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THE ADVANCE, BURFORD, ONT., WED., DECEMBER 7th., 1977 Page 3 Royal Occasions by Me/Robertson PARTI The many celebrations that have been held this year to mark the Queen's Silver Jubilee bring to mind the various ways Burf ord people have honoured Royal Occasions and the considerable number of local people who have participated in them over the past one hundred and seventy!ive years. The first recorded Royal Occasion in Burford Township history appears to have been held on June 4th., 1799 when the Burford militia company paraded sixty-four strong under the command of Captain Benajah Mallory, an American by birth. The site of the parade was "The Old Parade Ground" or "Common Parade Ground" which was the area of land now surrounded by King St., William St., Dufferin Avenue, and Jarvis St. (the block west of Fellowship Baptist church). The occasion being honoured was the birthday of King George III. From the number of former Americans present one has to wonder if they paraded out of good-will, or because the Militia Act of 1798 designated the Sovereign's birthday as one of the compulsory parades militia men had to attend in order to collect their pay. Since all able-bodied men between the ages of eighteen and fifty (with the exception of Quackers and Tunkers) were required to serve in the militia, some idea of the Township population of 1799 can be gained from the strength of the local company. When we consider the large families of the day, the estimated population of what is now Burford Township, must have been close to five hundred. Undoubtedly, the King's birthday parade would have been the biggest event of the year when most of the settlers got together for picnics, friendly gossip, courting and head-expanding draughts of the rot-gut liquor dispensed at Dogge's tavern. A perusal of historical records shows that whereas a number of historians have described Bur-ford Township as "A Rebel Stronghold" and "A Nest of Rebels", the reigning Monarch's birthday has always been celebrated with the greatest enthusiasm and up to the early 1900's drew larger crowds than any other event in the area, including the Fall Fair. Most of these celebrations were of a military nature consisting of parades, band concerts and demonstrations of various military skills. On some occasions the local garrison combined with Brantford troops in large county-wide festivities and on June 3rd., 1867 a militia magazine called, "The Volunteer Review" described one such large celebration as follows -"The Queen's Birth-day in Brantford - The anniversary of our gracious Queen dawned clear and the sun shone out with a billiancy that foretold a pleasant day and in this the people who congregated in town were not disappointed. The weather was at that happy medium which renders it delightful in the open air. The day's proceedings were inaugurated by the firing of the Royal Salute at 9:30 a.m. in Victoria Square, by the artillery company belonging to the Grand Trunk Railway which was done in excellent style. At eleven o'clock the Royal Fusiliers (regular British regiment that was stationed in Brantford and housed in the Kerby House hotel) formed on the market square and headed by their splendid band marched to Smith's Hill where they were joined by the Grand Trunk battalion composed of three companies in town, the Stratford company and one from Sarnia and one from St. Mary's who arrived here this morning; likewise by the 38th. battalion of Volunteers including the Burford cavalry. The whole then formed in line and formed a display which must have been a pleasing sight to the vast concourse; there could not have been less than ten thousand on the grounds. The whole parade was under the command of Col Cooper of the Fusiliers who had as aide-decamp the Hon Mr. Aylmer (M.P. and son of the 7th Baron Aylmer) and Adjutant Smith as Brigade-Major. Major Hickie commanded the Fusiliers. Col. Patton was in command of the 38th. (Brant) Battalion and Col. Stevenson of Toronto the Grand Trunk Battalion. After firing a feu-de-joie and three cheers given for the Queen, the troops were put through a number of evolutions which were performed with admirable precision; the marching of the Fusiliers was really splendid and was parti- cularly noticed; while much credit is given the Volunteers for their soldier-like conduct considering the limited opportunities they have had thus far to drill. The Review occupied an hour and a half and at the conclusion, we understand, Col. Cooper expressed himself much pleased with the appearance of our citizen-soldiers; and when an officer of his rand and experienc expresses such flattering remarks we should feel proud of the progress we have made...and no doubt both officers and men attached to the Volunteer force will feel the compliment paid to them. At the conclusion of the Review, the Fusiliers marched to their barracks headed by their band playing lively airs; and the Grand Trunk Battalion, headed by their band, marched through the town and up to the drill-shed where a luncheon had been prepared in a really splendid manner...and where they did ample justice to the good things prepared...The Burford Cavalry also appeared in force with much credit as a recent organization" (Information from Dominion Archives, Ottawa). Continued on page 9 Safer snowmobiling starts with a driver training course. This is what Ontario recommends for snowmobile safety. 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Free Handbook Get a free copy of the new "Snowmobiler's Handbook"-- with snowmobiling regulations, safety tips, trail information, signs, training course information, wind-chill factor chart and other useful items--from any MTC driver examination centre or licensing office. Available mid-December. James Snow, Minister of Transportation and Communications William Davis, Premier Province of Ontario