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Colonel Ian Simon Fraser is a leading producer of large-scale military tattoos and events in Canada and overseas. [1]
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Colonel Ian Simon Fraser is a leading producer of large-scale military tattoos and events in Canada and overseas. [1]
Born in 1932, Fraser served in the Canadian Army and Canadian Forces from 1952 to 1983, retiring with the rank of colonel, having had regimental service with The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada, The Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR) and the Canadian Airborne Regiment. Fraser was commanding officer of 2RCR, the Canadian School of Infantry and the Canadian Airborne Regiment, and during his military career served in Canada, Germany, India and Cyprus. Fraser is also a graduate of the Indian Defence Services Staff College and the Canadian National Defence College.
After producing a small scale Tattoo in the late 1950s, in 1962 Fraser was recruited as the Producer/Director of the Canadian Tattoo for the Seattle World's Fair. In 1967 he was then chosen to write, produce and direct the Canadian Armed Forces Centennial Tattoo 1967. The Centennial Tattoo remains the world's largest ever touring production, touring across Canada from April to November 1967, and presented in 44 locations covering every Canadian province.
In 1979, Fraser produced and directed the first Nova Scotia Tattoo, to mark the first International Gathering of the Clans outside Scotland. The event was attended and opened by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. The Nova Scotia Tattoo has since been held annually, becoming known as the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo, following the royal designation bestowed upon the event in 2006 by Queen Elizabeth II on the occasion of the 80th birthday.
Fraser remained producer/director until 2007, when he passed the role of producer on to CEO Ann Montague. Fraser remained artistic director of the show, until taking a consulting role then retiring from the production in 2016.
In addition to his work in Nova Scotia, Fraser has acted as a consultant for a variety of additional productions in Canada, Australia, South Africa, the United States and Europe, producing and directing 100s of shows throughout his career. Fraser has also written plays for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), authored numerous published books, shorts stories and articles (under pseudonyms), and been the recipient of numerous awards including the Order of Military Merit, the Canadian Forces' Decoration, the Order of Nova Scotia and the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. In 2001 Fraser was granted a Doctor of Civil Laws, Honoris Causa, from Acadia University. [2]
Fraser and his wife Gladys (m. 1957) have two daughters, Jocelyn and Lori, and four grandchildren, Brian, Devan, Jeff and Emma.
The Canadian Centennial was a yearlong celebration held in 1967 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation. Celebrations in Canada occurred throughout the year but culminated on Dominion Day, July 1. Commemorative coins were minted, that were different from typical issues with animals on each — the cent, for instance, had a dove on its reverse. Communities and organizations across Canada were encouraged to engage in Centennial projects to celebrate the anniversary. The projects ranged from special one-time events to local improvement projects, such as the construction of municipal arenas and parks. The Centennial Flame was also added to Parliament Hill. Children born in 1967 were declared Centennial babies.
The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada is a Primary Reserve regiment of the Canadian Armed Forces, based in Toronto. The regiment is part of 4th Canadian Division's 32 Canadian Brigade Group. It is the only reserve regiment in Canada to currently have a parachute role. The regiment consists of the reserve battalion, the Regimental Association, and the Regimental Band and Bugles. The official abbreviation is The QOR of C, but the name is often abbreviated to QOR.
The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery is the artillery personnel branch of the Canadian Army.
North-West Europe 1944–1945 is a battle honour earned by regiments of the British Commonwealth forces during the Second World War that took part in the actions of the northern part of the war's Western Front. The battle honour North-West Europe is suffixed with the year, or years, in which the awarded unit took part in the action.
The Canadian Guards was an infantry regiment of the Canadian Army that served in the same role as the five regiments of foot guards in the British Army. The regiment was formed on 16 October 1953, by Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds, the Chief of the General Staff of the Canadian Army, with the redesignation of four separate battalions:
The Black Watch of Canada is a reserve infantry regiment in 34 Canadian Brigade Group, 2nd Canadian Division, of the Canadian Army. The regiment is located at 2067, rue Bleury in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and is currently commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel R.M. Unger, MMM,CD. The regiment's armoury was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2008. They are the senior Canadian-Scottish Regiment.
The Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo is a show inspired by Military Tattoos given by military bands and display teams. It has taken place annually in Nova Scotia's capital, Halifax since 1979. It is currently held in the Halifax Scotiabank Centre.
The following is a list of the notable authorized marches for various organisations of the Canadian Armed Forces. The first march listed is the march most commonly performed for that organisation on parade; it is commonly referred to simply as that organisation's "march" or "march past". In addition, many organisations also have additional pieces for slow marches, marches for mounted parades, pipe marches, etc.; they are subsequently listed and footnoted as applicable.
A military tattoo is a performance of music or display of armed forces in general. The term comes from the early 17th-century Dutch phrase doe den tap toe, a signal sounded by drummers or trumpeters to instruct innkeepers near military garrisons to stop serving beer and for soldiers to return to their barracks and is unrelated to the Tahitian origins of an ink tattoo.
