Material Type

Artifact

Date Range From

1935

Date Range To

1942

Materials

BRASS, METAL, LEATHER

No. Pieces

1

Length

92

Width

42

Description

BRASS TUBA WITH SILVER METAL TRIM, FITTINGS, AND KEYS; TUBA HAS FOUR VALVE KEYS ON THE SIDE; TUBA HAS A BLACK RUBBER MOUTHPIECE WITH CORK FITTING; TUBA HAS A BROWN LEATHER SHOULDER STRAP WITH SILVER BUCKLE. TUBA HAS ETCHED TEXT AT THE BASE OF THE BELL “SPRINZ & SCHMOHL, BERLIN”; TUBA HAS RUBBER BAND TIED AROUND THE WATER KEY AT THE BASE OF THE MAIN TUBE. TUBA HAS DENTS IN MAIN TUBE; TUBA HAS CORROSION ON MAIN TUBE AND VALVES, AND AT THE BASES OF VALVE KEYS; INSIDE OF TUBA BELL HAS CHIPPING, RUST, AND DENTS; LEATHER STRAP HAS MINOR STAINING ON SUEDE UNDERSIDE; OVERALL GOOD CONDITION.

Subjects

MUSICAL T&E

Historical Association

LEISURE

MILITARY

History

ON JUNE 20, 2019, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED ROBERT FINDLAY REGARDING THE DONATION OF A TUBA. THE INSTRUMENT WAS USED IN LETHBRIDGE COMMUNITY BANDS AND AT THE LETHBRIDGE PRISONER OF WAR CAMP, CAMP 133. ON THE TUBA, FINDLAY ELABORATED, “[THE TUBA] WAS VERY UNIQUE WITH THE FOUR ROTARY VALVES…WHEN THEY GOT FOUR ROTARY VALVES INSTEAD OF PLAYING FIRST AND THIRD VALVE YOU JUST HIT THE FOURTH VALVE AND IT MAKES IT A LOT EASIER. IT’S A REAL QUALITY INSTRUMENT THAT TUBA. IT WOULD BE SORT OF THE PREDECESSOR OF WHAT THEY CALL A MIRAPHONE TUBA WHICH IS A REAL EXPENSIVE TYPE. YOU CAN SEE THE SILVER TRIM AROUND THE TOP…IT WAS WELL MADE IN ITS DAY.” “[I GOT THE TUBA]…IN THE [LATE] SEVENTIES…I GAVE SOME OF [THE INSTRUMENTS] AWAY WHEN MR. FRANK HOSEK WAS MY BAND DIRECTOR AND HE WAS THE COMMUNITY BAND FELLOW IN LETHBRIDGE AND HE GAVE THEM TO ME SO I THOUGHT WELL SOME SHOULD END UP IN THE MUSEUM…I KEPT A COUPLE [OTHER INSTRUMENTS] JUST FOR MY OWN BENEFIT [INCLUDING THE TUBA]. WE USED TO PLAY THE TUBA OUT FOR CHRISTMAS CAROLS EVERY YEAR.” FINDLAY CLAIMED, ON THE ORIGIN OF THE TUBA, “[THE TUBA IS] AN ANTIQUE…[DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR] ROMMEL’S DESERT CORPS BAND WAS CAPTURED…IN NORTH AFRICA AND THEY BROUGHT THEM OVER HERE TO THE PRISONER OF WAR CAMP IN LETHBRIDGE AND THESE INSTRUMENTS CAME WITH THE GERMANS…[THE MILITARY HISTORY IS] PART AND PARCEL OF THE HISTORY OF THE [TUBA], LETHBRIDGE HAD ONE OF THE LARGEST PRISONER OF WAR CAMPS IN ALBERTA…IT WAS A BIG ONE ANYWAYS.” ON HOSEK AND HIS ACQUISITION OF THE TUBA FROM HOSEK, FINDLAY RECALLED, “I THINK [HOSEK] STARTED A COMMUNITY BAND IN LETHBRIDGE AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR AND THESE WERE THE INSTRUMENTS THEY USED TO START [THE BAND]…THE IDEA [FOR THE BAND WAS] EVERYTHING COULD BE MOBILE, A MOBILE BAND.” “I WAS IN THE LETHBRIDGE CITY BAND IN THE ‘50S…THAT’S WHERE I GOT MY LESSONS FROM, FROM [HOSEK]…[THEY WERE USING] THE TUBA.” “[I DIDN’T PLAY THE TUBA AT THE TIME] I PLAYED SAXOPHONE BUT I GOT TO BE REALLY GOOD FRIENDS WITH MR. HOSEK AND WHEN HIS WIFE DIED HE HAD TO MOVE OUT HIS HOUSE, AND THAT’S WHEN HE WANTED TO KNOW IF I WANTED THE INSTRUMENTS, SO THAT’S WHEN I GOT THEM.” “[HOSEK OFFERED THE INSTRUMENTS TO ME] BECAUSE I WAS STARTING A COMMUNITY BAND…[AT] COALDALE…AND WAS STARTING A BAND PROGRAM OUT THERE AT THE SCHOOLS AND WE DIDN’T HAVE ANY MONEY FOR INSTRUMENTS AND THERE WAS A BASE DRUM [THAT] BELONGS…TO THE SAME VINTAGE AS [THE TUBA]. I THINK IT WAS HIS REGIMENTAL BASS DRUM...[I WASN’T USING ALL OF THEM FOR THE COALDALE SCHOOL BAND BECAUSE] SOME [OF THE INSTRUMENTS] DON’T WORK VERY GOOD.” “[I TOOK FROM THE GARAGE] A GOOD TEN INSTRUMENTS. [THERE] MUST HAVE BEEN TEN OR TWELVE THERE…I KNOW THEY WERE [SOURCED AT THE SAME TIME AS OTHERS FROM THE POW CAMP].” FINDLAY SHARED HIS INTEREST IN THE TUBA, NOTING, “[THE INSTRUMENT IS INTERESTING TO ME] JUST THAT [IT’S] MEMORABILIA OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR. [THE INSTRUMENT IS] STILL HERE AND [IT WILL] STILL PLAY. IT’S PRETTY AMAZING.” “[MY FAVOURITE INSTRUMENT OF THE COLLECTION WOULD BE THE TUBA] BECAUSE I PLAY THE TUBA. THAT’S WHY. NOT TOO MANY PEOPLE PLAY THE TUBA…IT’S THE SAME FINGERING AS A TRUMPET [BUT] THEY READ IT IN THE BASE CLEFT…YOU CAN MOVE OFF IF YOU NEED SOMEBODY TO PLAY A TUBA…THEY CAN PLAY IT PRETTY QUICK IF THEY’RE A TRUMPET PLAYER…THERE WAS A BUNCH OF OTHER STUFF. SOME OF IT GOT SOLD…THERE [WERE] OTHER OLD TUBAS THERE BUT THAT WAS THE NICEST ONE.” IN AN EMAIL TO THE GALT MUSEUM COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN, KEVIN MACLEAN, ON JANUARY 22, 2020, MURRAY MASON RECALLED THE TUBA AND ROBERT FINDLAY. MASON NOTED, “ROBERT [FINDLAY] AND I LIVED WITHIN A BLOCK OF ONE ANOTHER IN THE 1990’S IN THE GILBERT PATERSON/MCKILLOP CHURCH AREA. ON NEW YEAR’S EVE AT MIDNIGHT…WE DID THIS FOR SEVERAL YEARS…WE WOULD FO OUT ONTO THE STREET…ROBERT LEADING THE WAY PLAYING THE TUBA WHILE THE MEN AND WOMEN FOLLOWED AND SANG. OCCASIONALLY I WOULD LIGHT A FIRE CRACKER…AND DROP IT INTO THE TUBA AND IT WOULD EXPLODE AND SPARKS WOULD FLY OUT OF IT. AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, PEOPLE CAME OUT OF THEIR HOUSES TO LISTEN AS THE TUBA IS VERY LOUD…AND WE WERE INVITED IN TO SOME OF THE HOUSES FOR DRINKS BEFORE WE CARRIED ON OUR MARCH. ONE [NEW YEAR’S EVE] WE WERE IN A HOUSE AND I RAN ACROSS AN AUSTRIAN WHO HAD BEEN IN THE AFRIKA KORPS AND A POW IN [LETHBRIDGE] AND CAME BACK…I THINK ROBERT PLAYED EDELWIESS ON THE TUBA BEFORE WE HEADED ON OUR WAY.” MASON FURTHER RECALLED, ON THE HISTORY OF THE TUBA, “…IT’S A 4-VALVE TUBA WHICH IS RARE TO BEGIN WITH AND THE GERMANS HAD IT FITTED SO THAT