Ontario Regiment Museum receives international award

Oshawa’s Ontario Regiment Museum has entered into some prestigious company.

The museum is the recipient of the 2019 Jacques Littlefield Award for Preservation and Education Excellence.

Presented by the Military Vehicle Preservation Association (MVPA), the award recognizes an institution or organization which helps visitors to understand and    appreciate historic military vehicles and artifacts.

The MVPA is an international historic military vehicle organization.

It aims to promote, preserve, restore, and share historic military vehicles. It includes more than 10,000 members and 100 affiliate organizations around the world.

According to museum executive director Jeremy Blowers, it is one of only two Canadian museums to receive the honour.

The other was the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.

“We are very pleased to receive the Littlefield Award from the MVPA and be recognized at this level,” Blowers said. “Our museum volunteers spend countless hours restoring, maintaining, and operating our fleet of historic military vehicles. Being recognized beyond our borders and by the international military vehicle community is a testament to their hard work and effort.”

The award is named after the founder of the Military Vehicle Technology Foundation, Jacques Littlefield.

The Military Vehicle Technology Foundation is one of the world’s largest private collections of armoured military vehicles.

Award recipients receive recognition for attention to detail in the preservation, restoration and display of vehicles and artifacts.

This includes historical accuracy and context, quality of craftsmanship, and an accessible environment for learning.

The recipient must also respect and protect the historical value and integrity of vehicles.