)"CA< The company was no longer just a shirt company. The company moved from its original location on Coleman Street to the Front Street site, north-east of Victoria Avenue in the late '30s and to Dundas Street East in 1941. During the war years, it was here that the company became deeply involved in the design and manufacture of electrically heated flying suits for Commonwealth forces. "When the Americans entered the Second World War, they lost more men to exposure than to Japanese bullets in the Aleutian Islands. They called on the Canadian government for assistance in cold weather clothing," said Deacon. Ottawa gave the job SUBMITTED PHOTO of supplying the requested clothDeacon Shirt Co. was located on Coleman Street in Belleville shortly ing to a three-man team and after the turn of the last century. Deacon's father was one of them. As the hectic wartime production drew to a close in Europe, the company began producing protective outdoor clothing and sportswear. The company's products included children's snowsuits designs modelled after a flying suit -- complete with quick release zippers. When his father died in 1958, Deacon joined the company and three years later, he bought his uncle, John Deacon's interest in the business and reorganized the firm WILLIAM B. DEACON FRED S. DEACON under the name Deacon Brothers Sportswear Ltd. Boy Scouts shirts, rain coats for the Canadian Army, which were the company's decades-long history in the previously the company's staple products, city that Deacon's grandfather and the were gradually replaced by Viyella shirts and founder of the company, William B. Deacon an expansion of down-filled outerwear. - or WB as he was known -- never got to His younger brothers, Don and Eric, joined see for himself as he died in 1944. him in the family operation in the 1960s and The company's history goes way back to 1897 when WB began operating a men's wear at that point the company began to focus on natural fibres, wool, cotton and down as store on Front Street while simultaneously materials in the making of its products. making custom-made dress shirts at the Significant growth continued with sales in back of his store. The demand for his shirts down-filled garments with major department grew so much that in 1903, he closed his stores but not for too long. retail store and opened the Deacon Shirt "In the early '80s, our department store Company on Coleman Street. The company business became more difficult as departmanufactured military shirts during First ment stores began buying more and more World War and when his younger brother, from the Orient. The independent men's Fred S. Deacon, joined him in 1914, the two wear stores began to disappear from the continued to make shirts for the Canadian main streets of Canadian cities. It seemed military. After many years of running the for every step forward, we were taking two operation together and with the help of steps back," noted Deacon. Deacon's father, Fred H. Deacon, who came Finally, the company announced its decion board in 1923, the company began to sion to drop the shirt business in 1988. The take a new direction towards sportswear. business continued as an outerwear firm Deacon's father travelled to Europe and until, in 1990, the building on Dundas Street obtained Canadian licenses for Grenfell Cloth and Viyella -- following which demand went up for sale. The following year, the history of this decades old Belleville business for the company's golf jackets and ski wear officially drew to a close. made from these fabrics grew stronger. Contact Benzie Sangma at: About this time, the company's name was bsangma@cogeco.ca changed to Deacon Brothers Ltd. since the