By Stephanie Lechniak-Cumerlato

It was the very beginning of the 1900's, just before the outbreak of World War I. Hamilton, as well as the rest of the world, seemed to be a very pleasant and idealistic place. It was quoted as being a time of "innocent pleasures when people were happy, progress seemed assured, and troubles in the world were distant and unimportant."

Things aren't always as they seem. Although everything was as perfect as can be for the middle and upper classes of Hamilton, it was the workers and foreign-born immigrants who saw the harsher realities of this era. The upper class would be found shopping at the classy boutiques in Gore Park and hosting lavish dinner parties for the City's prominent and most prestigious citizens while the poverty-stricken lower class laboured in big factories, constantly doing hard, physical work, sometimes without even a day off. It is said that "these filtered memories reflect not only the innocence of that age but the contrast between that period and the grim reality of war in the trenches."

The Militia
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The year was 1861 and Canada had virtually no armed forces, solely relying on Britain to provide military protection. The American Civil War had just begun and various Hamilton men crossed the border to join the U.S. Northern Army against the Southern Confederates. This became a tough time for Canadians as there was already existing tension between Britain and the United States. In 1862, closer to home, a group in Hamilton formed the XIIIth Battalion of Volunteer Militia (R.H.L.I.). Three rifle companies, one of them a highland company, were also established.

Hamilton's militia became one of the most important voluntary associations in all of Hamilton at the time. In April of 1865, Hamilton's 13th Battalion was sent to Fort Erie to defend the frontier from invasion by the Fenians (Irish Nationalists against the British Empire).

By March of 1866, Hamilton's militia didn't have an actual place to call home. The men were stationed in drill and artillery sheds while the officers were guard mounted daily at the Mountain View Hotel, a grand hotel atop the Hamilton escarpment, at the foot of Upper James. (the ruins of this hotel can currently be seen on this location).

The Building
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It was 1906 and Hamilton decided that they needed to create proper facilities for the training of its militia units. The initial plan was to have one of the best armouries in all of Canada! After several years of lobbying and disagreements about the amount of land the building would be created on, Hamilton finally won, and was granted a portion of land located on James Street North at Cannon Street. Hamilton's own Michael Pigott designed the Hamilton Armoury, which also marked his move from home construction to large commercial projects.

Building began in 1906, but it wasn't until 1908 when the grand new armouries were finally recognized in The Hamilton Times. An interesting feature of the Armouries is that it was built solely by Hamilton men from start to finish. The basement of the Armouries held a two bowling alleys as well as a mini rifle range with six targets. All of this with hopes that the building would keep everyone occupied inside.

It is believed that there were tunnels leading out from under the Armouries building. Many believed they ran north to the water for easy access in case of a water attack at the time.

Also, tunnels ran from the west side of the building before they were filled in with concrete. Most tunnels under the armouries are no longer accessible, however a large number of passages do currently exist in the foundations of the original Gun Shed which burned down in late 1800's.

The James Street Armoury was later renamed to the "John W. Foote VC Armoury" in memory of Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel John Weir Foote.

"On August 19th, 1942, Honorary Captain Foote, the Regiment's chaplain and clarinetist in its band, and non-combatant under the Articles of War, would win the Victoria Cross for valour on the beach at Dieppe.

Time after time the burly padre scoured the beach for injured men, picked them up and carried them to safety. "On these occasions, with utter disregard for his personal safety, he exposed himself to an inferno of fire and saved many lives with his gallant efforts," read the citation in the London Gazette three and a half years later.

He refused a final opportunity to leave the shore, choosing to stay with the wounded, and spend the remaining war years in a German POW camp."

The building of the armouries was a milestone in Hamilton's military history and stands today as a reminder of Hamilton's beautiful, historical structures and dedicated past.

The Hauntings
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We have received several reports from people visiting our website telling us that the Armouries are indeed haunted. The experiences seem to happen in the middle of the night during the dark and quiet hours. Weird sounds and voices are heard while dark shadows are caught from the corner of your eye.

There is an area on the second floor called the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry Heritage Museum. It is a regimental museum that houses uniforms, weapons, medals, pictures, and trivia from 1862 to present.

The purpose of the museum, according to the RHLI's website is to not only "acquire, appraise, catalog, restore, preserve, display and interpret a collection of civilian and military artifacts important to the history of the Regiment but to also familiarize and inspire young men and women with a history of the Regiment, its role in peace and war and its diverse career opportunities."

It is this area in particular that seems to be occupied by rather angry spirits. Several of them in fact.

These spirits don't want anyone entering the museum. Supposedly, you can feel their presence so strong that it almost pushes you out of the room. On one occasion, a couple was visiting the museum during regular public hours.

