A Woman at War – Elsie Reford and WWI

Guest Speaker: Alexander Reford

When:     Thursday, November 20, 2014, from 19:30 to 21:00

Where:   Beaconsfield Library

               303 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A7

Lecture in English followed by a bilingual question period.

The women of Montreal took a leading role in the war effort that mobilized Canadian society from 1914 to 1918. Working in munitions factories, raising money for the Canadian Patriotic Fund, knitting socks for soldiers at the front, contributing to the political debates over conscription and waiting for the return of soldier sons or husbands - almost every woman in Montreal was touched by the First World War in some way.

Elsie Reford was in a unique position to contribute to the war effort. Her eldest son was an officer in the British Army, her brother Frank Meighen was the commanding officer of the 14th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (the Royal Montreal Regiment), her husband was the agent for many of the vessels travelling with troops, munitions and supplies to Great Britain, her brother in law Dr. Lewis Reford was one of the doctors that formed the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps (Number 3 Canadian General Hospital (McGill). She herself spent much of the First War in London volunteering as a translator of books by the German general staff into English for the War Office. Her cousin Arthur Meighen was the minister in the Borden government responsible for the Conscription Bill and one of the most controversial politicians of the period.

Through the wartime letters and speeches by Elsie Reford, her great grandson Alexander Reford will illustrate how Montreal responded to the war and present the debates that divided and united Montrealers during the war years.

Alexander Reford is the director of Les Jardins de Métis / Reford Gardens. Educated at the University of Toronto and Oxford University he is the author of several books on Quebec history and gardens:

Des jardins oubliés 1860-1960,

Guidebook to the Reford Gardens,

Au rythme du train 1859-1970,

Elsie’s Paradise – Reford Gardens,

Treasures of Reford Gardens - Elsie Reford’s Floral Legacy,

The Metis Lighthouse.

Starting in November 2014 and throughout the year 2015, the Beaurepaire-Beaconsfield Historical Society invites you to discover different aspects of Canadian Military - Standing on Guard

Everyone welcome. 

Free for members; $2 for non-members
Become a member for $5 per year 

Information: Contact us

A Report of Revolution and Refugees from a Jarvis Journal 

Guest Speaker: Ann Jarvis Boa, U.E.

When: Thursday, September 18, 2014, 19:30 to 21:00

Where:  Centennial Hall,

             288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4

Lecture in English followed by a bilingual question period.

Ann Jarvis Boa, author of My Eventful Life: Stephen Jarvis, U.E., 1756-1840, chose her great great grandfather as the subject of her talk. From Connecticut to Upper Canada, via New Brunswick, Stephen kept a diary chronicling his experiences during the Revolutionary War. From diaries, letters and photographs kept by her grandfather, Arthur Jarvis, Ann Jarvis Boa brought to life a part of the history of Canada as it affected a family of United Empire Loyalists.

Photo by Geoff Parkin

RMS Empress of Ireland

Guest speaker: Derek Grout

When:THursday, May 15, 2014, from 19:30 to 21:00

Where: Centennial Hall,

             288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4

Lecture in English followed by a bilingual question period.

The Loyalists Refugees: The Story of the First Settlers in the Eastern Townships

Guest speaker: Michel Racicot

When: Thursday, April 17, 2014, from 19:30 to 21:00

Where: Centennial Hall

            288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4

Lecture in English followed by a bilingual question period.

Michel Racicot is genealogist and member of Sir John Johnson Centennial Branch UELAC (United Empire Loyalist Association of Canada), which is the Eastern Township branch.

The United Empire Loyalists: an overview

Guest speaker: Robert C. Wilkins

When: Thursday, March 20, 2014, from 19:30 to 21:00

Where: Centennial Hall

            288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4

Lecture in English followed by a bilingual question period.

A general overview of the United Empire Loyalists, what made them who they were, their diversity(religious, linguistic and racial), and their heritage in Canada today, with a couple of specific examples, just to illustrate what they lived through and experienced during the Revolutionary War and afterwards when getting re-established in what remained of British North America (now Canada).

Robert C. Wilkins received the Governor General's Caring Canadian Award in 2001.

Two Loyalist Families and their Descendants

Guest Speaker: Gary Aitken

When: Thursday, October 16, 2014, 19:30 to 21:00

Where:  Centennial Hall,

             288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4

Lecture in English followed by a bilingual question period.

Gary Aitken is the descendant of Loyalist ancestors from the Maritimes and Eastern Ontario and will speak about their origins in Canada and the legacy they left behind. Succeeding generations had a tendency to find themselves at the centre of major historical events: War of 1812, Politics, US Civil War, Confederation, Shipbuilding, RMS Titanic, etc.

The Black Loyalists of the American Revolution, 1775-1783

Guest speaker: Adrian Willison  

When: Thursday, February 20, 2014, from 19:30 to 21:00

Where: Centennial Hall,

             288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4

Lecture in English followed by a bilingual question period.

The history of the Black Loyalists is a very rich and diverse one, yet it has been overlooked by many historians.  It has also unfortunately been misunderstood creating a great loss to our Loyalist heritage. In this lecture, the specific topics which will be discussed by Adrian Willison are:  (1) the resettlement of the Black Loyalists in the Tracadie/Guysborough area of north-eastern Nova Scotia, and (2) a discussion of the Black Loyalists who went to London, England.

Throughout the year 2014, the Beaurepaire-Beaconsfield Historical Society invites you to discover different aspects of life in North America with our theme The United Empire Loyalists. Our speakers will surprise you with very interesting subjects.