Museum windows shine light on Naden’s past

Peter Mallett
Staff Writer
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CFB Esquimalt’s Naval and Military Museum is offering a window into history – literally.

The glass panes of Naden building 29, the museum’s workshop, have been transformed into a pictorial gallery visible from the outside.

Island Graphics staff were contracted to print and install black and white historical images to eight exterior windows on Oct. 13.

“The photos can be enjoyed by visitors even after hours when the museum is closed to the public,” says Clare Sharpe, Museum Exhibit Designer. “When guides and museum interpreters are available to help show our visitors around, the photos will provide some key talking points and get visitors oriented to Naden and its significance.”

Sharpe selected the photos from thousands of pictures in the museum’s collection.

One photo, taken from a nearby rooftop, features the joyous moment of hundreds of sailors tipping their caps during the Change of Command Ceremony for Captain Ian Agnew.

Another image is undated and features young cadets from the Royal Naval College of Canada on the bowsprit of the Dominion Government survey ship Naden. The college was moved to Esquimalt following the Halifax Explosion in December 1917, and the schooner Naden was built in 1913 and was loaned to the Royal Canadian Navy in 1918.   

Sharpe says the images selected will give museum visitors a better sense of the buildings at Museum Square and their roles and connection to the Naden community over the years.

For more information about the CFB Esquimalt Naval and Military museum and the historical legacy of CFB Esquimalt visit their website: https://navalandmilitarymuseum.org

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