Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

Ian Simon Fraser is a leading producer of large-scale

military tattoo A military tattoo is a performance of music or display of armed forces in general. The term comes from the early 17th-century Dutch phrase ''doe den tap toe'' ("turn off the tap"), a signal sounded by drummers or trumpeters to instruct innkeeper ...

s and events in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and overseas.

Biography

Born in 1932, Fraser served in the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also res ...

and

Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Forc ...

from 1952 to 1983, retiring with the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

, having had regimental service with

The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada , colors = , march = Quick: " Hielan' Laddie"Slow: "The Red Hackle" , mascot = , battles = Second Boer WarFirst World WarSecond World War War in Afg ...

, The Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR) and the Canadian Airborne Regiment. Fraser was commanding officer of 2RCR, the Canadian School of Infantry and the Canadian Airborne Regiment, and during his military career served in Canada,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

. Fraser is also a graduate of the Indian

Defence Services Staff College , motto_lang = sa , mottoeng = ''To War with Wisdom'' , established = (as the ''Army Staff College'', Deolali) , type = Defence Service Training Institute , affiliation = , endowment = , administrative_staff = , faculty = , pres ...

and the Canadian National Defence College. After producing a small scale Tattoo in the late 1950s, in 1962 Fraser was recruited as the Producer/Director of the Canadian Tattoo for the Seattle World's Fair. In 1967 he was then chosen to write, produce and direct the Canadian Armed Forces Centennial Tattoo 1967. The Centennial Tattoo remains the world's largest ever touring production, touring across Canada from April to November 1967, and presented in 44 locations covering every Canadian province. In 1979, Fraser produced and directed the first Nova Scotia Tattoo, to mark the first International Gathering of the Clans outside

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. The event was attended and opened by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. The

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

Tattoo has since been held annually, becoming known as the

Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo The Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo is a show inspired by Military Tattoos given by military bands and display teams. It has taken place annually in Nova Scotia's capital, Halifax since 1979. It is currently held in the Halifax Scotiabank ...

, following the royal designation bestowed upon the event in 2006 by Queen Elizabeth II on the occasion of the 80th birthday. Fraser remained producer/director until 2007, when he passed the role of producer on to CEO Ann Montague. Fraser remained artistic director of the show, until taking a consulting role then retiring from the production in 2016. In addition to his work in

, Fraser has acted as a consultant for a variety of additional productions in Canada, Australia,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, producing and directing over 1000 shows throughout his career. Fraser has also written plays for the

Canadian Broadcasting Company The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government ...

(CBC), authored a number of books, and been the recipient of numerous awards including the Order of Military Merit, the

Canadian Forces Decoration The Canadian Forces' Decoration (post-nominal letters "CD") is a Canadian award bestowed upon members of the Canadian Armed Forces who have completed twelve years of military service, with certain conditions. By convention, it is also given to t ...

and the

Order of Nova Scotia The Order of Nova Scotia (french: Ordre de la Nouvelle-Écosse) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Instituted on August 2, 2001, when Lieutenant Governor Myra Freeman granted Royal Assent to the Order of Nova ...

. In 2001 Fraser was granted a Doctor of Civil Laws, Honoris Causa, from

Acadia University Acadia University is a public, predominantly undergraduate university located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, with some graduate programs at the master's level and one at the doctoral level. The enabling legislation consists of the Acadia ...

References

Seattle Times, 22 September 1964 Ottawa Citizen, 25 August 1965 The Brandon Sun, 1 September 1965 Wainwright Star Chronicle, 1 September 1965 The Atlantic Advocate, October 1965 Weekend Magazine #36, 1966 The Sentinel Magazine, May 1966 Montreal Star, 20 June 1966 Toronto Daily Star, 30 July 1966 Pictou Gazette February 1976 Globe and Mail, 25 March 1967 Toronto Telegram, 25 March 1967 The Yukon News, 4 April 1967 Toronto Daily Star, 24 June 1967 Vancouver Life, July 1967 Saint Catherine's Standard, 7 July 1967 Le Droit, 14 August 1967 Ottawa Journal, 17 August 1967 Ottawa Citizen, 18 August 1967 Ottawa Journal, 21 August 1967 The Toronto Daily Star, 29 August 1967 The Toronto Telegram, 29 August 1967 The Toronto Telegram, 30 August 1967 The Toronto Daily Star, 31 August 1967 The Barrie Examiner, 26 August 1967 The Toronto Telegram, 1 September 1967 Ottawa Citizen, 24 August 1969

External links

Colonel Ian S. Fraser, Biography

Ian S. Fraser at LinkedIn

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Ian Canadian Army officers 1932 births Living people Officers of the Order of Military Merit (Canada) Members of the Order of Nova Scotia Canadian military musicians Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada officers Royal Canadian Regiment officers Canadian Airborne Regiment officers

Biography

See also

References

External links