The one visitor was rather sensitive to the subject and told us that upon entering the threshold to the museum, two spirits were standing there and told her that she was not welcome. They told her this in an angry and intimidating tone. The couple left the museum immediately and haven't returned since.

Why don't these spirits want anyone entering the room? Are they protective over their cherished relics or is it something more? Maybe one day we'll find out - but for now, it seems to be their territory, and they are very protective over it.

An interesting side note about the museum includes Victor the Regimental Cat. The mummified remains of this feline were found in the Armories during renovations in 1984. Most would have disposed of the unfortunate thing, but this is a part of history. Victor was moved into the museum and put on display for visitors.

It is believed that Victor is seen wandering the hallways looking for attention, and maybe mice. We have no confirmed sightings of the cat. Here is some information posted about Victor in the museum:

In 1887 as the new drill hall neared completion a small grey alley cat cautiously inched his way along planks and up rickety wooden ladders... As the cat neared the upper most section of the drill hall known as the flag tower, he stopped to nibble on left over sandwiches left by the workmen earlier... After consuming the goodies, the little cat of no fixed address sqieezedin between the heavy oak floor joists to escape the heat of the summer...

Alas, the workmen approched to finish off the flooring... and poor Victor was licked under the floor, not to reappear for ninety eight years... In the Fall of 1984 members of his regiment saw fit to remove his parched and greye remains to a safter and more dignified location.... True to the motto "Semper paratus" (always ready), this little soldier never left his post in the tower for almost a century...

Another spooky tale took place during one of Hamilton's Military parades down James Street North, as it was passing by the Armouries. There is a set of balconies on the second floor that overlook the entire street.

It is on these balconies that people have seen faint apparitions of old soldiers just watching the parade go by, and on this particular occasion, the entire crowd below on the street saw two semi-transparent men, completely dressed in uniform, standing there watching the parade with obvious enjoyment on their face, only to completely disappear - they simply vanished into thin air!

Whispering has been heard from the main parade square. One cadet was watching the guns and square in the main building when he heard the whispering. He explored the square and found nobody, but the whispering continued. He shrugged it off, thinking his commanding officer was playing a joke.

Only ten minutes later he heard what sounded like a rifle hitting the stone floors of the square. From the balcony he could see nobody and no rifles. He then noticed the Letter Room door was opened, a door that's locked with a electronic keypad. Years later the cadet was talking with a Sargent who didn't believe this was a joke. "Oh, that's just the ghosts!" the Sargent said as if it was a normal occurance.

Mentioned was the ghost of a solider who fell down two flights of stairs before there were railings installed. You can still here the man's screams as if he's still falling down those stairs over and over. Also, about the old stables that used to exist in the older part of the building. You can still hear horses galloping through this space.

And one final note from a visitor to Haunted Hamilton shows of an event that could have been at the Armouries, if not for the bravery of this young man to step away. This happened a long time before we could treat depression or even take it seriously:

"I was an Air Cadet. One day, I planned my escape from this life. I was going to jump off the Armouries roof. No suicide note; no words to say to anybody.

"I made my way up one Sunday morning to the rooftop of the North building. I went to the edge of the building roof on the back-street side. Looked over at the apartment buildings, then looked down in tears at the quiet sidewalk below where I would die, and then got up and sat on the edge of the roof.

"Pondering the next moments in store for me, the fear of the upcoming physical pain of 'landing and crunching on the sidewalk' entered my mind. I shortly backed off. Went home. Carried on with life and became a happy adult."

There are countless other happenings at the Hamilton Armouries. If you know of any, or would like to contribute to this page, we welcome you to e-mail us at info@hauntedhamilton.com with your experiences or stories!

By Stephanie Lechniak-Cumerlato
Updates by Daniel Cumerlato

Image Gallery:
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Hamilton Armouries - Basement hallway

Hamilton Armouries - Basement hallway

Hamilton Armouries - Guns on display

Hamilton Armouries - Staircase

Hamilton Armouries - Victor the Regimental Cat

Hamilton Armouries - Basement hallway

Hamilton Armouries - Basement hallway

Hamilton Armouries - Exterior Sign

References and Related Links:
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The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry: www.rhli.ca
The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada: www.ashofc.ca/ASHofC.htm
Vintage Postcards of Hamilton, Ontario: www.hamiltonpostcards.com
HPL Special Collections Department: www.hpl.ca/LOCAL/SPCOLL/Speccol.shtml
Freeman, Bill. Hamilton: A People's History. James Lorimer & Company Ltd. Toronto 2001
Anybodythere.net. Forum postings