Drummer boy’s break can’t be beat
Budding historian will re-enact Battle of Waterloo in Belgium
Julia Seager-Scott knows her son, Ethan, is just a few hours away from “a once in a lifetime” experience.
On Friday, the drummer from Toronto will join 5,000 people from around the world on a battlefield in Belgium as they re-enact the historical Battle of Wa- terloo. “He’s12, and most of the drummers of this time period were very young boys. So he’s the actual age that a real drummer would have been in this battle,” Seager-Scott told the Star.
Drumming since age 6, Ethan said he began tapping out beats on the floor and tables before graduating to drumkits.
Now, he’s a member of the Drums Crown Forces 1812, a group of musicians that usually joins re-enactments from the War of 1812.
The group meets once a week. “It’s more conspicuous if the drummers make a mistake, so we have to really keep it up,” Ethan said.
Ethan first became interested in the historical period after he visited Fort York on the war’s 200th anniversary three years ago.
“They had all these demonstrations . . . and he was completely smitten,” his mother said.
Last June, Ethan had his first experience with re-enactments at the fort, and the family even bought him a War of 1812 costume for his 11th birthday. Now, Ethan said, he participates in almost 20 re-enactments a year.
“He’s hilarious. He wears his costume in public and thinks it’s awesome,” Seager-Scott said, laughing. “It’s a weird crazy interest. But if your kid is passionate about something, you just want him to do it.”
Thursday marked the 200th anniversary of the1815 Battle of Waterloo, which signalled the end of France’s domination of Europe.
After about nine hours on the battlefield, France’s Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated by forces led by Britain’s Duke of Wellington near the town of Waterloo, Belgium. The drummers, Seager-Scott explained, served an important purpose during the fighting.
“The general will say, ‘Prepare to fire!’ and the drummer will have to beat a special beating on the drum,” she said. “They are a huge part of the battle. They actually have to be giving the signals of what to do when.”
Greg Scott, Ethan’s father, travelled with him to Belgium for the two-day re-enactment, set to begin Friday morning. Of the 5,000 people expected to participate, Ethan’s group is the only musical regiment among the forces opposing Napoleon, he said.
Scott told the Star that he was expecting “a lot of firepower, lots of big explosions” when he watches from the stands. “There are going to be horses and cannons and lots of muskets,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity for (Ethan) to do something that he really loves.”
Ethan, who wanted to come on the trip since hearing about it a year ago, said he is excited about participating in a re-enactment of such a large scale, though he cited both “eating waffles and skipping school” as major draws of the trip.
In the dress rehearsal on Thursday, Ethan joined in a three-hour drilling session for his role in the 49th regimen. Though tiring, Ethan said the trip will “definitely be worth it.”
Seager-Scott, herself a musician who plays the harp in Stratford, Ont., agreed.
“He will never forget the Napoleonic wars or the War of1812 or any of the events. He knows so much detail about all the uniforms and the weapons and the drumming,” she said.
“It’s incredible. It really is. It’s such an experience to actually live it.” With files from Holly Honderich