Ferret on Parliament Hill during the October Crisis - pic ID

[maple_leaf_eh]

Folks

This image was shared by a friend of mine. Its resolution is as good as it gets. It reputedly shows Canadian Ferrets deployed to Parliament Hill during the 1970 October Crisis. Serious response to high drama in Canada. The registration number starts 54 and seems to end 89. If this CFR can be identified, whoever owns this one now has a genuine historically significant provenance.

Are there any better images? More than the photo shoot?

[maple_leaf_eh]

CANADA - OCTOBER 14: Ready for guard duty after being called on by Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa to provide protection for people and public buildings from terrorists; two armed forces corporals at Camp Bouchard; near Ste. Therese; check the gear on a ferret scout car. Troops on manoeuvres at the camp were flown by helicopters to Montreal; 30 miles away after premier's call. Others moved in from Valcartier. (Photo by Graham Bezant/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

DETAILS
Restrictions:
Contact your local office for all commercial or promotional uses.TORONTO PAPERS OUT
Credit:
Graham Bezant / Contributor
Editorial #:
502838531
Collection:
Toronto Star
Date created:
15 October, 1970
Licence type:
Rights-managed
Release info:
Not released. More information
Source:
Toronto Star
Object name:
tspa_0120330f

[David Cussins]

Hello everyone.....if that is a photo of 589...yes she is alive and well in my garage....thank you for the photo....love to find out more...

[Michael R.]

Originally Posted by maple_leaf_eh

Folks

This image was shared by a friend of mine. Its resolution is as good as it gets. It reputedly shows Canadian Ferrets deployed to Parliament Hill during the 1970 October Crisis. Serious response to high drama in Canada. The registration number starts 54 and seems to end 89. If this CFR can be identified, whoever owns this one now has a genuine historically significant provenance.

Are there any better images? More than the photo shoot?

How is it suggestive of the Ferret being at Parliament Hill?

Do the buildings, 3/4 tons, and M113A1 in the background suggest otherwise?
Could it be the deployment to Camp Bouchard in response to protect 34 CFAD? Or a component of Op ‘ESSAY’ ?

[Ed Storey]

There is a good chance that the Ferret in the Camp Bouchard photograph is indeed 54-82589 (36BA60) as it was disposed of out of BFC Valcartier in 1982. The other likely candidate 54-82539 (35BA94) was also in Valcartier and was disposed of at the same time as 82589. Another possibility, 54-82509 (35BA68), was disposed of out of CFB Petawawa in 1980.

[maple_leaf_eh]

Originally Posted by Michael R.

How is it suggestive of the Ferret being at Parliament Hill?

Do the buildings, 3/4 tons, and M113A1 in the background suggest otherwise?
Could it be the deployment to Camp Bouchard in response to protect 34 CFAD? Or a component of Op ‘ESSAY’ ?

The background and actual byline correct the misrepresented caption. Evidently these vehicles were not in Ottawa. Apparently they were someone's version of a QRF. I know some 12eRBC moved into the Sherbrooke Hussars armoury on William St - for the duration. What they did in there is anyone's guess. I was only 10 at the time.

Camp Bouchard was a significant installation in Ste Therese. Parts of it are still visible, but have been turned back to the city. IIRC, it falls over 3 or 4 map sheets. It was an Ordnance Corps camp, and I remember my father telling stories about getting 28-gauge blackpowder blanks made there for the unit's Centennial Platoon for 1967. They used a chamber insert in rented Snider Enfields and performed 1870s drill in all the little towns around the Eastern Townships that summer.

[maple_leaf_eh]

Originally Posted by Ed Storey

There is a good chance that the Ferret in the Camp Bouchard photograph is indeed 54-82589 (36BA60) as it was disposed of out of BFC Valcartier in 1982. The other likely candidate 54-82539 (35BA94) was also in Valcartier and was disposed of at the same time as 82589. Another possibility, 54-82509 (35BA68), was disposed of out of CFB Petawawa in 1980.

I knew I could trust your feature extractor's eyeballs.

