Brian Craig Cuthbertson

Cuthbertson, Brian Craig Uniacke, PhD, Major (retired), historian, researcher and author, died on July 15, 2023, age 87.

The eldest son of Prof. Arnold Cuthbertson and Eileen Cuthbertson, Brian was brought up in Sackville, N.B. He served in the Army Reserve Force as a teenager, and in the Regular Force while attending McGill University, where he obtained his BA, and the University of New Brunswick, where he received his MA. After graduating, he continued his army career as a proud member of the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment of Canada). His military career took him to many parts of Canada and Europe, and he especially enjoyed Staff College in India, where he developed an interest in oriental carpets.

After retiring from the army in 1970, Brian studied for his PhD in war studies at the University of London, England. There he started collecting antique maps and prints of the Atlantic provinces, and he also met his wife, Lindsay MacDonell. After their marriage in 1974, they settled in Halifax, where Brian held a position at the Public Archives of Nova Scotia for 10 years. He subsequently became head of the Nova Scotia Provincial Heritage Unit, until 1995.

His writing career started early with the publication in book form of his PhD and MA theses, the latter of which was a biography of Richard John Uniacke (The Old Attorney General), from whom he was descended on his mother’s side. Brian continued researching and writing into his 80s when Alzheimer’s disease intervened. While most of his work focussed on Nova Scotia, he spent several years researching Indigenous land claims in New Brunswick. His last book – Stubborn Resistance: New Brunswick Maliseet and Mi’kmaq in defence of their lands – stemmed from some of this research.

Despite a busy career and family life, Brian was a long-time member of various organizations, and was the volunteer editor of the Journal of the Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society for 19 years.

Brian loved to swim at the Waegwoltic Club, he took up squash again in his late 70s, and he walked everywhere. He was a devoted family man and will be greatly missed.

He is survived by wife Lindsday, son Richard, daughter-in-law Mary-Catherine McIntosh, grandchildren Joe and Kitty, his brother David and three nieces. He was predeceased by his daughter, Lucy, in 2005, and by his brother Nicholas.

A funeral service will be held Saturday, July 29, at 10 a.m. at the Cathedral Church of All Saints, 1330 Cathedral Lane, Halifax.

Donations can be made to the Lucy Cuthbertson Memorial Fund, which helps cover riding fees for students in need at the Halifax Lancers. More information can be found at www.halifaxlancers.com/the-lucy-cuthberston-fund.

Brian’s family would especially like to thank all the staff at V3W, Veterans Memorial Building, Camp Hill, for their wonderful care, and the Halifax Infirmary neurology unit.