THE TUBA PLAYER COULD ALSO RIDE A MOTORCYCLE…ALL MEMBERS OF THE AFRIKA KORPS BAND RODE MOTORCYCLES AND MANY OF THEIR INSTRUMENTS WERE SPECIALLY DESIGNED FOR THAT PURPOSE…THE BAND WAS PART OF A PANZER ARMY AND THEY MOVED FAST…” FOR MORE INFORMATION INCLUDING THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION AND MURRAY MASON’S EMAIL, PLEASE SEE THE PERMANENT FILE P20190012000-GA. IN OCTOBER 2007, FRANK HOSEK, THE ORIGINAL CONDUCTOR OF THE LETHBRIDGE A.C.T. JUNIOR BAND, WAS CONTACTED TO CLARIFY QUESTIONS REGARDING TWO INSTRUMENTS CLAIMED BY BOB FINDLAY TO HAVE USED BEEN BY THE BAND AND INMATES IN CAMP 133. HE STATED, “THE INSTRUMENTS WERE GIVEN TO THE ASSOCIATION OF CANADIAN TRAVELERS (A.C.T.) (WHICH), WANTED TO DO SOMETHING FOR THE YOUNG PEOPLE (BOYS AND GIRLS) OF LETHBRIDGE. SINCE THERE WAS NO BAND IN LETHBRIDGE AT THE TIME, AND MUSIC WAS NOT TAUGHT IN THE SCHOOLS, THE ASSOCIATION DECIDED THAT THIS IS WHERE THEY WOULD MAKE THEIR EFFORT.” HOSEK RECALLED THAT THE INSTRUMENTS WERE LEFT BEHIND AT THE CAMP WHEN ITS INTERNEES WERE REPATRIATED BACK TO GERMANY. THE INSTRUMENTS WERE GIVEN TO THE A.C.T. BY FEDERAL AUTHORITIES PRIOR TO THE CAMP’S DISMANTLEMENT AND DEMOLITION. AN EQUIVALENT NUMBER OF INSTRUMENTS WERE ACQUIRED BY THE A.C.T. TO FORM A COMPLETE BAND – EVERYTHING, CLAIMED HOSEK, “FROM A SOUSAPHONE TO A CORNET (TRUMPET)”. HOSEK STATED THAT THE CAMP INSTRUMENTS WERE PROVIDED FOR THE PRISONERS BY THE INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS. THE FLUGELHORN, HE REMEMBERED CORRECTLY, WAS MADE IN GRASLITZ, GERMANY. SUCH INSTRUMENTS, HE COMMENTED, WERE “MADE IN CIRCULAR FORM” AND FIT OVER THE SHOULDERS OF THE PLAYER. THIS DESIGN ALLOWED PLAYERS THE ABILITY TO FINGER THE INSTRUMENT WITH ONE HAND WHILE, FOR EXAMPLE, STEERING A BICYCLE WITH THE OTHER. AFTER THE A.C.T. ACQUIRED THE INSTRUMENTS, IT HAD TO FIND A TEACHER AND CONDUCTOR. TO THAT END, HOSEK SAID THE ASSOCIATION ADVERTISED IN THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD AND HE, HAVING JUST RETURNED FROM ACTIVE DUTY IN THE OVERSEAS, “NEEDED A JOB”. AN AGREEMENT WAS REACHED BETWEEN HOSEK AND THE ASSOCIATION PERTAINING TO HIS SALARY AND HE THEREAFTER MOVED TO LETHBRIDGE TO BECOME THE BAND’S TEACHER AND CONDUCTOR. LATER, HE DECIDED TO PLACE HIS FATHER, FRANK SR., AS THE BAND’S HEAD LEADER. HOSEK, IN TURN, STARTED A BAND IN COALDALE AND PINCHER CREEK IN ADDITION TO FORMING A SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA IN LETHBRIDGE, CONSISTING OF HIS PRIVATE STUDENTS. WHEN THE DUTY OF SPONSORING THE BAND BECAME TOO HEAVY A BURDEN FOR THE A.C.T., THE BAND WAS TAKEN OVER AND SPONSORED BY THE KIWANIS CLUB. HIS FATHER CONTINUED ON AS THE BAND’S DIRECTOR. THE BAND’S DEMISE CAME WHEN INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC