Oil Museum of Canada hosting Great War Weekend in Oil Springs

The grounds at the Oil Museum of Canada are set to be the scene of a First World War encampment this weekend.

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Members of the Canadian Great War Society, a reenactment group with members from around southwestern Ontario, will be at the museum in Oil Springs Saturday and Sunday demonstrating First World War military drills and training.

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The free Oil Museum Great War Weekend runs on Saturday, 11 am to 4 pm, and Sunday, 11 am to 3 pm, at the museum on Kelly Road.

“The opportunity presented itself for this great partnership,” said Jessica Stevenson, marketing and events coordinator for Lambton County’s museums.

Along with the society’s demonstrations, there will be a display inside about Oil Springs and the First World War, as well as presentations by museum staff about the community’s connections to the Great War.

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That includes the village’s Women’s Patriotic League which sent “comfort packages to Oil Springs guys who were serving overseas,” Stevenson said.

“They had things like hand-made socks, fruit cakes, treats, and they also sent a lot of letters,” she said.

The museum has several letters in its collection that Oil Springs’ soldiers sent home from Europe to thank the league, Stevenson said.

“We’ll also have a touch screen available with scanned versions of some of these letters for people to explore.”

Marking one of the connections between the local oil fields and the war effort, soldiers often asked in letters for paraffin wax candles made by Imperial Oil so they could make trench stoves at the front, Stevenson said.

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Also, anyone with an antique vehicle from the war era is invited to display them on the museum grounds during the weekend, she said.

Tim Gillies, director with the Canadian Great War Society, said 10 members are expected to take part Saturday, with more on Sunday.

“We’ve got a bunch of new guys coming,” he said

“We teach them rifle drill, bayonet drill, gas mask drill, grenade drill” and use of a Lewis gun from the era, Gillies said.

An obstacle course will also be set up at the museum and “we’re hoping to do a five-km route march” with members carrying 18 kg kits, he said.

A calvary demonstration with three horses is also planned.

The society is preparing for a trip to England, France and Belgium in August where members will walk 10-km to 15-km a day, “so we’re trying to get them toughened up for that,” Gillies said.

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“We want to look sharp,” he said.

The group began in 1997 and members came from communities stretching from Windsor and Sarnia to London, he said.

“Everybody’s got a relative that fought in the First World War,” Gillies said. “My grandfather was in the war; that’s why I got involved.”

Military cadets and others, ages 17 to 24, interested in being part of the society are also being invited to attend the weekend event to learn more about the group.

“We’re looking for new recruits,” Gillies said.

The society can be reached by email at [email protected] and through its Facebook page, Canadian Great War Society Archives.

[email protected]

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