Related records: Photograph album for Sea Cadets from 1955-1966 in Elmer Borstad fonds 163