Ted Barris

In the fall of 2001, a man dropped by the original location of the Grenadier Militaria store in Port Perry. It wasn’t long after the store had opened its doors for the first time. Although he didn’t know Dave Zink, the proprietor of the store, Dave Robinson asked a favour. A production (by the Borelians Community Theatre) needed military props and uniforms to authenticate an upcoming show. Robinson, then a history teacher at Port Perry High School, wondered if Zink might loan some of his unique artefacts to the production. Robinson couldn’t believe what happened.

“He said, ‘Yes,’” Robinson said. “And right away, I knew Dave Zink was a valuable asset to the community because he was so supportive.”

Not surprisingly, that was the beginning of a productive relationship between Robinson and Zink. In the years that followed that first favour, Port Perry High School students began making nearly annual trips to Europe so that students could visit and learn about historic Canadian battles of the First and Second World Wars. It was in part inspired by Dave Robinson’s concern that Canadian youth hadn’t touched the stories of Canada’s military past, nor had the stories touched the students.

Overnight, Dave Zink made the resources of his Grenadier Militaria shop and his own circle of university professors, history buffs and authors available to as many students as he could. In 2003, Port Perry students travelled to Normandy for the 60th anniversary of D-Day. In 2007 they attended the 90th anniversary of the Battle at Vimy Ridge. The next year it was attending the liberation anniversary in Ortona, Italy. Almost invisibly Dave Zink facilitated all those historical tours.

“Dave helped us by providing material for books we created,” Robinson said. “He helped us with fundraising and by donating things from his collections. He put us in contact with Canadian authors like Mark Zuehlke and Norm Christie… Dave’s passion for his country is so genuine and so subtle.”

Zink hasn’t been a military buff all his life. In the 1960s he was a golf pro for, among others, the Bowmanville Golf Club. In the 1970s, a cigarette manufacturer decided to initiate a Canadian professional golf tour. The event needed a pro and (based on his credentials) invited Zink to manage the Peter Jackson Canadian Professional Golf Association tour; eventually he became the tour’s national director. During that time, he befriended Charles (Chick) McGregor, formerly a regular in the Canadian Armed Forces. Chick happened to collect military cap badges and often attended auctions to get them. Occasionally Zink joined McGregor and the seed was planted.

“He got interested particularly in the British regiments,” McGregor said. “He got to painting miniatures (toy soldiers)… and his interest expanded to medals, uniforms… and a book store.”

That’s how I met Dave Zink. During the time those Port Perry students were getting a helping hand from history teacher Robinson and military memorabilia collector Zink, I was researching the Canadian D-Day story. Without prompting, he invited me to peruse his massive book collection and – like a reference librarian – he guided me to every shred of Canadian information he could find.

He staged an autographing and book launch in the store when my book was published. During that period, we staged a meet-the-veterans event, when high school students met Charley Fox, a decorated Spitfire pilot, and George MacDonnell, a survivor of the siege at Hong Kong. Almost stealing the show, however, was the inclusion of an actual Victoria Cross medal, which Dave Zink arranged to borrow (under police escort) from the Royal Canadian Military Institute in Toronto – just for the evening!

“He is always helpful to anybody trying to trace their military heritage,” says Gary Roncetti, former captain with Scarborough firefighters.

Roncetti, a military author and history buff in his own right, has routinely visited Grenadier Militaria over the years. He was one of an army of volunteers who helped Dave Zink move his immense collection from the original storefront to its current home, in the Port Perry War Memorial Library next to the Reflection Park. On most weekends, Roncetti is among the regulars browsing and exchanging military information at Zink’s store.

“The moment somebody walks in the store looking for military information, Dave is on his computer searching for family service records,” Roncetti said. “He just loves Canadian history.”

This country is often accused of understating its heritage – military and otherwise. It’s not in Canadians’ nature to wave flags or shout about their accomplishments. It just tends to surface during the Olympics, when “O Canada” is sung, or during the fireworks on July 1. So, as Canada Day approaches, I believe it’s appropriate to acknowledge and thank an individual who exhibits what’s remarkable about Canadians – being supportive of others, sharing knowledge of the country’s heritage and being passionate in a subtle way.

“You don’t have to be Don Cherry-like in your devotion to your country,” Dave Robinson said. “Dave Zink embodies all that is best about Canada.”