912 THE ADVOCATE
VOL. 79 PART 6 NOVEMBER 2021
Chilliwack and District Pipe Band. This leadership role was the piping
accomplishment that brought Fred the most joy and sense of fulfillment, for
it was under his direction, determination and initiative that the band was
able to rise from being a small, community-based, recreational pipe band to
one that could successfully compete on the international stage. Fred ultimately
took the band to Glasgow, Scotland to compete in the World Pipe
Band Championships, where it earned a tied fifth-place standing in the
Grade Three Class (you have to be a piper to appreciate fully what a tremendous
accomplishment this was). Fred continued to build and expand the
band by establishing both a Grade Four band and a youth pipe band, for
which he served as both a piping teacher and mentor. As a family, the Hansfords
participated and played competitively in many local and regional
highland games, with Fred on pipes, Laurel on tenor drum, sons Chris and
Doug on snare drums and daughter Alison displaying her talents as a skilled
highland dancer.
After semi-retiring from piping, Fred learned to play a resonator Deering
banjo, becoming a proficient and entertaining player, with his main audience
being his family and his faithful dog, Ben. Ben was Fred’s constant and
doting companion, who could always be found near Fred’s side. No less
loved and pampered were the two other family Bernese Mountain dogs, Jett
and Jerry, who were equally spoiled and adored by Fred. Family trips to
attend “Bernese Mountain dog meetups” in Metro Vancouver or Washington
State brought many good and lighthearted memories into Fred’s life. Fred
also enjoyed fine wine, quaffing the odd glass or two of craft beer, preparing
gourmet dishes for family and friends and hosting dinner parties liberally
laced with scintillating discussions, humorous anecdotes and, Fred’s
favourite, Macallan Double Cask 18-year single malt Scotch whisky.
Fred’s final literary accomplishment, The Phoenix Drama, begun as his
COVID project, was completed ten days before his passing. It was the translation
of a rare book titled Drame de Phoenix, published in 1926. The original
book was a compilation of information related to the trial of the murderer
of 11-year-old Madeleine Blancard, a half-sister of Fred’s grandfather, Robert
Louis Blancard. The original book was written in French with occasional
passages in Creole, as was widely spoken in Mauritius in 1926, and appears
to be the only surviving record of the trial of the murderer, Mr. Waterstone,
which in itself was a cause célèbre in Mauritius. Fred’s intent in writing his
annotated translation was to make the history accessible to family members
who do not speak French. This work, a gift left by Fred for his family, was
a richly personal journey, and one that in his words “became something
more. It brought to life my great-grandparents, great-aunts, great-uncles and