72nd Regiment, Seaforth Highlanders of Canada engaged in Aid to Civil Powers for the Coal Miners' Strike on Vancouver Island, Nanaimo,1913 - 1914. Group portrait of soldiers and bandsmen of different units (including the Seaforths) of the Civil Aid Force on the front steps of the Connaught Barracks, Nanaimo, 1913-14. Note the Seaforth bass drummer with cougar skin apron and the mascot dog. This is the same photo as 1985.015.002.001. The Vancouver Island Coal Strike began on 16 Sept. 1912 when miners at Cumberland declared a "holiday" to protest the firing of Oscar Mottishaw. Canadian Collieries locked them out and hired Chinese and strike breakers. The issues were safety (gas explosions had killed hundreds) and union recognition. Other employers followed the pattern in resisting any union. By spring 1913, 3,500 miners from Vancouver Island were off work with the United Mine Workers of America providing leadership and strike pay. In the summer of 1912, the Vancouver and Nanaimo Coal Co., settled with its employees, but not before rioting, arsons and "shoot-outs" had broken out in all the coal towns. Peace was restored when the BC government sent in 1,000 militiamen. The withdrawal of strike pay in the summer of 1914 and the beginning of WW I ended the confrontation. By then the mines were running at almost pre-strike capacity using newly hired labour. Connaught Barracks, Nanaimo: In 1911 work started on the Agricultural Hall on Machleary Street, Nanaimo and was opened in 1912. By October of 1913 the hall had been turned over to the military to house the Civil Aid Force during the Miner's Strike of 1912-1914. At this time, the Agricultural Hall was renamed the "Connaught Barracks". Detachments of troops were still stationed on the site until August, 1914 when World War One started. At the onset of WW I, the guards and sentries from the Nanaimo Internment Camp on Stewart Avenue were housed at the Agricultural Hall. The internment camp (which imprisoned mostly Austro-Hungarian Ukrainian immigrants) was on Stewart Ave. It was in service from September 20, 194 to September 17, 1915. Part of the War Measures Act, between 125 and 200 people were imprisoned in Camp Nanaimo. In 1915, stables were built for the horses of elements of the Canadian Mounted Rifles stationed at the barracks. By 1917, agricultural shows were once again being held at the site; however this could not be sustained. Most of the buildings of the Connaught Barracks were demolished in 1957, apart from the single stable building (modern address - the intersection of Machleary and Wentworth Streets). From the Seaforths and Strikers essay, page 10: "On the arrival of the Cumberland detachment at Nanaimo on the morning of Sunday 31st August, a provisional company of 50 men was formed from the two detachments for permanent duty, the Officers for the first week being Capt. Rae, Lieuts. Goodall and Tupper. The remainder returned to Vancouver. The Camp opposite the Post Office continued to be occupied by the 72nd Regt, until about the middle of October, when the troops were moved into the Agricultural Hall, which was fitted up as a barracks." PHOTO NEEDS TO BE PRINTED AND LABELLED British Columbia Archives Collection description sheet attached.