Brutinel finally gets his due

By all accounts, Raymond Brutinel was a man who knew how to take matters into his own hands. Indeed, there was seemingly nothing he couldn't do. The worldly polymath must have had a business card so long that he would have required some deep, deep pockets just to carry them around.

Variously, he was a sailor, soldier, man at arms, father, journalist, surveyor, speculator, architect, electrical engineer, businessman, mine operator, railway builder, real estate investor, military tactician, fencing instructor, commander, banker, resistance organizer, vintner, farmer, rancher and writer.

And many people haven't even heard of him. What's more: he lived right here in St. Albert.

"I think it's important to recognize his contributions. The guy is considered to be the Father of Modern Mechanized Warfare. That's a pretty big title. I'd like to get him better known," suggested local historian Juliette Champagne.

All that, according to the new exhibits called Brigadier-General Raymond Brutinel and the Motor Machine Gun Brigade, now on display at the Musée Héritage Museum. It gives a broad (albeit a bit perfunctory) overview of the many facets of this fascinating individual's life and his many, many accomplishments.

In his many entrepreneurial adventures, he was the world affairs columnist and editor of Le Courrier de l'Ouest, Alberta's first French language newspaper. He also discovered vast coal deposits in an area of Alberta that became known as The Coal Branch. His position as the administrator of the Lovett Mine was what made him into a millionaire.

He even aspired to set up a power plant in this town but that was voted down. Despite his own success in prospecting for coal deposits around the province, he once even dug a mine here in search of a close-by vein.

"He dug a big pit. He ended up with nothing in there. His pit was really deep and it was a dud."

He advocated for and spearheaded the Edmonton Interurban Railway, a faster and more efficient commuter connection from then-called Piron Street to the vicinity of 124 Street and 118 Avenue, making plans to extend it to link up with Fort Saskatchewan, Morinville and Legal. It was close enough to his house – big and modern, according to Champagne – that sat at the top of Green Grove Drive.

"He probably never lived in it very much. He kept his horses there. When they were working on the prospecting of the [Grand Trunk] line for minerals, he had to have horses. You could imagine: they didn't have a railroad to go to the railroad."

That was in 1913. He also dreamed up a road that would circumnavigate Edmonton, something that might be considered akin to an early version of the Anthony Henday Drive.

"He was a really clever, open-minded guy … a progressive thinker," Champagne continued.

An unfortunate fire led to the Interurban's demise the very next year, however, and it was never to be resurrected. But then the First World War started. He gave up the trains but kept his interest in transportation, becoming the driving force in a major war effort called the Canadian Motor Machine Gun Brigade. His idea was to establish a fleet of armed and armored vehicles to assist Canadian forces serving in forward areas. He used some of his own fortune to fund the armada, convincing other wealthy families to contribute as well.

Brutinel's Brigade consisted of several of these armoured cars, plus a handful of command liaison vehicles, supply trucks, service trucks, an ambulance, 17 motorcycles, almost as many bicycles, and Brutinel's own vehicle. Yes, he fought on the battlefields as well. He was still a French citizen and a reservist for that country's army so he had to obtain special permission from governments of both France and Canada in order to serve under our banner. The brigade proved to be instrumental in offering much needed support to ground troops facing intense German advances.

"He funded and created this whole Motor Machine Gun Brigade. And then he had to take it over to England and then into France and prove how useful this was to plug up the holes and wait for reinforcements," explained Shari Strachan, the museum's director.

That wasn't his only innovative and acclaimed contribution to the war effort. Because of his vast knowledge of military history and strategy, he promoted a tactic called indirect fire, something he picked up by studying the Japanese during the Sino-Russian War of 1904.

By 1918, Brigadier-General Brutinel was in full command of the Canadian Machine Gun Corps including 11 motor machine gun batteries, four machine gun battalions and nearly 9,000 soldiers.

He later moved back to the south of France. In the Second World War, he asked the Canadian government if they again required his substantial services. For some reason, they refused.

"They didn't want him back, so he starts a resistance movement," Strachan added. "He was a part of the French Resistance. He was in control of a whole region, right under the German noses. They were using some of his chateaus to live in. He was just an amazing man."

In the summer of 1945, he once played host to Sir Winston Churchill who was in need of some rest and relaxation on his way to the Potsdam Conference where he met with Stalin and Truman.

Sunday marked the 50th anniversary of his passing.

Between the covers

This exhibit really skims the surface, however. For a more comprehensive look into the man and his accomplishments, one simply must read the book. Arts and Heritage St. Albert recently published Brutinel: The Extraordinary Story of a French Citizen Brigadier-General in the Canadian Army to tell the larger tale.

Dominique and Jacques Baylaucq, two French brothers who had a close family relationship with Brutinel, wrote the book, which includes transcripts of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation interviews with Brutinel regarding his service during the First World War.

"One of their biggest concerns was that this man had disappeared in the eyes of history in Canada and in the United Kingdom and in France. This is a man who had won awards from the French government, from the Italian government. He was just a fascinating man," Strachan said.

She said that the authors made an offer to curator Joanne White during their discussions. Make that two offers.

"She got talking with these two brothers (who are getting on in age), they actually offered the book to us and said, 'If you want to publish it, that would be great.' Then they also said, 'We have some of his original documents. We have his original pictures.' They donated them to the museum. That's become part of our collection here, which is really interesting. It's really neat."

The book is published in both its original French and its English translation.

To go even further, interested members of the public are invited to attend a special talk on Saturday at the museum.

The two historians will present their talk on Sept. 27 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the St. Albert Public Library. Champagne and Matthews will offer historical, cultural and military perspectives on the individual who was such a prominent figure in local, Albertan, Canadian and international events whose name remains largely unheard of in the history books.

The presenters also collaborated on an article on Brutinel that will be published by the University of Calgary Press in the coming months.

A reception and tour of the exhibit will follow at the Musée Héritage Museum. Books (in both English and French) will also be available for purchase. Please call the library at 780-459-1682 to pre-register.