Military artifacts: A collection of note

Security Commissionaire Bruce McShannon, an 84-year-old retired navy veteran, displays his impressive collection of military medals, hat badges, photographs and other artifacts that he has been collecting since the Second World War.

Security Commissionaire Bruce McShannon, an 84-year-old retired navy veteran, displays his impressive collection of military medals, hat badges, photographs and other artifacts that he has been collecting since the Second World War.

Peter Mallett, Staff Writer ~

If you frequent the front gate of Fleet Diving Unit (FDU) (Pacific) you likely know security Commissionaire Bruce McShannon as the friendly guy who checks your military ID.

But what you might not know about the 84-year-old retired navy veteran is his impressive collection of military medals, hat badges, photographs and other artifacts that he has been collecting since the Second World War.

Earlier this month, Master Seaman (Retired) McShannon transformed from security guard to historian and lecturer when he showed off his collection to FDU members in the cafeteria of the firefighting trainer building.

“Collecting has always been a passion of mine because it’s a great way to learn about history and to meet new people,” said McShannon as he addressed the gathering.

During his one-hour presentation on May 10 he presented a variety of 19th and 20th Century photographs, numerous war medals dating back to the Battle of the Nile and Boer War and First World War, and lead bullets from the Battle of Gettysburg and other civil war battle sites.

As he circulated the items around the room for closer inspection by the sailors, McShannon gave detailed accounts and historical references about each item. 

He pointed out that 40,000 Canadians served for both the Union and Confederates during the bloody civil war conflict. He also gave a brief history lesson about British Admiral Horatio Nelson and the defeat of the French at Aboukir Bay.

“Every item I collect seems to have a compelling story behind it which makes collecting so interesting,” said McShannon. “Many of these artifacts help me uncover some of the good and also bad things that went on in wars by the enemy and us too.”

McShannon says he owns over 100 medals, and approximately 50 hat badges and breast buttons. Due to security regulations at the base, he wasn’t able to show off any weapons that are also part of his military stockpile including a Civil-War era .32 caliber Colt revolver, a Confederate sword and sabre, and half a dozen bayonets from the War of 1812. 

He said his favourite item is a two-bar Crimean medal issued to British soldiers following the Charge of the Light Brigade, while his most valuable is a bronze medal issued to lower ranks during Lord Nelson’s Egyptian naval campaign. 

Collecting has also inspired him to spend hours researching the history behind the medals. He also likes writing about history and during the presentation he shared one of his essays entitled Some of the Worst Generals in History.

McShannon started his collection in 1945, regularly attending collector’s events and scouring the classified section of military medal magazines looking for items for sale that peaked his interest. He then continued to build on his collection while serving as a weapons technician in Canadian warships from 1954 to 1959, and again from 1962 to 1982, and also for the past 30 years while he worked at the base as a security commissionaire.

His visit was arranged by Master Seaman Andrew Brown, who works as Damage Control Engineer at FDU(P) and became intrigued with McShannon’s collection during a conversation they had at the front gate. MS Brown encouraged McShannon to display his collection, advertised the event to the unit, and was delighted to see that more than two dozen others were equally as interested.

“This collection is part of Bruce and it’s his story. I wanted to know all about Bruce and his story and then realized others would also be interested,” said MS Brown.

Petty Officer Second Class Robert Krause brought some of his First World War collectables to show the group and described McShannon’s collection as impressive.

“A lot of the items go further back in history than I would have thought,” said PO2 Krause, noting some of McShannon’s British military medals and artifacts from 18th and 19th Century military campaigns against Russia, France and the (then) newly created Republic of the United States of America.

After his shift ended on May 24, McShannon attended the unit’s storage and supply facility for a similar presentation.

Going forward, McShannon says he is still determined to build on his collection. During his upcoming summer vacation he is planning a trip to Port Angeles and Seattle to attend a collector’s event, and visit shops in Seattle area that sell military memorabilia and artifacts.

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  1. Chris Varley says:

    I’m trying to locate Bruce McShannon, just been advised he has suffered a stroke and is no longer working as a commissionaire.
    Bruce and I were shipmates onboard Kootenay in the mid 70s.
    Over the years we have kept in touch, Bruce use to visit when he was in Ontario visiting his family. Knew his family very well, his late wife Marlene and his kids Laura-Lynn and Jeff.
    Would gratefully appreciate if you know how I could contact him.
    Thank you.
    Cheers
    Chris Varley

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