WAS INTRODUCED IN THE SCHOOLS. HOSEK BELIEVED THAT INSTRUMENTS’ DONOR, BOB FINDLAY, ”TOOK OVER LEADERSHIP OF THE BAND AFTER HIS FATHER WENT INTO RETIREMENT.” HE THOUGHT THAT THE INSTRUMENTS MAY HAVE BEEN DISCARDED AT HAMILTON JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL AFTER THE BAND DISBANDED. WHEN ASKED ABOUT HIS KNOWLEDGE OF CAMP 133 ACCORDIONS, HE RECALLED, “I HAD FOR A TIME A LARGE CLASS OF ACCORDION STUDENTS. THIS PARTICULAR INSTRUMENT YOU REFER TO MAY HAVE BEEN MIXED UP WITH ALL THE INSTRUMENTS.” PLEASE REFER TO PERMANENT FILE P19900049001-GA FOR MORE INFORMATION. IN 2014 COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT JANE EDMUNDSON DEVELOPED THE FOLLOWING BRIEF HISTORY OF PRISONER OF WAR CAMP 133 WITH INFORMATION FROM THE GALT MUSEUM BROCHURE "LETHBRDGE'S INTERNMENT CAMPS" AND THE LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA WEBSITE. DURING WORLD WAR II THERE WERE 40 PRISONER OF WAR (P.O.W.) CAMPS CONSTRUCTED ACROSS CANADA TO HOUSE THE LARGE NUMBER OF INCOMING POWS - ENEMY MILITARY PERSONNEL THAT WERE CAPTURED IN COMBAT. CAMPS WERE BUILT IN ONTARIO, QUEBEC, THE MARITIMES AND ALBERTA. THE CAMPS IN LETHBRIDGE AND MEDICINE HAT WERE THE LARGEST, TOGETHER HOUSING 22,000 MEN. THE LETHBRIDGE CAMP, NO. 133, WAS BUILT IN THE SUMMER OF 1942, AND BY NOVEMBER OF THAT YEAR HOUSED 13,341 PRISONERS. THE CAMP WAS DIVIDED INTO SIX SECTIONS, EACH WITH SIX DORMITORIES, MESS HALLS, KITCHENS, AND ENTERTAINMENT FACILITIES. MEALS WERE IN SHIFTS WITH PRISONERS SERVING AS COOKS. TAILOR, BARBER AND SHOE REPAIR SHOPS WERE ALSO STAFFED BY PRISONERS, AND NON-COMBAT POWS PRACTICED THEIR PRE-WAR PROFESSIONS AS MEDICAL DOCTORS AND DENTISTS. HOUSING AND RATIONS WERE THE SAME STANDARD AS FOR THE CANADIAN ARMED FORCES, WHICH SOMETIMES CAUSED RESENTMENT AMONG LETHBRIDGE CIVILIAN RESIDENTS, WHO WERE UNABLE TO OBTAIN MANY OF THE SAME SUPPLIES ON THEIR STRICT WARTIME RATION ALLOWANCES. WITH MANY YOUNG LOCAL MEN AWAY AT WAR, LOCAL FARMERS BEGAN TO REQUEST LABOUR ASSISTANCE FROM THE CAMP, ESPECIALLY FOR THE SUGAR BEET INDUSTRY. BY 1943 AN AGREEMENT WAS REACHED AND SOME OF THE PRISONERS WORKED ON FARMS THROUGHOUT SOUTHERN ALBERTA. MOST OF THESE PRISONERS WENT FROM THE CAMP TO THE FARMS DAILY, BUT SOME WERE KEPT AT 'LODGES' AT THE MORE DISTANT FARMS FOR DAYS AT A TIME, WITH MINIMAL GUARDING. FOR THEIR LABOUR, THE PRISONERS WERE PAID 50 CENTS PER DAY. WITH WAR'S END, CAMP 133 CLOSED IN DECEMBER 1946 AND ITS PRISONERS WERE SENT BACK TO GERMANY. THE AREA WHERE THE CAMP STOOD EVENTUALLY BECAME AN INDUSTRIAL PARK AND PART OF THE FEDERAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH CENTRE.

Catalogue Number

P20190012000

Acquisition Date

2019-06

Collection

Museum

Less detail