Armouries holds 8th Annual Military Conference

by Hailey Trealout

The seeds of Canada were plantedin the wounds of war from the War of 1812 to Afghanistan and all the wars in between.

The 8^th Annual Windsor Military Studies Conference was held at the Major F.A Tilston, V.C. Armoury and Police Training Centre Feb. 8 and 9. A collaboration from the University of Windsor Humanities Group, Wilfred Laurier University for Military, Strategic and Disarmament Studio and the Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment brought speakers from all over the world to talk about subtopics from past wars.

Clive Harris, a speaker from London, England, said the conference is a great sharing opportunity for the public.

“If we don’t know where we’re from we won’t move forward,” said Harris. “History resonates now more than any time. The internet makes us all historians. We’re coming up to 100 years since the First World War and that seems like a long time ago, but it’s in living memory and our relatives talk about it so it’s massively important that we pass it down from generation to generation.”

The walls of the drill hall were lined with military-related books and historical items such as guns, uniforms and care packages. Entertainment was also provided during the lunch break by the Essex and Kent Scottish Pipes and Drums and the Windsor Regiment Band.

 

Elise Harding-Davis spoke about the presence of the contribution of blacks in the war of 1812. She said passing on knowledge of history is an important foundation for life today.

 

“Canada promotes itself as a multicultural country, it’s because our beginnings were such. People need to understand how we came to be, why we are the way we are… I don’t care where I am, I don’t care what we’re doing, I am constantly on the lookout for more information to add to Canada’s greatness.”

Over 100 locals attended the event making it one of the most successful conferences the armouries has held.

Antonio Rossini was one of the contributors to the event. He said the event has become a huge success since the first conference.

“We thought we would pay homage to the bicentennial of the 1812 war last year which we are continuing this year,” said Rossini. “The war actually ended in 1814, so the appropriateness of the occasion will last for more than one year. We also had the 1943 anniversary, 60 years from the intervention of the Canadian troops in the European theatres so those had to be a part of the program as well.”

The date of the next conference is yet to be determined by the event’s planners.