Tucked away in the basement of the Nutana Legion is Saskatoon’s largest collection of military artifacts.

Dubbed one of the city’s hidden gems, the Saskatoon Museum of Military Artifacts is lined from wall to wall, floor to ceiling, with memorabilia from the first and second world wars, the Korean War, and most recently, the War in Afghanistan which took the lives of 158 Canadian Armed Forces members.

The museum’s archivist, Vaughn Teasdale, says artifacts are donated regularly, each with their own story. However, some stories are harder to uncover than others.

“In theory, I retired three years ago, but this is like a full-time job. That’s really how it boils down. There’s a lot of work, because once you identify it, (you ask yourself) ‘okay, what’s their story?’. That’s part of it, what’s their story to us? So, then you have to dig into the person’s history.”

An American uniform from WWI

War medals and memorials given to two half-brothers

Teasdale highlights one unique piece, a chunk of steel from the French cargo steamship destroyed in the 1917 Halifax Explosion, the SS Mont-Blanc.

“It landed in someone’s, let’s just say their kitchen, in Halifax, and because of the information the donor provided, and using the census records, we actually found the house where they would have found this. So, this was about 1.5 kilometres from where the ship exploded.”

Artifacts from the 1917 Halifax Explosion

In the far corner of the room, a poster of the Canadian Armed Forces members that lost their lives in the War in Afghanistan hangs on the wall.

“I think it’s a little easier to grasp something that’s happened this century versus something that happened 100 years ago. Plus, we’ve got all their names. You’ve got a name and a face, so right away you’ve got that ‘umph’ to it.”

Teasdale says museumgoers always stop and stare at the poster a little while longer than they do the other artifacts.

Poster of fallen Canadian soldiers in the War in Afghanistan

Other rare artifacts include emergency military rations that have never been opened, a pilot’s flight log, and a suspected self-portrait drawn onto a supply sack.

A suspected self-portrait drawn onto a supplies sack

Photo: A German U-boat created by a German prisoner of Canada. Made from memory with the supplies in his cell

Flight log from Canadian air force pilot

The back wall is lined with an incomplete 22-foot-long diorama of D-Day. Teasdale says several youth volunteers are working to complete the model, but materials are expensive. The museum has started a Go Fund Me in an effort to fund the remainder of the project, which is expected to cost $6,000. The fundraiser has already raised over 50 per cent of their goal.  The Go Fund Me is available here.

Teasdale adds that it’s exciting to see young people get involved in learning about Canada’s rich history. He says many of the older volunteer staff aren’t going to be here forever, and it’s nice to see that ambitious, eager young people are available to take their place.

The museum is open on Thursdays from 1-4pm and Saturdays from 3-5pm.