Anniversary celebration

Preserving the maritime heritage of Canada for 25 years

The Naval Marine Archive (NMA) in Picton marked its 25th anniversary on Monday, October 21 with a party at the Victory Building, featuring music by Mark Despault and “Kentucky” Bill McBurney, with tasty treats provided by Chef Chris Byrne. The archive is now home to more than 95,000 books and over 150,000 magazines and periodicals, plus dozens of models, as well as hundreds of charts and engineering drawing. It boasts the largest publically accessible collection of marine history in North America. It is a valuable research resource for historians, scholars and authors, as well as the military. The Royal Military College in Kingston sends its students there, and there was even a visit from a NATO officer. The public face of the NMA is Dr. Paul Adamthwaite and Betty Ann Anderson, and last Monday they were presented with a Certificate of Recognition by Mayor Steve Ferguson. The certificate reads, in part, “The Archive has been a beacon of maritime heritage, preserving and showcasing the rich naval history of Canada through its invaluable artifacts and documents. The Archive’s commitment to excellence and education has fostered a deeper appreciation of our maritime heritage and its significance in shaping our nation’s identity.”

The NMA had its origin in 1997 when Dr. Adamthwaite was asked to take over a collection of books and other materials owned by his friend Bob Davis, who had recently died. The two of them together had several thousand nautical-related books, journals and other items that were initially stored in a coach house that Dr. Adamthwaite had built beside his home. Recognizing the heritage significance of this collection—which continued to grow as more items were donated—Dr. Adamthwaite and a small group of people established a non-profit charitable organization called the Naval Marine Archive, which was chartered on October 21, 1999. In 2004, the board purchased the property on Main Street that housed the old Post Office, and after substantial remodeling and repairs, opened the doors to the public two years later. The building is now known as “The Victory”, partly named so after Admiral Horatio Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory and for the fact that the date of the charter was “Trafalgar Day”, celebrating Nelson’s victory over the Napoleonic navy on that day in 1805. The collection has grown dramatically over the years. The main floor is home to a collection of marine artworks and surplus books available for purchase. There is a collection of model ships and marine memorabilia and a comfortable sitting area. The serious business takes place on the upper floors, where the main collection is stored and is available for research. There are all aspects of marine and naval history, from pleasure sailing vessels to merchant ships to military ships.

The archive boasts some unique rare books and periodicals, such as the Origen de los Indios from 1607, a complete 40-volume bound set of Naval Chronicles from 1799 to 1819, and the six-volume set for The War in the Air with the two volumes of maps from the First World War. There is also an internationally acclaimed cork model of a sailing boat, and a copy of the almanac used by Christopher Columbus. Dr. Adamthwaite said that the mission of the NMA can be distilled down to four words: conservation, preservation, education and research. Every item donated or brought in through the doors is evaluated. If it is a unique item, it will be preserved in the archive. Duplicate books and the like are repaired as necessary and may then be offered for sale. There are workshops for restoring paintings or models. Everything is freely available for research and educational purposes.

Visitors to the NMA are most often greeted by Ms. Anderson, who has a wealth of marine knowledge and a charming if reserved demeanour. She is somewhat amazed that the Archive has been going for 25 years. “I work pretty much every day, and you always meet new people when they come in, and they’re excited, and they want to know how this is run because we’re so unique,” she said. “We get so many things, donations, from people, from family when they have to downsize things that are precious to them. And we have all that in trust, because they want to share that with the public, and this is a venue that helps that happen. And we have to think and plan on how to maintain that going forward.” Dr. Adamthwaite, too, is very proud of the Archive’s 25 years of service. “If you’d said to me in 1997 or 1998, ‘Do you imagine owning the Picton Post Office in 2024 and having 95,000 books?’ I’d look you in the eyes and ask if you were crazy. But it’s grown. And every time we’ve made a step forwards we’ve done it with help and assistance and passion and, hopefully, some intelligent approaches to it. And, quite frankly, we’ve succeeded, and there’s a level of pride in it. It’s difficult to put a finger on it, but we’ve done something here that when people walk in the door, they want to stay.” He remains very passionate and outspoken about the need to preserve the nation’s maritime history, and in particular about preserving the County’s maritime traditions. He noted that at one time the County was a centre of shipbuilding in Ontario, and its ports were essential to the movements of goods on both shores of the lake.

Both Ms. Anderson and Dr. Adamthwaite also take pride in the educational resources the Archive provides for children. Their focus on helping children long predates the creation of the Archive. They are both avid sailors, with many Atlantic crossings on their small sailboat. They lived for a time on Beckwith Island, near St. Vincent in the Caribbean, and would often take schoolchildren for a sail on their yacht Stormy Weather. There are occasional visitors to the Archive who fondly remember those outings and the remarkable effect it had on their lives. Prior to the pandemic, there would often be class visits from the local school. “The kids coming here, they loved the models, and they’d say, this looks cool, this looks exciting, and they’d ask what does this do, what does that bit do?” said Dr. Adamthwaite. Those visits are beginning to resume again. However, the Archive received some funding during the pandemic to create an online education portal, and all of that is still available on their website under the Victory Kids Program.

The Archive is nearing the limits of its available space. The floor-to-ceiling bookshelves on the second floor are chock-full, and there are piles of boxes stored in the basement. There is a plan in the works to build an addition at the rear of the building for future expansion. A Foundation will be established to help fund this expansion, as well as to cover the salaries of employees after Ms. Anderson and Dr. Adamthwaite step away from their duties. They are currently listed as “paid employees”, with a token monthly income that is less than one hour at minimum wage. Their love for, and devotion to, the Archive is priceless. For more information about the Archive, please visit navalmarinearchive.com.