Gordon Bruce Okill Stuart (Okill to us) was born in Montreal in 1921, descended from an old and distinguished Loyalist family. He attended Bishop's College School in Lennoxville, Quebec, until 1937, when he transferred to Gordonstoun School in Scotland, which he attended along with HRH the Prince Philip.
Military Service At the beginning of the war, Okill joined the 14th Field Regiment of the Royal Canadian Artillery, serving as a Bombardier. After training in the U.K., he landed in Normandy on D-Day with the 3rd Canadian Division. He served with the 14th Field for the remainder of the war, including the liberation of the Netherlands. His wartime service has since remained very important to Okill, especially in his efforts to preserve the memory of veterans. He has been an enthusiastic supporter of the Juno Beach Centre in Normandy and of the new Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.
Occupation After the war, Okill went into the real estate business, establishing the firm of Okill Stuart, Inc., doing business in St. Lambert, Quebec and the South Shore area generally.
Heraldry Okill had inherited from various family members many articles of crested silverware and china. These had given him an interest in heraldry – but without the time to follow it up. Upon his retirement in 1989, therefore, he joined what was then the Heraldry Society of Canada. Almost at once, his amazing organizational talents came to the fore. He became the chairman of the Society's very first Annual Conference, taking place in Montreal in 1992, a task he repeated in the subsequent Conferences in 1996 and 2003. He was involved in the organization of the International Genealogical and Heraldic Conference, held in Ottawa in 1996. He became President of the Laurentian Branch in 1997 and a Director of the Society the following year. He was granted arms in 2000 and in the same year was made an Honorary Fellow of the Society. He finally retired from the Board in 2007. Quite a career after retirement!
Laurentian Branch However, it was as President of the Laurentian Branch that Okill's organizational skills were most evident. He built the Branch into one of the most effective in the Society by a technique he calls “networking”. This involved working in concert with other like-minded groups and organizing social events in conjunction with them – thus often building memberships in both organizations. An example would be the Laurentian Branch charitable Christmas dinner that he organized annually in partnership with the Order of Saint John.
Other Interests To list all of Okill's other interests and organizations would take up a whole journal, so I will only mention a few. He is a past Dominion President of the UEL Association of Canada. He was for many years Officer Commanding the Fort St. Helen's garrison of the re-raised 78th Fraser Highlanders, and it was in that role that he arranged a visit of the Frasers to Britain in 2004, including a private military performance for HM the Queen and Prince Philip. He is (or has been) involved in numerous other community groups, all of whom report the same thing: Okill never just joins – he always works.
Latest Honour Okill visited France in June to attend the 65th anniversary of the D-Day landings, representing Cliff Chadderton, chairman of the National Council of Veterans' Associations of Canada, who was unable to attend. To his amazement, he found himself marshalled in front of the French President and being presented with France's highest award, the Légion d'Honneur (see illustration above) – a richly deserved decoration.
Today What has Okill brought to the RHSC? Certainly his leadership and organizational skills. But perhaps his greatest talent has been his ability to get on with people, his wonderful sense of humour and his reputation as a “character”. He is much missed from the Board of Directors, but continues as an active and vigorous member of our Society.