One of the main jobs of being the Curator/ Coordinator at the Morse Museum is conducting conservation duties to help preserve the museum collection for future generations to enjoy. This past week has been a busy one. We have spent the days cleaning and polishing some of the silver items and the wooden furniture in the Victorian Parlour. This was done in order to create the best atmosphere for our upcoming Victorian Tea Party on the 23rd of September. Hopefully it will evoke a sense of what the grand homes of the Victorian Upper Classes would have felt like.
Silver if it is not polished and/or is not cared for properly will begin to tarnish and over time will lose it shine and turn almost black. In order to insure that does not happen and to remove the tarnish from silver items in the museums collection we use a simple but effective non- chemical process. A process I learned from my many years of collecting militaria and old war relics. The method described below also works for removing rust from knives and bayonets etc. The process is safe and should not damage your items. Remember to be sure what your items are made of and take the necessary precautions if your items have multiple materials in its construction/ composition. All you need to clean and polish your silver items is baking soda, water, and a soft cloth or sponge. Fill a small bowl or cup (coffee cups work well) with some baking soda, then add a bit of water. Be careful to not use too much water as you want to make a paste. You want it wet but not runny. Now take your cloth or sponge and dip it into the paste, then rub onto the surface of your item that you want to remove the tarnish from. Be sure to rub in clockwise circles. For lightly tarnished items let the paste sit for approximately 30 seconds and for more heavily tarnished items leave the paste sit for about ten minutes. Once done, rinse the item off with cool water, making sure to get all the baking soda off the item and out of the nooks and crannies. After rinsing, dry the item well and then proceed to use a clean dry cloth to polish the silver to really bring out the shine. You should be able to see your reflection in the polished silver. Depending on how tarnished the item is you may have to repeat the process. For heavily tarnished silver items it requires a more drastic method of cleaning. The process is similar to the one mentioned above but is more like a chemical bath, without the chemical that is. This method also works best for small items like jewelry and for flatware items. All you will need is a large glass or metal baking pan (Alternatively you can use an aluminum foil turkey or lasagna pan). Next line the pan with aluminum foil with the shinny side facing upwards and place your item(s) in the pan. Boil some water and pour into the pan, be sure to completely submerge the item(s). Add baking soda evenly to the water (1 cup per gallon of water) until it begins to bubble/fizz. Let the item sit it the solution for approximately 30 minutes, then remove and rinse the item with coolish water. I would be careful of using very cold water as metals often do not like to go from one extreme to the other. Be sure to remove any left-over baking soda and any that has accumulated in the crevices of the item. Proceed to dry the item well and use a clean dry cloth to further polish the item. The process and work continues, there are many more items to care for as a Curators job is never done – check back for more blog posts about the different way we care for the items in our collection.
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L12446 Private Arne Byklum was born on the 9th of May 1915 at the Saskatchewan Landing to Torger Knutson and Julia Byklum. His parents, Torger and Julia settled near the Saskatchewan Landing in 1912, after having immigrated to Canada from the United States. Arne was one of ten Byklum children. His brothers were Elmer, Paul, and Daniel and his sisters were Mary, Annie, Agnes, Evylin, Mrs. Robert W. Jorand, and Artena. His sister Artena had died in 1917 when he was two years old and his father Torger died in 1928. Arne and his mother lived together in Swift Current as he was her sole support (she was an elderly widow age 70). Before the war Arne worked as a labourer and for a time lived and worked in the Morse, Saskatchewan area (The family had moved to Morse after the death of Torger. Julia would later move to Swift Current). Arne would enlist in the Canadian Army not long after the outbreak of the Second World War. He enlisted with the South Saskatchewan Regiment in Weyburn on the 12th of October 1939. As Arne was unmarried, he listed his mother Julia as his next of Kin.
