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Publisher, Parliamentarian, and Traitor, the strange case of Joseph Willcocks started in 1773, born in the Republic of Ireland, at the age of 27 the young man found his way to the town of York in Upper Canada. He soon found employment as the private clerk of the receiver general, Peter Russell, but it would not last, as Russell was not pleased with Willcocks’ advances towards his half-sister. But that did not stop Willcocks, who found another patron quickly in the form of the colony’s chief justice, Henry Allcock and with his influence was appointed to Home District Sheriff. However his views on the landRead More →

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Control of the lakes were key during the War of 1812 as the fastest way to move troops, equipment, and supplies was by water. Most the roads in the Canadas and the US weren’t the super highways we know today, they were nothing more than dirt roads that would easily become mud pits in the snow and rain. To maintain control of the lakes both sides maintained squadrons of ships that could keep the enemy pinned in their own bases. Unlike Lake Erie which was controlled first by the British because the US Naval Squadron had been captured in 1812 after Brock captured Detroit, andRead More →

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The Cold War was an exciting period of history and one of my favourites. Cloak and Dagger affairs, Nuclear Weapons, Spies, Jets, and the such. The CF-104 Starfighter is my second favourite jet of the era, the first being the doomed Avro CF-105 Arrow. But the Starfighter was unique, wildly different from jets of the day and had some rather unique nicknames, such as the Aluminium Death Tube, The Lawn Dart, and The Flying Phallus. But it certainly cuts a unique figure. Like the CF-86 Sabre before, the CF-104 was built by Canadair under licence using the Lockheed F-104G template. These would make up Canada’sRead More →

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A dreary Saturday can only be spent one of two ways: locking yourself inside or going to your favourite museum. I chose the latter. The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum at the Hamilton International Airport in Mount Hope, Ontario has always been a favourite of mine from the first time going when they were housed in an old hanger. Sadly in 1993, the hanger was destroyed by fire, losing five of its aircraft…but many survived that still form the core of the museum’s collection today. The star of the show, an Avro Lancaster bomber, is a personal favourite of mine. What makes the Lancaster all theRead More →

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Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon a great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. – Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower D-Day: 6th of June, 1944 H-Hour: 06:30 Yes, you read that right; this year marks the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings, Operation Neptune. As I type this, I can feel the tears stinging my eyes. Operation Neptune was the code name given to the Normandy landings on the coast of France to push back the Nazis, dislodge them from the Atlantic wall, and take FortressRead More →

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Returning to the beginning for me. One of my very first, actually my fourth image ever shot on 4×5 film was of this building, Hamilton’s Lister Block. The original block was constructed in 1886, but it was burned to the ground by fire in 1923, undaunted a fireproof (it was proven many times over its abandoned years) building was completed in 1924. This beautiful brick and terracotta structure is one of the more iconic on James Street. After it was abandoned, I explored the first building in Hamilton; many a Saturday night was spent wandering her empty halls. But unlike many structures downtown that endRead More →

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Dundurn Castle isn’t a castle, it’s just the name of this stately manor home that sits on Burlington Heights, built over the ruins of the British Strong Point during the War of 1812 and the launch point of the small British Force that defeated the Americans camped at Stoney Creek in June of 1813. The home completed in 1835 was constructed in the Regency Style. Its most famous owner, Sir Allen MacNab, who served during the Rebellions of 1837/8, was a staunch Tory and briefly Premiere of the Province of Canada. Dundurn Castle has always been a draw for me; as a history buff, there’sRead More →

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This year marked the 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Stoney Creek during the War of 1812, although I have previously written about this particular battle, this year I again traded in my musket for my camera to capture this event from the sidelines (Although I was offered marching spots with the 10th RVB and 49th and I may just take them up on the offer next year). Most of the photos here are of the reenactors, the men and women who volunteer to do this for the public’s enjoyment. Probably one of the highlights was the performance put on by an actual British ArmyRead More →

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So after Friday’s winter storm, Saturday dawned bright and clear, so I loaded up three cameras and went to Hamilton. I slowed down my shooting for these shots, one, maybe two, each place I stopped with the Rolleiflex. I carefully looked at each area and pre-visualized what I’d want the final print to look like. Using a Pentax Spotmeter V, I metered for shadows I wanted the most details in, then underexposed by a stop (Putting the shadows in Zone IV), focused, and shot. Then make notes on the exposure. It was like shooting large format (I saw a guy with a 4×5 out andRead More →

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The Battle of Stoney Creek is recognized by many as one of the engagements that saved Upper Canada. And they would be right, by the end of May 1813 the British Army having been defeated at the Battle of Fort George retreated from the Niagara frontier and established a new defensive post at Burlington Heights, fortifying a small farm that commanded a view of Burlington Bay. A network of Blockhouses and earthworks to hopefully hold any further American aggression before they could reach further into Upper Canada. The American Commander, General Henry Dearborn was a cautious commander. Rather than follow the recommendations of his moreRead More →