Canada Post is being asked to recognize Nova Scotia veteran who performed in drag - Action News
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Nova Scotia

Canada Post is being asked to recognize Nova Scotia veteran who performed in drag

Ross Hamilton of Pugwash, N.S., was deployed in both the First World War and the Second World War. He was known for playing a female character on stage named Marjorie. A Halifax woman has submitted an application to put Hamilton on a stamp.

Ross Hamilton was deployed in both WW I and WW 2

A woman sits on a chair. A man stands in front of a tree.
Ross Hamilton served in the First World War and Second World War and was known for playing a female character named Marjorie. The left photo shows Hamilton dressed as Marjorie, the photo on the right shows him in uniform. (Veterans Affairs Canada)

A Halifax woman has submitted an application to Canada Post to have a Pugwash, N.S., veteran who entertained as a female impersonator during the First World War and Second World Warcommemorated on a stamp.

The veteran, Ross Hamilton, was known for his singing talents and for the female character he played, Marjorie.

According to Veterans Affairs Canada, Ross was quietly discharged for "reasons other than medical," which it said was a reason the military gave for releasing service members in the LGBTQ community.

"I think that Ross deserves to be nationally recognized and that's why I submitted his story for a [Canada Post] stamp" Mieke van Vulpen told Mainstreet Halifax on Friday.

Hamilton enlisted in the Canadian Army Medical Corp as an ambulance driver.

Queer historian and researcher Sarah Worthmantold CBC in 2023 that Hamilton created Marjorie in April 1917 on the Road to Vimy Ridge. Marjorie was part of a concert troupe called the Dumbellsand her dress was made out of tent canvas, beads from rosaries and feathers from pillows.

"In the Dumbells, yes, Ross was Marjorie and he always played that character for the troops and Marjorie was incredibly popular and, for many of those soldiers, Marjorie wasn't just a character. Marjorie was a believable woman standing in front of them," van Vulpen said.

Marjorie boosted troop morale

After the First World War, Hamilton performed as Marjorie on Broadway.

He enlisted for the Second World War to serve as a performer, but was outed to military officials after one of his shows and was dismissed, Worthman told CBC. He came back to Nova Scotia after that and died in 1965 at age 76.

Van Vulpen told Mainstreetshe found out about Hamilton from her father's family. They had settled just outside Pugwashin 1952, and Hamilton was a neighbour who became like a "surrogate uncle" to the family.

Ross Hamilton dressed in character as Marjorie in the 1920s.
Ross Hamilton in drag as Marjorie. (Nova Scotia Archives)

"He was incredibly kind and generous and friendly and just a really lovely person," van Vulpen said."Dad still remembers his big booming laugh."

Van Vulpen said her father once had a chance to see Hamilton perform as Marjorie in Pugwashat the Gathering of the Clans in thelate 1950s or early 1960s.

World War I concert troupe The Dumbells are pictured in the 1920s.
Marjorie, far right, is shown with her concert troupe, The Dumbells. (Nova Scotia Archives)

Support needed for stamp

"So he was on stage, he was dressed as Marjorie, and Dad said it was a packed crowd and it was amazing," van Vulpen said.

Van Vulpenbelieves Ross was wronged on a professional level and that he should be known on a national level for his achievements and remembered for being a good neighbour.

She has submitted an application to get the ball rolling on getting Hamilton on a stamp. Now she's asking the public to support the nomination bysending a postcard or letter endorsing him for a Canadianstamp.

Role of female impersonators during war

"Many of us grew up knowing nothing about Ross and ... he should be celebrated. He was fascinating," she said.

Dan MacKay, an amateur historian in the Halifax queer community for the last 40 years, agrees Hamilton's legacy should be commemorated.

"The role of female impersonators during war times hasn't been well explored at all and maybe it'll make people think about that a little because that was a long-time tradition," MacKay said. "Perhaps for men who were gay or people who were trans, that role gave them an opportunity to live a more valid life than a life living entirely in the closet."

Ross Hamilton provided comfort and a blessed distraction to Canadian soldiers before some of the deadliest battles of World War One. But in World War Two, the Canadian military discharged him for being gay. Host Jeff Douglas spoke with Mieke van Vulpen who would like to see Hamilton commemorated on a Canada Post stamp.

WWI entertainers remember "young lady" Ross Hamilton in 1965

59 years ago
Duration 5:09
Two members of the Dumbells recall Hamilton's unforgettable contribution to the troupe as a female character. Aired June 6, 1965 on CBC's Camera Canada.

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With files from Mainstreet Halifax and Peter Knegt