Ivor/Ivan Ackery

As Ralph August mentioned in the comment section of the Orpheum Revisted post last week, no story on the Orpheum would be complete without a lengthy discussion of its legendary manager, Ivan Ackery.

On October 30, 1899, Ivor Frederick Wilson Ackery was born in Bristol, England. He lived with his family in the Christmas Steps area of Bristol - a historic area that apparently a fish and chips shop that is 300 years old. The young Ackery attended Duke of York's Military School in Dover - which happens to be a mile away from the legendary cliffs. There he learned to become a drummer and a bugler.

In 1908, when Ivor/Ivan was eight years old, his father died. A year later, his mother left for Toronto and left her son in the care of an aunt and uncle.

At the age of 14, Ivor/Ivan left school to go to work. His first job, which paid five shillings a week, was feeding paper bags into a printing machine at a paper factory. He gave his wages to his aunt and uncle who in turn gave the young man six pence a week for spending money. This Ackery spent at the cinema.

On October 17, 1914 - three weeks before his 15th birthday - Ivor/Ivan Ackery left Liverpool for Canada. His mother had remarried, was living in Vancouver and working as a cashier at the Windsor Hotel (later called The Castle) on Granville Street. She sent the money for her son's passage, anxious to get him out of Europe and away from the Great War.

Ivor/Ivan got a job at the Grosvenor Hotel, working as an elevator operator and bellboy. However, he was like a lot of young men in the day and anxious to fight in the war. So, on Christmas Eve 1915, he walked into the Vancouver recruiting office and joined up. Of course, he lied about his age since he was only 16. His mother wasn't happy but Ivor/Ivan was now a recruit for the 102nd Canadian Expeditionary Forces Battalion.

The young man was sent for training at Goose Spit, near Comox. One of his officers was Captain J.S. Matthews. (Matthews went on to become Major Matthews and he is revered in Vancouver as one of our original archivists.) Here, Ackery's Duke of York's musical training came in handy. His bugle woke the men in the morning and put them to bed at night.

On June 16, 1916, their orders came and the unit marched down Granville Street to the train station the tune of Laddie in Khaki. The men arrived in Halifax a week later and the next day they sailed for Europe aboard the CPR Empress of Britain. On June 29, 1916, the 102nd Canadian Expeditionary Forces Battalion arrived at Liverpool, exactly where Ivor/Ivan had left 21 months earlier.

No doubt, the young man was ready to fight for Canada but there was an official check of ages. When Ackery's age was discovered, he, and those who had lied about his age, were left behind as the battalion went to war. Ivor/Ivan decided to spend a bit of time in Bristol visiting relatives before returning to Canada on the S.S. Southland. He worked as a steward in the officer's mess. He was discharged on September 18, 1916. But that wasn't the end of his military career.

I would like to thank The History of Metropolitan Vancouver website for the information above.

I hope you find the beauty around you and see you on Wednesday when I will fill you in on more about Ivor/Ivan Ackery.

Major J.S. Matthews

In 1878, in the far-off land of Wales, a man who was to become very important to Vancouver and its history was born. James Skitt Matthews spent his youth in New Zealand before arriving in Vancouver in 1899.

In later years, Matthews would recall picking blackberries on wild land near Thurlow and Davie - and area built up today.

Matthews worked as a clerk, salesman and manager for Imperial Oil from 1899 to 1919. It was in 1907 that he came up with a way to provide fuel for the new form of transportation, the auto mobile. James adapted a kitchen water tank and attached a rubber hose to it. Yes, James Matthews created one of the first gas pumps in the country.

Matthews served in World War I - he was on the front lines at Ypres. He returned to Canada as a Major and he used that title from that time on.

In 1924, Matthews retired from a series of business ventures and started exploring another of his interests - Vancouver history. He was director of the Arts, Historical and Scientific Society and had a collection of archival material.

This collection was massive and overflowed from his home to a space in the attic of Market Hall then to the Holden Building, then the new City Hall and finally to its own building which bears Matthews name.

This collection had been collected by Matthews on his own. He wasn't being paid for it at the time. But the City of Vancouver recognized the value of these acquisitions. The city officially recognized Matthews' position with a 1932 bylaw and provided him with a $30 a month stipend. By doing this, the city also claimed ownership of the documents. A fact that did not sit well with Matthews.

Matthews took the valuable collection back to his house. This sparked a debate and Matthews was eventually appointed official archivist in 1933 - a position he held until his death in 1970. The archives were returned to City Hall.

In 1972, the Major J.S. Matthews Archives Building opened in Vanier Park. This was the first separate municipal archive building in Canada. A fitting tribute to a man who was wise enough to foresee the importance of preserving our history.

I am getting this information from the book Namely Vancouver, A Hidden History of Vancouver Place Names by Tom Snyder and Jennifer O'Rourke.

This is a very interesting book full of tidbits of information. Like how the street Adanac got its name. There is so much to that story and I will tell you about it another time. A hint on where the name came from? Spell it backwards and you'll figure it out.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

Karen Magill, Vancouver, Major J.S. Matthews, history, Vanier Park, archives British Columbia,City Hall,World War I