['Ticker' Riley]

To recap on my previous postings about J. R. Gaunt & Son in Montreal, they first appear in Lovell’s Montreal Directory For 1908--1909 at Room 104 Lindsey Building, 518 St Catherine West, but in the following year they have moved to the first of their two Beaver Hall Hill addresses, this being 63-65 Beaver Hall Hill. Around 1916 the street was renumbered, and Nos 63-65 look to have become Nos 315-321; nevertheless the Company would remain here until in the 1923-24 Directory we find them at 358 St Catherine West. The move to St Catherine West would be short lived, as, according to the alphabetical section of the Directory for 1926-27, Gaunts have returned to Beaver Hall Hill, only now to No. 313 (originally No. 61), which is apparently right next door to their previous address there. Then the 1927-28 Directory shows another re-numbering, changing Nos 307-313 to Nos 1127[-1129].

Moving things forward a little, J. R. Gaunt & Son (Canada) Ltd continued to be at this second Beaver Hall Hill location until Lovell’s Montreal Directory for 1935-1936, when the streets section has a blank entry next to 1127 Beaver Hall Hill. Instead the Firm are shown at 616 Lagauchetiere West, though in the alphabetic section of the same Directory they are given as still being at “1127 Beaver Hall Hill”. In the one for the following year, 1936-37, however, the alphabetical listing also has “616 Lagauchetiere W”, along with noting that “G. F. Fowler” is the “mgr” [manager].

This is obviously the “Mr Fowler” that John Richard Gaunt talked about in his 1994 Button Lines article on the company history, and who apparently bought the Canadian branch after the death of Charles Frederick Gaunt in 1939. This also fits with the fact that from the 1942 Directory onwards it has “mgr dir” [manager & director] after Mr Fowler’s name. This description, and address listing, continues up to Lovell’s Montreal Directory 1956, Vol. 114, where the format changes somewhat and in the alphabetic section we have J. R. Gaunt & Son (Can) Ltd, “Regalia Mfrs”, still at “616 Lagauch W”, but with G. F. Fowler listed as “pres” [president], alongside “J. R. Gaunt” as “v-pres” [vice-president] and a “Joyce Williams” as “sec-treas” [secretary-treasurer].

The Directory for the next year, 1957, clarifies that the vice-president, “J. R. Gaunt”, is “John R. Gaunt”, meaning that the ties between the old firm back in England and the Canadian business had not, in fact, been complexly broken after Charles’ death in 1939. 1960 Directory has “Joan Rutyn” as the “sec-treas”, though in that of 1961 this has been corrected to “Joan Kutyn”. The alphabetic listing stays like this until the Directory for 1965-66, when they are given as being at “rm 1 616 Lagauch W”, with only “Geo. F. Fowler” shown, though he is still down as “pres”. In that of 1966-67 he is given as “Geo. E. Fowler”, which is how this remains from here on, and in the 1967-68 Directory their address is referred to as “apt 1 616 Lagauch W”, whilst in the Directory of 1968-69 it has “1st fl 616 Lagauch W”.

The following years have minor differences, such as in the 1969-70 Directory Mr Fowler is again noted as “mgr dir”, and in the 1970-71 one his name doesn’t appear but instead we have “Z Kutyn” [probably a mistake for J Kutyn] as “sec-treas”. When we get to Lovell’s Montreal City Directory / Annuaire Montréalais 1971-72, Vol. 129, J. R. Gaunt & Son (Canada) Co. Ltd have a larger entry, stating that they are “Manufacturers of Uniform Equipment for the Army - Navy & Air Force” as well as “Police & Fire Departments - Railways - Bands etc.”, along with doing “Miniature Medals Decorations Silverware”. “Geo. E. Fowler” is down as “Pres & Mng Director”, “J. R.Gaunt” as “Vice-Pres”, and “Joan Kutyn” as “Sec-Treas”, again all still at “616 Lagauchetiere W”.

The 1972-73 Directory entry is much the same, except there have at last been some significant changes, inasmuch as Mr Fowler is only down as “Pres” and we now have a “R. J. Nicholls” as “Mgr Dirctor”, and more so a “L. Boileau” as “Vice-Pres”, in the stead of John Richard Gaunt; though “Joan Kutyn” is still “Sec-Treas”. A year later, in the Directory of 1973-74, the Company, with the same officers, has moved, after some 36 years at 616 Lagauchetiere West, and their new address is “594 Place Trans Canada Longueuil J4G 1P1”. After this things are more difficult to trace, but it seems that J. R. Gaunt & Son (Canada) Ltd were still at 594 Trans Canada Place in the 1984 Banlieues de Montréal / Montreal Suburban “Criss-Cross” L’annuaire Rue-Adresse / Street-Address Directory, but not in the equivalent one for 1985-86; which would seem to tie in with what Bill said about them being bought by Scullys around 1984.

Well, this is about as far as I can personally go with the different addresses for J. R. Gaunt & Son in Canada. Hopefully the above, and my previous postings, will be of use to someone who could perhaps investigate the Company further, either in Montreal or at Birmingham’s Archives? At least what I have discovered has helped to shed a little more light on the Firm’s history in Canada, even if it sadly hasn’t given us an absolute answer to the question of whether they made badges on that side of the Atlantic or not.

Best regards

Martin