Our President's AGM 2018 Address

Grand Reopening, September 16, 2017.                                         &n…

Grand Reopening, September 16, 2017.                                                      Photo: C. Lippert

Dear Members, Staff, Volunteers, and Sponsors,

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Secrets of Radar Museum I extend warm greetings to you all. It is with deep and sincere gratitude that I thank you for your ongoing commitment to keep the museum and the incredible story it tells alive. Since taking over from past president Mr. Peter Garland, I have learned a lot about the very slim margin upon which we stake our existence. I have learned that through sheer will and determination we can persevere and continue to tell our story. The going can be very tough for a small museum, but I have seen camaraderie, collaboration, cooperation, generosity, patience and understanding from all of you. For that I am grateful. We could not exist without all of those positive attributes which you have shown us in spades.

The 2017-2018 Fiscal Year saw us faced with the loss of our home and the Herculean task of moving an entire museum. Though the generous support and volunteerism of members of The 427 Wing of the Royal Canadian Airforce Association and the London Amateur Radio Club, we were able to move into our new location. We are looking forward to building on the synergy of being in an aviation district with several like-minded museums and groups. Early signs are promising as our number of visitors has increased in the first months of 2018 over last year.

Through financial support from the London Heritage Council we received funding to develop a new strategic plan. The Board of Directors put in the overtime needed throughout the longest and coldest winter in recent memory to collaborate and set a path forward that will see the museum continue to develop, modernize, focus, and become more accessible. Our hope is to find others who share in our vision who can make contributions as museum members, board members, and sponsors to help us achieve our short and long-term goals.

Together we have survived a very challenging year and it is my pleasure to continue to work with you and for you toward a brighter future.

volunteer of note winter 2016.jpg

Sincerely,

Corbin Lippert, President

 

In Memorium: Douglas Mac Murray "Murray" Young

Murray Young, radar mechanic passes

1922-2017

It is with great sadness that we report the death of DOUGLAS MAC MURRAY YOUNG at the Veterans Health Unit on December 18, 2017. Murray, the son of Harold M. and Amelia ("Millie" Foreman) Young, was born at Taymouth, N.B. on July 11, 1922.

Douglas Mac Murray Young 1922-2017.jpeg

Murray was educated in Marysville and Fredericton schools and received a teaching diploma from the Provincial Normal School. After teaching in rural schools for two years, he joined the RCAF, training as a radar technician. He was sent to Britain where, from 1942-45, he repaired radar equipment and monitored enemy aircraft and shipping. Returning to Canada at the end of the war, he entered the University of New Brunswick and graduated with an Honours degree in English and History. Like so many returning veterans, he took a lively interest in politics and, while still a student, he stood as a candidate for the CCF Party in both a provincial and a federal election. He then entered the University of Toronto to work towards a Master’s degree but an offer of a Beaverbrook Overseas Scholarship led to study at King’s College, London University, where he obtained a Ph.D. in Imperial History. His resulting book, The Colonial Office in the Early Nineteenth Century, is still a leading source on the subject.

After teaching for four years at Memorial University in Newfoundland, Murray received a Ford Foundation Fellowship to take a postdoctoral course on African History at Boston University. He then returned to his alma mater and taught at UNB for the rest of his career. He regarded teaching as the most important facet of his work. He always tried to give his students a wide understanding and was particularly good at placing events in a broad context. He served a term as departmental chair, supervised many theses, and was active on many university committees, including as a faculty representative on the Board of Governors. His well-received public lectures helped to expand the interest in local history, while his own broad interests ranged from imperial and colonial administrative history to the history of decolonization of Africa, and the evolution of New Brunswick as a province of Great Britain, then of Canada. He wrote numerous book reviews and articles, including biographies for the Dictionary of Canadian Biography. His extensive contributions to local history were recognized by the Fredericton Region Museum with the Martha J. Harvey Award (1993) and also by the Marysville Heritage Committee with the first D. Murray Young Heritage Award (2006), named in his honour.

Murray was always kind to others and his quick wit and sense of humour often led to family fun. He loved long walks in the countryside and we celebrated many happy occasions at family gatherings. Much beloved by his family, Murray appreciated the care given to him by his sisters in his early life, after the death of his mother. He is survived by Mary, his wife of 63 years; by his three children, Christopher (Pamela) Young, Graham (Vicki) Young, and Carolyn Young (John Thistle); by five granddaughters, Gillian and Rachael Young, Erica and Juliana Young, and Fiona Thistle; two sisters-in-law, Delia Hachey and Muriel Young; as well as many nephews, nieces and several cousins.

He was pre-deceased by his parents; step-mother, Jennie V. Young; his sisters, Rhoda Sandberg, Grace Bawn, Phyllis Burpee, Marguarita ("Rhete") Dorcas and Jean Burden; as well as two brothers, Mullan and Guy Young.

His family thank the staff of the Veterans Health Unit for their great kindness to Murray while under their care.

A celebration of Murray’s life will be held at J.A. McAdam Memorial Chapel on Saturday, January 13, 2018 at 2 pm with Archdeacon John Sharpe officiating. For those who wish and in lieu of flowers, donations in Murray’s memory can be made to the "Dr. D. Murray Young Fund" for hiring historical researchers at the University of New Brunswick, or to a charity of the donor’s choice.