DISNEY ON DISPLAY
Mickey Mouse stuff in Surrey
David Lesjak has two passions: the Second World War and Disney collectibles. And he showcases both in a new exhibition of historic Disneyana at the Surrey Museum.
The Walt Disney Company was very active during the war, designing artwork for the military and home front.
A good example is a fabulous insignia Disney did of a Canadian beaver biting the tail off a German U-boat.
It was done for the corvette HMCS Forest Hill, and alludes to the ship’s job patrolling the waters off the east coast.
Lesjak also has a booklet of saving stamps for a Victory Loan campaign that features Mickey Mouse stirring a “war savings” cauldron over top of a fire that Donald Duck is fuelling with a log labelled “loan.”
The most intriguing item might be a Mickey Mouse gas mask that was designed for British children in 1941, when German planes were bombing England.
“It’s a cylindrical canister made out of metal,” explains Lesjak, who has written a book, Service With Character, about Disney’s role in the Second World War.
“The top pops off and on the inside it contained a child’s gas mask. There are little eyelets on the side of this tin and you would hook a string into it so the kids could carry it around everywhere they went. They were distributed during the Blitz.
“On the outside it’s got Disney characters, and Mickey Mouse is actually putting on a gas mask. His three nephews (are with him).
“One of them is scared, and the other two are saying it’s OK it’s only Mickey Mouse, don’t worry about it.”
Only a few Mickey Mouse gas masks were made in England — the design was kiboshed when the government decreed all metal was to be used for war material. Lesjak says he knows of only five or six that exist.
“I paid about $300 American for it, and I wouldn’t sell it for less than $2,000,” said the 53-yearold, who owns about 550 Disney items.
The Disney display was put together by the Southwest British Columbia chapter of the Disneyana fan club, an organization of Disney fanatics that stretches around the globe.
Lesjak was the curator, and supplied most of the material on display. He’s so knowledgeable about Mickey Mouse and company Walt Disney’s late daughter Diane hired him to work for the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco.
The Surrey show includes several photos spanning Walt Disney’s life, including several shots of Disney as a 17-year-old Red Cross volunteer in the First World War.
There is Disneyland china, sheet music for Disney’s hilarious antiHitler song Der Fuehrer’s Face, and a 1960s company directory that includes Walt Disney’s direct office number.
There is also a big display of 1930s Mickey Mouse Club items.
“Everyone’s familiar with the 1955 Mickey Mouse Club that was on TV and had Annette Funicello and Cubby and Sharon,” said Lesjak, whose day job is with WorkSafeBC.
“But there was a precursor formed in 1930, and by the mid1930s it had more members than the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts combined. It actually boasted a membership of over a million kids.”
The exhibit is open now, but the grand opening is Friday. Surrey Museum is located at 17710 - 56A Ave. in Cloverdale. It is open from Tuesday to Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and on Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.