EVENT DATE: June 13, 2012
TOPIC:

Brian Porter is a great exponent of Canadian history.  He entertained the Canadian Club twice before with his portrayals of Sir John A. Macdonald and Major James Walsh NWMP.  This time he focussed on the years just before Confederation – with threats from the US Civil War and the Fenian invasions of 1866.  It was a time of rising national consciousness, when thousands of young men joined the local militias such as the Brockville Infantry Company, formed in 1862.  

Brian has just published a booklet entitled “Brockville Infantry Company – Citizen Soldiers and Canadian Patriotism in the 1860s.”  He is a founding member of the Brockville Infantry Company (1862), which gives historical re-enactments of the volunteer militia.  He wore its red uniform, with all accoutrements.  He was accompanied by his wife Renee in her 1860s costume.  The meeting ended on a strong patriotic note. 

Brian is Chairman of the Brockville Museum Board, and a member of the Brockville History Book Committee.  He taught for 32 years in Brockville until retiring in 1998.  Born and raised in Peterborough, he was educated at Peterborough Collegiate and Vocational School, Carleton University (BA History), and Ottawa Teachers’ College.