The World War I uniform was donated to the Lethbridge Museum after it was found in the basement of the theater-Lethbridge

After an important historical artifact was discovered in the basement of the local theater, it is now in the hands of the Galt Museum and Archives in Lethbridge.

Elaine Jagielski, president of Lethbridge Playgoers, a 98-year-old amateur theater company, said that it all started in 2017.

“When (Yates Memorial Center) undergoes renovation, everything must be cleaned up,” she explained.

“This kind of item, you know the military uniform, or anything we think might be meaningful to someone.”

More than 100 items were transferred from the Playgoers collection to Galt’s experts, and they discovered an item of particular interest: the First World War uniform of the Mayor of AB Stafford.

“We do know that military materials are usually marked with a name or service number, which is what we focus on when removing items,” explains Kevin McLean, a museum collection technician.

“It was my colleague Kirstan Schamuhn who took the initiative to look under a piece of (tape) in a place that I might not have seen myself, and saw Major Stafford’s collar (behind) with his name.”

“We just didn’t expect to find such an important thing in the basement of the Yates Theater in 2021.”

According to Galt, Major Alexander Boswell Stafford was born in Nova Scotia in 1877 and then moved to Lethbridge, Alta.

He joined the war in 1915, where he would be sent to Europe to command the 39th Company of the Canadian Field Artillery.

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Local historian Glenn Miller explained: “He also has a business in the town. He is also a mason. He has participated in many activities in the community and helped the development of the community.”

Stafford died in Vimy Ridge in 1917. Although it is not clear how his uniform fell to Yates’s house, the relevant personnel are very satisfied with this discovery.

“We collected very few Vimy materials, so we were able to actually obtain an item related to the Vimy Ridge story. Based on the collection we have here, it is amazing, very amazing,” MacLean said.

Among the hundreds of military artifacts in Galt, only about 10% are related to cannons, which makes this uniform extra special.

“All the cannons of the First World War came from Lethbridge, but when you look at Galt’s resources and artifacts, it’s hard to prove it,” Miller said.

Miller encourages anyone who thinks they may have important historical works that they don’t want to stay at home to find a new home for them to help memorialize.