Brandon’s City Solicitor 1880’s; Elected MLA for Brandon 1888; Became Man. Attorney Gen. 1891; Federal MP for Brandon 1896; Appointed Queen’s Council 1895; Appointed Minister of the Interior 1897; Owner of the Winnipeg Free Press; noted and prizewinning horseman.
Custodial History
For custodial history see the collection level description of the Lawrence Stuckey collection.
Scope and Content
Sir Clifford Sifton K.C.M.G. (Knight Commander of St. Michael and St. George)
Brandon College established a Canadian Officer Training Corps (COTC) program in 1916 and had enough students for a platoon that would join the 196th Western Universities Battalion's B Company. COTC logs for in the SJ McKee Archives show that at least 40 men regularly attended classes on campus during the 1916 winter term.
The Brandon Daily Sun published the names of 60 potential platoon recruits before they headed to Camp Hughes to train in the summer of 1916. Although Lt. J.R.C. Evans spearheaded the training of the COTC enlistees at Brandon College, he was found medically unfit for overseas service. In his stead, the son of the college's founder, Lt. William Carey McKee, lead the platoon to Camp Hughes where they joined the 196th Battalion. Of the 60 recruits identified in the local paper, 20 would not survive the war, including Lt. McKee. [ST/2016]
Scope and Content
Photograph shows a group of 40 men wearing WWI uniforms. The men have the Canada general service cap badge on their headdress. The officer in the centre of the group (i.e., the man with the cane) is J.R.C. Evans. The group of men are likely members of the first Brandon College Platoon, which joined the 196th Western Universities Battalion.