The Canadian Airborne Forces Association (CAFA) is the umbrella organization for all military airborne associations within Canada. CAFA membership is open to all qualified Canadian military parachutists, as well as military parachutists from Allied countries. Associate membership is available to non-jump qualified applicants, considered on a case-by-case basis.
The Regimental Band and Pipes was founded on The Citadel campus in Charleston, South Carolina in 1909 with late marine general, Harry K. Pickett, in command. The marching band makes up one of the twenty-one companies of the South Carolina Corps of Cadets. In 1991, the band participated in the Edinburgh Military Tattoo in Edinburgh, Scotland becoming the first military college selected for the honor. They returned in 2010 as the only unit from the United States to appear at the Silver Jubilee of the Tattoo and appeared again in 2015.
The siege of Port Royal, also known as the Conquest of Acadia, was a military siege conducted by British regular and provincial forces under the command of Francis Nicholson against a French Acadian garrison and the Wabanaki Confederacy under the command of Daniel d'Auger de Subercase, at the Acadian capital, Port Royal. The successful British siege marked the beginning of permanent British control over the peninsular portion of Acadia, which they renamed Nova Scotia, and it was the first time the British took and held a French colonial possession. After the French surrender, the British occupied the fort in the capital with all the pomp and ceremony of having captured one of the great fortresses of Europe, and renamed it Annapolis Royal.
Canadian military bands are a group of personnel in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) that performs musical duties for military functions. Military bands form a part of the Music Branch of the CAF, composed of six full-time professional Regular Force bands, 15 Regular Force voluntary bands, and 53 part-time reserve force bands. Bands of the Music Branch are often badged with the unit or Canadian Forces base insignia that they support.
Aubrey Francis Jackman was a leading producer of international military tattoos and prominent hotelier in Bath, England. Born in Bath in 1921, Jackman's family owned a number of hotels in the city, including the Lansdown Grove, Pulteney Hotel and Fernley Hotel. Following the outbreak of World War II, Jackman attempted to join the British Army, but with his agricultural experience he was instead sent to work on a farm in Somerset.
The Canadian Forces Tattoo 1967 was a series of military tattoos or displays performed by members of the Canadian military portraying more than three hundred years of Canada's military history. The Tattoo, which was the Canadian military's contribution to Canada's centennial year celebrations in 1967, toured the country from coast to coast. This was the largest such event in the history of the Canadian military.
Michael Bawtree is a Canadian actor, director, author and educator.
The following is a hierarchical outline for the Canadian Armed Forces at the end of the Cold War. It is intended to convey the connections and relationships between units and formations.
The Band of the Ceremonial Guard is an ad hoc military band that is attached to the Canadian Forces Ceremonial Guard in Ottawa. All members of the band are fully trained members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and consists of personnel principally from the two Foot Guards regiments and has even since 2007 been manned by a pan–Canadian Forces approach that is inclusive to musicians from the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force. The band forms a separate company within the CG and rely on the Headquarters Company for administration and support personnel. In full composition, the band is active from April to August.
The Band of The Royal Regiment of Canada is a Canadian military band that serves as the official regimental band of the Royal Regiment of Canada. It is the oldest permanently organised band in the Canadian Forces. It is based at Fort York in Toronto and is assigned to the part of 4th Canadian Division's 32 Canadian Brigade Group. The ceremonial dress uniform of the band is a scarlet tunic and bearskin, similar to Grenadier Guards in the United Kingdom, with the only difference being the plume is red over white, as a homage to the former Canadian Guards regiment.
The 48th Highlanders of Canada Pipes and Drums is an authorized pipe band in the Canadian Forces and is currently located at Moss Park Armoury in Toronto, Ontario. The current pipe major is Master Warrant Officer Iain Lang, who is concurrently the official piper to the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.
Seattle Times, 22 September 1964
Ottawa Citizen, 25 August 1965
The Brandon Sun, 1 September 1965
Wainwright Star Chronicle, 1 September 1965
The Atlantic Advocate, October 1965
Weekend Magazine #36, 1966
The Sentinel Magazine, May 1966
Montreal Star, 20 June 1966
Toronto Daily Star, 30 July 1966
Pictou Gazette February 1976
Globe and Mail, 25 March 1967
Toronto Telegram, 25 March 1967
The Yukon News, 4 April 1967
Toronto Daily Star, 24 June 1967
Vancouver Life, July 1967
Saint Catherine's Standard, 7 July 1967
Le Droit, 14 August 1967
Ottawa Journal, 17 August 1967
Ottawa Citizen, 18 August 1967
Ottawa Journal, 21 August 1967
The Toronto Daily Star, 29 August 1967
The Toronto Telegram, 29 August 1967
The Toronto Telegram, 30 August 1967
The Toronto Daily Star, 31 August 1967
The Barrie Examiner, 26 August 1967
The Toronto Telegram, 1 September 1967
Ottawa Citizen, 24 August 1969