This post, his second for us, was written by Rory M., one of our summer students. Rory is a Music major at Brandon University.

Musical instruments across the world carry memories of their players, and the history that they have endured. As a musician myself for most of my life I have always been amazed especially by the story of the instruments in my family; including my 1926 Markneukirchen church violin that was used through the war in a German church near the Czechia border, the 1955 King 3B trombone that was produced and later refurbished by the H.N. White Company in Cleveland Ohio, 1964 Fiddle that belonged to my great-grandfather who played in dance bands across Manitoba, and my great-uncle Malcolm’s Manhattan trumpet, that was transported back to my family following his death in the RCAF as a navigator in 1943. 

Another instrument that always caught my eye during my time thus far as a summer student was the accordion in the personal item section of the main gallery. The accordion is a beautiful work of art and identifiable of Italian origin, and the only identifying information surrounding the accordion is “Soprani”, and an archival tag for our museum. While some staff had an idea of the origin of the instrument and the story of the gentleman who owned it during the war, there was no clear consensus on the exact owner. Following a search in the archives we were able to obtain a series of letters sent in the span of 1941-1942, by RCAF Pilot Officer Ronald Mallett.

His instrument, an E Soprani Accordion is a brand of accordion founded in 1910 in the central Italian town of Castelfidardo. These instruments quickly gained an excellent reputation before the war for their quality of tone and high standard of workmanship. The same traditional production techniques of these instruments have been handed down through the generations of master instrument makers, and are made largely the same in 2025 as they were in the 30s when Ronald would have purchased his instrument. Today, these instruments are still produced in Castelfidardo.

Ronald Mallett was born on October 8th, 1919 in Elkhorn, Manitoba to parents George and Agnes, and had three siblings, Amy, Albert, and Clifford. Following his secondary education at Elkhorn Collegiate, he attended the Chicago School of Air Conditioning and Refrigeration, where he later found employment at the Canada Car and Foundry in Fort William, ON. Ron was working in Fort William until joining the Canadian Army, where he served and trained in Shilo from March to June of 1941. His service in the army then ended when he transferred to the RCAF and began right here in Brandon; attending #2 Manning Depot in Brandon beginning on June 27th, 1941. He is in fact in Jack Taylor’s Barbers Book in the CATPM’s main gallery (see previous blog post on August 30th, 2024), in which he is on page 59 of book 1. Another connection that Ronald has to our museum is that he flew in both the Fairey Battle and Avro Anson, two aircraft that are either in progress or on static display in the CATPM. Following his time in Brandon, Mallett then attended Initial Training School (ITS) in Edmonton where I found a first confirmation of his playing of his accordion, in a letter to his sister Amy.

“Thanks for the sheet of music, It arrived today and I’ll practice it tonight. I have been playing it by ear, but this will help me correct my mistakes. If I continue to get chances to practice at the next station I am going to have a lot of nice pieces to play for you and Joyce to dance to. I bought a book of swell tunes at Saskatoon and have spent quite a little time on them. Yes, I play from taps, also the Boys Good-bye, Apple Blossom Time, Good-bye Dear, I’ll Be Back in a Year, and a few more of the popular ones.”

(Ron Mallet, November 4th, 1941, to sister Amy Forsyth, ITS in Edmonton, AB)

The sheet music for “Apple Blossom Time” by the Andrews Sisters; a popular singing group of the swing era, can be found in the personal items case along with the accordion, and prior to the letters we found, we were not aware that the two items were related to the same man! Following ITS in Edmonton, Mallett attended training in Saskatoon (Secondary Flying Training School), Portage (Air Observer School), and made his final stop in Canadian air training in Canada, at Paulson MB’s Bombing and Gunnery School.

“On the Wed. night of the final week at Portage, we had our Flight Party and it was a huge success. I chorded and led the tunes for the sing-songs and certainly enjoyed myself. The C.O. cracked down and gave us all a surprise by leading much of the singing as well as giving us a few choice English solos.”

(Ron Mallett, February 23rd, 1942, to Family, B&G School in Paulson, MB)

While the extent of Ron’s accordion performance in the RCAF was not formally sponsored, I was able to observe from his letters that his accordion was an avenue for recreation, relaxation, and collective enjoyment among other service members. Ron also had other expertise on other instruments and played both harmonica as well as piano on some of the bases in which he trained. Following the completion of his training, Ron headed overseas to England, where he finished his training in various English sites, including a Personnel Reception Center in Bournemouth, and an Operational Training Unit in Wellesbourne. 

In his letters during this period, Mallett speaks of greater free time after his training for recreation and enjoyment. Throughout this time in England, he spent his day meeting new people through various dances (including mentions of meeting a 22-year-old nurse with whom he attended many) as well as watching films in theatres throughout his time in England. One question, however, remained as months in England passed; how come there is no reference to him playing any accordion in dances or his free time on base? Following further reading of letters home for many months, clarification was provided in a letter dated August 7th, 1942, about three months before his passing. 

“Sadly I’d like to be home this weekend to spend the day and morrow with you folk, and the night. Just to get my hands on that accordion again, would be quite a thrill in itself especially at this station where we quite have a couple of hours in the evening.”

This provided the way that Ron Mallett’s accordion ended up in the hands of the CATPM; it was sent back to Elkhorn to his family following his training in Canada. While we assumed that similarly to my great-uncle’s trumpet it was shipped home following his passing, it never left Canada. Following this letter, Ron spent the remainder of his time preparing for action in various training units, and passed away in a mission over Wellesbourne along with two other Canadians in a Wellington Mark III, on November 30th, 1942. Mallet was posthumously promoted to Flying Officer and was honoured by his Group Captain Commanding as the “very finest type of young man upon whom we are relying to win the war, and I need hardly tell you that he was extremely popular with everyone here. His keenness on his job and his enthusiasm for everything he took in hand were most marked.”

The most important lesson that I draw from the observation of artifacts in the museum is to remember that while every artifact portrays a part of the larger whole of war, they are additionally remnants of young people who grew up in our communities. As we remember the stories of artifacts like the accordion and young men like Ronald Mallett, it is important to remember just as Romanian-American holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel offered, “When you listen to a witness, you become a witness.” The further that we are removed in time from conflicts that affected our history and the freedoms that we observe today, we must not grow desensitized from the tragedy of war; especially as we see hatred and disregard for human life in many ways across the globe. I am grateful for the opportunity to observe history under the access of the CATPM, additional thanks to mallettfamilyhistory.org, for clarifying certain details of his life.