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Swords and Ploughshares Museum

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Established
  
1987

Website
  
www.calnan.com/swords/

Phone
  
+1 613-489-3447

Location
  
Province
  
Ontario

Swords and Ploughshares Museum

Address
  
7500 Reeve Craig North, Rural Route #1,, ON K0A 2E0, Canada

Similar
  
Base Borden Military M, Garrison Petawawa, Canadian War Museum

The Swords and Ploughshares Museum is a private military museum located south of the village of Kars, Ontario. The Museum is focused on a specific aspect of Canadian military history: the Citizen Soldier (the Militiaman and Reservist) at peace and at war. The Museum uses vehicles and artifacts to demonstrate how they could be adapted and used by Citizen Soldiers for both military and civilian purposes. For example, a Ram tank from World War II that was modified after the war to serve as a snowplow was a featured display at the Museum for many years.

Contents

Amongst the artifacts and equipment that the Museum displays is a 1942 Bofors 40mm Light Anti-Aircraft Gun which is maintained as a living monument and memorial for Canadian anti-aircraft gunners.

History

The Museum was originally formed in 1987 by Captain (now Major) M.T. Calnan and Captain M.J. Hilash, military history enthusiasts and private collectors of militaria. The two combined their efforts and collections to form the Swords and Ploughshares Museum so that they could display their artifacts and further public knowledge of Canadian military history. Land was purchased south of Kars, Ontario in the late 1980s with construction of a steel building to house the vehicles following in the summer of 1991.

Outreach program

The Museum does not have a large number of fixed displays and prefers to use living history practices to provide interactive displays and demonstrations. This includes participating along with historical re-enactors in special commemorative events such as the 50th Anniversary of D-day Parade held in Ottawa in 1994 and the 64th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain held at the National Aviation Museum in 2004. The Museum also regularly participates in Canada Day parades in nearby communities such as Kemptville and Merrickville as well as in other events such as the Richmond Fair and the Kars Fair.

Media appearances

A brief interview and video segment on the Museum was featured in the December 15th, 2008 edition of the Canadian Army News.

References

Swords and Ploughshares Museum Wikipedia


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