Artifacts to remember: Militaria Expo in East St. Paul

A collection of headdresses is displayed at the Militaria Expo at Henderson Royal Canadian Legion Branch 215 in East St. Paul, Man., on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025. (Daniel Timmerman/CTV News Winnipeg)

Three experts were on the table at the Henderson Royal Canadian Legion 215 in East St. Paul to help identify military heirlooms on Sunday.

The Manitoba chapter of the Military Collectors Club of Canada hosted the Militaria Expo, offering a chance to connect with military history.

“We thought it would be fun to invite people in for identification of their heirlooms, sort of like the antique roadshow style, where there’s no pressure and they can bring in their artifacts and talk to people who would know about them,” co-organizer Jaime Cline explained the narrative behind the show.

Jill Aggelopoulos brought a bayonet from Greece and a German military helmet, with her husband Gus bringing a gas mask from 1942 and a flask from the first World War.

“I learned that these were made for the second war but there wasn’t really a gas issue for soldiers like in the first war,” Aggelopoulos said. “The bayonet was actually French, even though it came from the attic of a little Greek house in rural Greece.”

In addition to identification, members of the club displayed their own personal collections.

“There’s a little bit of everything. We’ve got displays of military buttons, Manitoba military history, naval history, a lot of World War II,” Cline said. “There’s a gentleman who’s got a whole medical scene set up. There’s a gentleman who has some of his deactivated World War II weapons here as well.”

Cline said the importance of displaying such collections can help to “remember the sacrifices that were put on.”

“If you don’t put this on display, it’s forgotten and it’s better to be on display than in a basement.”