Upon enlistment Arne was described as being twenty-four years of age, five foot ten inches tall, weighing 153 pounds, with a dark complexion, blue eyes, and brown hair. He was known to speak and understand both English and Norwegian. The day he enlisted; he was taken on strength of the South Saskatchewan Regiment in Weyburn. From there he would move to Camp Shilo, now called C.F.B Shilo, located near Shilo, Manitoba for further training. It was while at Camp Shilo he would find himself in trouble for the first time, as he was listed as being Absent without Leave on the 15th of April 1940. As punishment for this indiscretion, Arne had to forfeit two days pay. Approximately four months later on the 21st of August 1940, he was selected to be part of the Advance Party that would go to the United Kingdom ahead of the rest of his unit. Arne sailed with his comrades in the Advance Party from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Greenock, Scotland on the 24th of August. He would arrive in the U.K. on the 4th of September that year and would meet up with the rest of the South Saskatchewan Regiment on the 26th of December. While in the U.K., he would participate in further training. On the 14th of November 1941, Arne got himself into trouble once again, this time he was charged under Section 19 of the Army Act and was “Awarded” 168 hours of detention, fined five dollars, and had to forfeit seven days pay. From the 22nd to the 28th of March 1942, Arne went on a special course for Assault Landing Craft training. On this course Arne and the men of the South Saskatchewan Regiment trained in amphibious landing tactics, skills they would need for the upcoming operation. On the 18th of August 1942, Arne and his comrades in the South Saskatchewan Regiment left the U.K, for France to take part in Operation Jubilee, aka the Dieppe Raid. It was while taking part in the disastrous Dieppe Raid on the 19th of August 1942 that Arne would sadly be killed in action at the age of twenty-seven. He was originally buried in Grave 686 at Des Vertus, Hautot-sur-Mer, France. He later would be reburied in Row C, Grave 46 at the Dieppe Canadian War Cemetery, Hautot-sur-Mer, Seine-Maritime, France. His military marker is inscribed “Father in thy gracious keeping, leave we now thy servant sleeping”. Loving words chosen by his mother. In addition to being commemorated in perpetuity at the Dieppe Canadian War Cemetery in France, Arne is commemorated on an Honour in Morse and on page 62 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance that is displayed on the 12th of February each year in the Memorial Chamber of the Peace Tower in Ottawa. Byklum Lake located south of Creighton, Saskatchewan is named in his honour. For his service and sacrifice to Canada, Arne was awarded the 39-45 Star, the Defense Medal, the War Medal (39-45), and the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Overseas Clasp. In addition, for the loss of her son and as a memento of his service, Arne’s mother Julia was awarded the Memorial Cross (aka Silver Cross) and Bar. We remember the sacrifice Private Arne Byklum so valiantly made eighty-one years ago. Lest We Forget http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?app=kia&id=4971&lang=eng https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2316912/arne-byklum/ https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2316912/arne-byklum/#&gid=1&pid=1 https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2316912/arne-byklum/#&gid=1&pid=2 https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2316912/arne-byklum/#&gid=2&pid=1 https://svwm.ca/casualty-display/?ID=A000007017 https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/2316912?Arne%20Byklum https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/books/page?page=62&book=2&sort=pageAsc https://library-archives.canada.ca/eng/collection/research-help/military-heritage/Pages/military-abbreviations.aspx#alpha-A Spring 1942 was a very bleak time for the Allies. They had been pushed out of Western Europe after having evacuated from Dunkirk in 1940, the Germans had begun Operation Barbarossa and were advancing in the Soviet Union. In North Africa the British 8th Army was forced back into Egypt by Rommel and his Africa Corps. The enemy was now entrenched as almost all of Europe was under Nazi occupation. The Allies were not yet strong enough to conduct an amphibious landing on the scale of D-Day yet, so they chose to mount a large raid on the occupied French port of Dieppe. The idea being that it would be a good way to gain experience and test the equipment need for an amphibious assault like the D-Day Landings. That and after having spent years in the U.K. training, Canadian politicians and generals wanted to get the Canadian Forces into the fray. Allied command had planned a large raid for July of 1942 under the codename of Operation Rutter. Under the plan, the Canadians would be the main assaulting force. By May the men of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division were on the Isle of Wright busy conducting intense training for amphibious landings. Poor weather forced the postponement of Operation Rutter. It was just as well as many of those involved in the planning of the operation wished to abandon the plan. Despite some debate the operation was revived and given the new codename of Operation Jubilee. Again, the Canadians would provide the main assault force and Dieppe was still the main objective. The forces that would take part in the raid were for the majority, Canadian as 5000 of the 6100 personnel involved were Canadians. Others involved were approximately 1000 British Commandos and fifty U.S. Rangers. The landing force would be supported by eight Allied Destroyers and 74 Air Squadrons, eight of whom were from the Royal Canadian Air Force. The raid would be conducted in the early morning hours of the 19th of August 1942, with offensive actions to take place at five different points along a sixteen-kilometer front. The plan called for four simultaneous assaults on the flanks that would begin just before the break of dawn and thirty minutes later the main landing force (Canadians) would conduct a frontal assault on the town/ port of Dieppe itself. Canadians would also assault gaps in the cliffs at Pourville and Puys to the west and east of Dieppe. The British Commandos objectives were the enemy costal batteries on the eastern and western flanks (Berneval and Varengeville). The Allies unfortunately lost the element of surprise when the assault force encountered a German convoy off the coast of France. This engagement with the enemy alerted the enemy forces manning the coastal defenses, especially those at Berneval and Puys. Things did not get better for the Allied Forces as the landing crafts transporting 3 Commando were scattered and most did not make it to shore. The few that did, were quickly overwhelmed by the enemy. Despite being overwhelmed, a small force of about twenty or so commandos managed to advance within 180 meters of the costal battery. Their effective sniper fire would prevent the artillery from shelling the landing ships for about two and half hours before being evacuated. On the eastern flank of Dieppe at Puys the Royal Regiment of Canada encountered difficulties as the beach was very narrow and lofty cliffs commanded the landing area. On the cliffs were the strategically placed German defensive works. In order for this raid to have succeeded the landing force required darkness and the element of surprise, neither would happen. The landing was delayed and by the time the Royal Regiment of Canada was landing it was daylight and they were in full view of the enemy who immediately subjected them to heavy machine gun and small arms fire. Few of the men managed to advance past the heavily defended seawall located at the head of the beach. Those who did would not be able to return to the beach. Even with reinforcements from the Black Watch of Canada, the rest of the force was pinned down on the beach by German mortar and machine gun fire. It would be impossible to evacuate them due to the heavy fire and they would ultimately have to surrender and be taken Prisoner of War. The failure to clear the eastern flank defenses allowed the Germans to defend Dieppe from two sides and would ultimately lead to the failure of the main frontal push. The forces on the western flank had far more success than their comrades on the eastern flank. 4 Commando managed to land as planned and successfully completed their objectives of destroying the costal artillery at Varengeville. 4 Commando also managed to withdraw successfully. At Pourville the Canadians managed to land with the element of surprise in tact as there was little resistance at first. The South Saskatchewan Regiment and the Queens Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada landed on the beaches and it was only after having crossed the River Scie that the enemy resistance increased and became fierce. After heavy combat the Allied advance on Dieppe ground to a halt well short of their objective (town). The main force of the Cameron’s continued to advance on their slated objective of an inland airfield but only managed to advance three kilometers before stalling out. It was then at this time both units began to withdraw. Both would suffer heavy casualties during the withdrawal as the Germans fired on the beach from their positions on the high ground to the west and to the east of Pourville. Despite this heavy fire, the landing craft braving a hail of enemy fire came in to evacuate the men. It was also due to the valiant actions of a rearguard element that both units managed to evacuate the beach. The men of the rearguard would continue to fight until they had exhausted their ammunition, after which they surrendered to the enemy. The main assault was to take place thirty minutes after the attacks on the flanks and was conducted across the pebbled beach directly in front of the town of Dieppe. The enemy had a commanding view of the beach and were ready for the Canadians. The Germans positioned themselves on the surrounding cliff tops and in buildings overlooking the promenade. The Essex Scottish Regiment landed on the eastern sector of the beach and were immediately subjected to heavy enemy fire. All attempts to breach the seawall resulted in failure and sustained heavy casualties. Despite this one platoon of Essex Scots did however manage to advance into town. A message they sent back to headquarters located off shore misled the operation Commander General Roberts into sending the Les Fusiliers du Mont-Royal as reinforcements. As the Fulfillers landed, they too became bogged down on the beach and sustained heavy casualties. There was more success on the western sector of the beach, as the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry landed opposite an isolated casino and succeeded in capturing the stronghold. They also managed to clear the nearby pillboxes. Some even managed to cross the bullet riddled boulevard and move into the town, where they engaged the Germans in vicious urban combat. The tanks of the Kings Own Calgary Regiment were to land after a heavy naval and air bombardment but came ashore fifteen minutes late which deprived the infantry of critical tank support during the early stages of the raid. The tanks also encountered difficulties of their own upon landing, they too were subjected to heavy enemy fire and the pebbly beach and the seawall complicated maters as well. The tanks who did manage to advance past the seawall and into the town found their forward progress impeded by concrete obstacles and tank traps (dragons’ teeth and Czech Hedgehogs). Despite being immobilized the valiant tankers fought on providing the infantry with support and contributed to the successful withdrawal of the landing forces when time came. The tankers however were either killed in action or were forced to surrender and be taken prisoner. The last element to land at Dieppe was that of the Royal Marine “A” Commando. They too would share the same fate as their Canadian brothers in arms, suffering heavy casualties and a failed mission. The raid also resulted in a fierce air battle as well. The Allied air forces did manage to protect the ships at Dieppe but only at great cost to themselves. The Royal Air Force lost 106 aircraft, the highest single day loss of the entire war. As for the Royal Canadian Air Force they lost thirteen aircraft and by the afternoon of the 19th the raid was over and had ended in defeat. To this day Operation Jubilee is heavily debated some think it was an unnecessary waste of lives, others however maintain the thought that it was necessary to learn the required lessons to have the D-Day Landings result in victory. No matter how the raid is perceived, it is true that the Allies learned valuable lessons and would use the experience to plan accordingly for the invasion of Normandy two years later. It also gave rise to better coordination of combined arms, tactics that would save many soldiers lives on D-Day and transform modern combat tactics. The Dieppe Raid, Government of Canada. Online < https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/wars-and-conflicts/second-world-war/battle-of-dieppe >. Date modified 2023-05-19, accessed 2023-08-16. The history of the transcontinental railway in Canada harkens back to the days of the birth of the Dominion of Canada (confederation). On the 1st of July 1867 four eastern provinces came together to create a new country. Part of this deal was that the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were promised a railway that would connect them to the central provinces of Ontario and Quebec. A few years later in 1870 Manitoba joined confederation and the following year the burgeoning country enticed British Columbia to join as well, with the only stipulation from B.C. was that the government had to build a transcontinental railway within ten years. That way the province would be linked to the rest of the country.
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