History of the Kawartha Kavaliers

by John Cragg

The Kawartha Kavaliers were formed in 1957 when a group of young musicians left the local militia regiment known as the “33 Medium Regiment, 45th Battery, Royal Canadian Artillery” to pursue new and different musical interests. They gained a respected reputation as they played in many parades and concerts throughout the county in the early years.

The very first uniform worn on parade in Bowanville, on July 12, 1957, was black shoes, black pants, white T-shirt, dark blue denim type jacket with large shield type crest on left breast. These jackets were still being worn by the Color Guard at Cannington, which had introduced white bucks and homemade corps hats in red and white, as posted in the gallery.

The horn line and drum line had switched to black shoes, black pants, white satin cummerbund, red sweaters, pith helmets. The cummerbunds were made by a few parents of members, the shirts were purchased from Henry Houser Men’s’ Wear, and the blue jackets came from Jake Houser Men’s’ Wear. The pith helmets were purchased from Whites Army Surplus and came in light khaki color. They were laid out on long planks in the garage at Craggs’ Box Lunch and painted red and white. However they soon acquired the highly recognizable uniform of black and gold cavalier type shirt with black pants and a gold stripe and of course the cavalier hat topped with a gold plume.

During the sixties in Senior B class competition, The Kavaliers went on the field and in parades -vs- Kingston Grenadiers, Smith Falls Lamplighters, K-W Flying Dutchmen, Woodstock Imperials, Port Dalhousie Guardsmen, Sudbury Knights.

In 1967 The Kavaliers won the Ontario and Canadian Senior B Drum Corps Championships. When they moved up to Senior A (1968) in competition with The Ambassadors, The Jolly Jesters, and The Royalaires. The American corps’ were during the Red Carpet Association / DCA days . After a short rebuilding period they were back on the field in 1972 competing in the RCA, (Red Carpet Association) and holding our their own against the likes of The Kingston Grenadiers, The Guelph Royalaires, The Sudbury Imperial Knights, The Pittsburgh Rockets, The Erie Thunderbirds, The Dunkirk Patriots, The Johnsonburg Diplomats, just to name a few.

The Kavaliers have won many awards throughout their proud history including many best band on parade awards, and best drum line in field competition.

The Kavaliers have performed all over Canada and the United States, in parades, and concerts, such as the CFL Grey Cup Parade and half time show, and also Disney World, Florida. They took part in a charity concert held at Hamilton Place in Hamilton, Ontario, on Nov, 10 ,2001 for the relief effort of the victims of the 9-11 disaster.

All the members of the corps are proud to carry the title of Ambassadors of the Town of Lindsay and some travel a great distance each year to practices, parades and shows .The Corps is well known for the exciting music they play and of course their trade mark black and gold uniforms.

In 2007 The Kavaliers celebrated their Golden Anniversary. Many of the Alumni joined together to help celebrate 50 years of Music and Friendship.