The Return of the Third York Militia Colours

After four years of conservation treatment the Third Regiment of York Militia Colours have finally returned to the City of Toronto’s Historical Collection. Restoring these remarkable textiles to a prominent place in Toronto history would not have been possible without the help of St. James’ Cathedral, The Friends of Fort York, and the Canadian Conservation Institute in Ottawa.

I will not revisit the extraordinary history of these two War of 1812 flags (a story told by Carl Benn in the July 2007 issue of Fife and Drum), except to mention that their survival almost defies belief. Textiles of this vintage are rare enough, but those made of fragile silk are even more so. Add to these facts that the colours were believed to have been buried in 1813 to prevent their capture, and then were on display in St. James’ Cathedral for the next hundred years, and their survival to see their bicentennial is remarkable.

The latest effort to conserve the colours began with their transfer from St. James’ Cathedral to the City of Toronto, a move aided by The Friends of Fort York. The City’s Museum Services first applied for conservation treatment at the Canadian Conservation Institute in 2007. The colours were accepted for conservation a year later, with actual treatment commencing in April 2009.

Textile conservators at CCI were excited about the project because it allowed them to study the previous conservation treatments that had been applied to the textiles, such as the stitching of cotton net over the flag fragments in 1927, and the use of a Plexiglas pressure mount in the 1970s.¹ This project was a rare opportunity to study the materials used previously, and judge their suitability and survival over time, prior to undertaking the new conservation treatment.

Conservation of the flags required thousands of hours of scientific analysis and specialized labour by CCI. The project record consists of more than one hundred pages of treatment reports documenting the process, soon to be summarized in a final report written by CCI. Labour costs for the project were absorbed by CCI, while Museum Services covered expenses relating to materials, transportation, and storage. The most significant costs borne by the City related to the custom-made pressure mounts, oversized glazing, and frames for each flag.

The conservation of the York Militia colours is an outstanding example of how many partners can work together to preserve our history. The colours returned from Ottawa in May 2013, and will remain in climate-controlled storage until they are exhibited next year in the new Fort York Visitor Centre.

Alex Avdichuk, Supervisor of Collections and Conservation, City of Toronto Museum Services, oversees the artifact collection for ten city museums.