Fonds

The Victoria Rifles of Canada fonds is a testimony to the history of the Montreal military organization and portrays its operations and its involvement in several major armed conflicts. This fonds also contains information about its members, its armoury and its social activities.

It contains records of attestation for the years 1880 to 1963, the service records of the officers (1862-1944), certificates of attestation of rank of a few officers, an attendance book for the years 1875-1877, and honorary certificates for important members of the battalion. There are nine scrapbooks, one for the seventy-fifth anniversary of the battalion and one for the hundredth anniversary. There are also internal publications that report on military and social activities as well as a publication of the Montreal Gazette. It also includes a map of a British concession, the African Lakes Corporation, in Mozambique. A set of photos completes the collection.

The fonds consists of the following six series:

P190/A History
P190/B Members
P190/C Participation in armed conflicts
P190/D Montreal administration and activities
P190/E Scrapbooks
P190/F Photographs

The series A, historical, regroups the documents relating the origins and the history in general of the organism. It includes, among other things, a periodical article relating the 100 years of existence of the battalion and a text written by a member of the Rifles on the first years of activity up to the end of the 1920s. Several other documents originate prior to the establishment of the organization, and are focused on financial statements and the budget of military personnel before the establishment of confederation in 1867. There is also a map of a British concession, the African Lakes Corporation, in Mozambique.

Series B is on the subject of the members of the Victoria Rifles. It contains mainly information about their recruitment, military service on their graduation and honours received. It contains records of attestation for the years 1880 to 1963, the service records of the officers (1862-1944), certificates of attestation of rank of a few officers, an attendance book for the years 1875-1877, as well as honorary certificates for important members of the battalion.

The C series includes records of participation in three military conflicts: the Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. There are reports, lists of soldiers, a photo album and a publication of the 60th Battalion in the form of a newspaper. There is also an edition of The Gazette of May 8, 1945, corresponding to the date of the victory of the allies during the Second World War.

The D series, Montreal administration and activities, focuses on the Victoria Rifles headquarters and its military and social activities. It contains a special edition of the Montreal Herald concerning the opening of the Cathcart Street Armoury, two editions of the internal publication Rifleman, a letter from the City of Montreal requesting security at an event and an attendance sheet for a military parade.

The E series includes nine scrapbooks covering the military and social activities of the Rifles, one of which is specifically for their seventy-fifth anniversary and a second for their 100th anniversary. In these scrapbooks, press clippings, photos, invitation cards, thank you cards and letters were grouped together.

The F series includes photographs that are associated with the Victoria Rifles predominantly in military exercises: parades, inspections, training and guards. Other photographs represent the regiment during social activities.