[maple_leaf_eh]

Originally Posted by David Cussins

Hello everyone.....if that is a photo of 589...yes she is alive and well in my garage....thank you for the photo....love to find out more...

David

Glad to help!

You can spend C$xx and buy a good quality copy by clicking on a couple of the sites showing that image. Do a right click Google Image Search and poke around the information on the photos. It was originally in the Toronto Star (per my other post).

Some extra work may need to happen getting anything practical out of the paper's archives. It isn't nicknamed the Red Star for nothing, and the editorial boards for the past couple decades have been doing their best to deny anything of any value ever happened in the Department of National Defence.

[Ed Storey]

Originally Posted by maple_leaf_eh

I knew I could trust your feature extractor's eyeballs.

Terry, actually terrain analysist's eyeballs, as I predate feature extraction.

[Michael R.]

Originally Posted by Ed Storey

Terry, actually terrain analysist's eyeballs, as I predate feature extraction.

Cast your terrain gaze over this... old eagle eye(s)

[Ed Storey]

Looks like 54-82543 to me.

[Robin Craig]

Looks like it to me also.

It is interesting to see the front and rear light tower for side and turn signals still in place in the original picture and the large black and white convoy marking applied in the enlarged picture

[David Cussins]

After looking at the photo a good bit...i see two points that tell me this is not 589.....first in the photo the ferret has the british tower style side lights....second the socket for the m. g. Mount is an original unmodified mount....i have photos of my 589 as it came out of canada and she had u.s. m series side lights and the m.g.socket was a modified mount from her service in cyprus....these things tell me the photo is not 589........539 maybe???

[David Cussins]

Also thank you Terry for the photo....i had my hopes up as i have no photos of 589 in service....she may be in some but seeing the numbers is imposible in most photos....maybe someday one will surface.....best to you...

[maple_leaf_eh]

Can't say we weren't excited for a few moments!

[David Cussins]

Oh yes i really thought and was hoping that was a photo of ferret 589.....but im sure it is not....i have collected all the photos i can of Canadian ferrets....there were only 124 of them....im sure 589 is in some of the photos but cannot be positively identified....she did service in Egypt and Cyprus...that i know for sure...i have copies of paperwork to show that...but a positive photo has not been found yet.....still looking...

[Ed Storey]

So I take it 82589 was in Cyprus prior to 1970?

[David Cussins]

Hello Ed.....yes 589 was in Cyprus...i refer you back to my posts in the armour section...page 2

[Darrell Zinck]

Originally Posted by Ed Storey

Looks like 54-82543 to me.

Hi

Got this (and one other) recently; Fredericton Flea Market finds.


35 BA98 = 54-82543

regards
Darrell

[Richard Farrant]

Originally Posted by Darrell Zinck

Hi

Got this (and one other) recently; Fredericton Flea Market finds.


35 BA98 = 54-82543

regards
Darrell

Plate says overhauls at 23 Base Workshop, this would be the REME workshop at Wetter, BAOR. So assume it was with the Canadian army inGermany?

[Ed Storey]

Yes, 82543 had been assigned to 4 Brigade before returning to Canada, most likely when the Lynx C&R was introduced in 1967. Attached is an image of 82543 taken in Germany. What is interesting is that the vehicle was disposed of out of Calgary in November 1982, yet the data plate has surfaced across the country in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

[Darrell Zinck]

Hi Richard

I wonder if it may be 23 BW for RCEME?

Hi Ed

Yes, I saw that Colin MacGregor Stevens' website lists it as FGH in 1963. That would put them in Soest.


https://captainstevens.com/military/...ll-124-by-car/


https://fortgarryhorse.ca/

I agree that it is odd if it was disposed of in Calgary but I have also seen some of those Ferret "final disposition" notes proved false before. I did check the Ferrets on display around here and none of them are 543.

regards
Darrell

[Robin Craig]

To my knowledge that is the only data plate that has provenance back to a Canadian Ferret for sure. So it opens the door on my allegation that light fingers removed them from the vehicles over time by trophy hunters. Amazing and thank you. Email sent Darrell