Historic WWI uniform donated to Galt Museum

A number of military items were brought back to the Galt for closer examination and during that process, Collections Assistant Kirstan Schamuhn found an obscured, handwritten name on a collar label inside a WWI officer’s uniform jacket – that of Major Stafford. When and how the jacket ended up in the basement at the Yates is still a mystery.

Glenn Miller, a retired Warrant Officer and local military historian said the Major Stafford was the first Battery Commander of the 39^th Battery raised out of Lethbridge in 1915. He noted the uniform’s discovery, and the discovery of any artifact, can help tell an important story. He remarked that “having an artifact by itself means nothing”, and the stories of artifacts from war need to be brought to life.

“This tunic [uniform], amongst all these other artifacts within the Galt collection, all need to come to life in some way, shape or form. Some will never have a very strong voice to tell their story. Others like this one have a stronger voice because of the family connections that are still around.”

He believes that there are many artifacts still out there and encourages everyone to look in their closets and attics to see what they might discover. Stafford’s uniform records the story of an injury he suffered prior to his death, with Miller noting the left sleeve has what’s known as a ‘wound stripe’ on it.

“The authority to have a wound stripe on a uniform was the casualty list. So, we know that Stafford was wounded during the war before his death. We also known that he would have worn this uniform between the time when he was wounded and when he died.”

The uniform compliments another piece of Stafford-related material in the Galt collection: a Memorial Cross that was donated in 2010.

Major Stafford’s Memorial Cross. (Lethbridge News Now)

Miller added that, “these objects that tell the stories of people who served in the First World War from Lethbridge and southern Alberta are difficult to find.”

“The small clues we can find on these objects – like a wound stripe, clothing labels, or even missing patches – can be used to find out more about the people who used and earned these objects and medals.”

Elaine Jagielski, president of the Playgoers of Lethbridge said it was quite a thrill when Stafford’s uniform was uncovered.

“To realize that this actually is part of the Stafford name, part of the Stafford family, which of course has significance in Lethbridge was amazing, so we were all really quite delighted that it has that kind of significance.”

She has been with the group for close to 30 years and to her knowledge, Stafford’s uniform has not been used in a play, but there is a chance it did. Jagielski noted that, “the fact that insignia had been torn off and there was tape across the name suggests that at some time it was used in some production, but that would have been going back quite some time as far as what play – it could have been military related but who knows?”

The Playgoers will celebrate their centennial year in 2023 and Jagielski noted they are “the oldest continuously running amateur theatre group in Canada.”

Like Glenn Miller, Jagielski encourages everyone to look through any older items in their home to see what they might discover.

You can search the Galt Museum & Archives’ collections here.

by Justin Goulet

Historic WWI uniform donated to Galt Museum

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