Order of Canada designer was also a recipient
Beatty more than simple graphic artist
By Dave Brown,
Ottawa Citizen
May 16, 2011
LINK
An old soldier with a unique connection to the Order of Canada and 70 years of service to his country faded away March 21, his passing unnoticed.
Bruce W. Beatty was 88.
He was the man officialdom, including a long list of governors general, turned to when it had to find its way through the mysterious maze of diplomatic and political protocol, military traditions and medals, and coats of arms.
In 1990, his name appeared on the 73-name list of recipients of the Order of Canada, which included near the top the likes of Yousuf Karsh, Conrad Black and Galen Weston. Well down the list and on the same line as Bryan Adams, singer, was "Bruce Beatty, graphic artist."
Had the job description been expanded, it could have pointed out he was the man prime minister Lester Pearson turned to in 1966, asking him to design a medal suitable for the new honours he was initiating and would call The Order of Canada. He was also the calligraphy expert who, over the years, would fill out the hundreds of scrolls accompanying such high honours.
At the investiture ceremony at Government House in 1990, when Beatty's name was called and he walked to the front resplendent in his RCAF veteran's blazer with its impressive bar of medals, governor general Ray Hnatyshyn draped the beribboned and familiar snowflake design over his shoulders.
What made the veteran airman unique was that he was the only recipient who could have touched his medal before it was formally presented, and he was in a position to fill out his own scroll.
Putting the presentations in proper order and making certain there were no embarrassing slip-ups was what he excelled at.
Born in Tisdale, Sask., Beatty joined the air force in 1941 and trained as an air observer.
He stayed in the military for 29 years and, on release, joined the Directorate of Ceremonial at National Defence Headquarters.
He carried the title "graphic artist" and would design hundreds of badges, medals, pennants, flags and coats of arms. At the same time he served as a captain of militia (30th Field Regiment) and was curator of the unit's artillery museum.
He also volunteered to work with army cadets through the 1970s, first as quartermaster, and became commander of a local unit.
In 1972, he joined the Chancellery of Canadian Orders and Decorations. His design skills created the Order of Military Merit, the Canadian Order of Merit, bravery decorations and many other medals.
He was called on for designs to mark royal visits and create heraldic shields for prominent families. He couldn't handle all the requests, and turned many away.
In 1989, he designed the first official flag of the Ottawa Police Service, and it's still in use.
When age was starting to wear him down, he stayed busy, claiming with a trademark charming grin: "A man needs a hobby to keep him out of the beer parlour."
Most of his designs, he once said, were to him "popcorn."
The ones that counted were the ones that had to be approved by The Queen. He referred to her as "the boss." His skill in the field of heraldry brought him endless calls to design company logos, most of which he turned down. He said: "Sometimes I wish people didn't know me."
Although the Order of Canada was his most famous medal, he said all medals were outranked by the Victoria Cross. He used a quote he said wasn't original, but belonged to an unknown, he said: "You have to bleed for that one."
Over the years, the walls of Beatty's office disappeared under a blanket of medals, ribbons, badges and lapel pins.
A reporter who visited his office in 1989 said there wasn't room on the walls for another medal. Many parts of his collection were from other countries, but Beatty could name every one, and give a visitor a brief history of each.
People who know about such things said Beatty had the finest collection of medals in North America.
After the war he was stationed in Metz, France, and there met and married his wife, Nellie. They moved to Ottawa in 1950, and raised three children. She said last week letters of condolence were sent by all living governors general, including Gov. Gen. David Johnston.
brady.brown@bell.net
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen
