Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
Andrew Hamilton Gault fonds
General material designation
Parallel title
Other title information
Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
Level of description
Fonds
Reference code
Edition area
Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
-
[ca. 1830-1995]; predominant 1914-1972 (Creation)
- Creator
- Gault, Andrew Hamilton
Physical description area
Physical description
6.6 m of textual records and other material
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
Other title information of publisher's series
Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
Note on publisher's series
Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Andrew Hamilton “Hammie” Gault, 1882-1958, was descended from an Anglo-Irish merchant family which settled in Montreal in 1842 and became dominant players in Canadian textile manufacturing, insurance, finance, and politics. After attending Bishop's College School in Lennoxville and one year at McGill University, Gault joined the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles and served with distinction as a subaltern until the end of the South African War in 1901. He continued to serve with the Canadian militia, eventually becoming a captain with the 5th Royal Highlanders (Black Watch of Canada). Following the death of his father in 1903, he assumed control of Gault Brothers and Company, the family cotton manufacturing firm. He married Marguerite Stephens in 1904. Gault was appointed honorary Consul General for Sweden in 1909-1911, and was a member of the council for the Montreal Board of Trade, 1911-1913. Upon the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, he offered to finance the raising of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI). He was appointed Senior Major and Second-in-Command of the Regiment. He was wounded three times, losing his left leg, which effectively ended his active service in the field. He was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel and Commanding Officer of PPCLI in November 1918. For his service in the Great War, Gault was awarded the Order of the British Empire, the Russian Order of St. Anne with Crossed Swords and the Belgian Order of the Crown. He was Mentioned in Dispatches four times and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for gallantry. Following the war, Gault was married in 1922 for a second time, to Dorothy Blanche “D.B.” Shuckburgh. Between the two world wars they lived at Hatch Court, near Taunton, Somerset, England, an estate that Hamilton purchased from Dorothy's aunt. They enjoyed aviation as a hobby. Gault served as a Conservative Member of Parliament for Taunton from 1924 to 1935. In 1939 he was recalled for active duty with the Canadian Army in England and was promoted to the rank of Colonel in 1940 and to Brigadier General in 1942. He returned to his Canadian home at Mont St. Hilaire in Quebec in 1944. In 1947 Gault founded the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Association and served as the first National President. He was appointed honorary Colonel of the Regiment shortly before his death on 28 November 1958. Following his death, Dorothy Gault returned to Hatch Court, where she died in 1972. Hatch Court became the home of Dorothy’s niece Anne and her husband, Cdr. Barry Nation, who operated a small museum there dedicated to the history of Gault and the PPCLI. For further information see: First in the field : Gault of the Patricias / by Jeffery Williams. – St. Catharines, Ont. : Vanwell Pub., 1995.
Custodial history
The Hatch Court Museum papers were in the possession of Dorothy Gault's niece's husband John Townson. Some of Gault's papers were in the possession of Gault's biographer, Jeffery Williams of Ilchester, Somerset, England. Some of the papers were in the possession of MGen Cameron Ware. Some items were given to Gen. Vince Kennedy by the owner of Hatch Court in 2014.
Scope and content
The fonds consists of correspondence, certificates, speeches, essays, programs, menus, books, log books, manuals, posters, scrapbooks, newsclippings, photo albums, loose photographs and maps related to the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry and Hamilton Gault's life and his service with the Regiment. Correspondents include Raymond Pelly, Percival Campbell, Princess Patricia (Lady Patricia Ramsay), Agar Adamson, G.R. Pearkes, Prince Arthur (Duke of Connaught), Kate Blackader, Georges-P. Vanier, Ralph Hodder-Williams, Hugh Niven, J.G. Edmonds, Hugh Dyer, M.R. TenBroeke, Cameron Ware, and Sir Adrian Cartion de Wiart. Includes photographs of Hamilton Gault's funeral, correspondence of Dorothy Gault, records of Hatch Court Museum (1972-1995), and research documents collected by Jeffery Williams. Includes files on the Hamilton Gault Skill-at-Arms Trophy, the Hamilton Gault Memorial Fund, and the naming and ascent of Mount Hamilton Gault. Includes collected personal papers of LCol D.H. Rosser, LCol Agar Adamson, and Capt. Talbot Papineau. .
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Gift of estate of Hamilton Gault, John Townson, Cameron Ware, Vince Kennedy, 1958, ca. 1972, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2015.
Arrangement
Language of material
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
There are no restrictions on the records.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Reproduction and publication of photographs requires permission of PPCLI Regimental Museum and Archives.
Finding aids
An item-level inventory is available at https://ppcli.com/wp-content/uploads/Gault-Andrew-Hamilton.pdf
. This Inventory includes collected Gault papers located in Collection 1, Series 10.
Associated materials
Accruals
General note
Record No. A-58.11; 95.10; 899.38; 01.94; 02.38; A2015.051
Alternative identifier(s)
Standard number area
Standard number
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Gault, Andrew Hamilton (Subject)
- Rosser, David Hillard (Subject)
- Adamson, Agar (Subject)
- Gault, Dorothy Blanche (Subject)
- Papineau, Talbot (Subject)
- Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (Subject)
- Ware, Cameron Bethel (Subject)
Genre access points
Control area
Description record identifier
Institution identifier
Rules or conventions
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
Language of description
- English