24 Decoy Magazine

COVER STORYCOVER STORY

Marshal AubreyKENT

MARSHALL AUBREY KENT’S obitu-ary from the February 23, 1978 Vic-toria Times offers the followinginformation: “Former City Alder-man Dies (in Oak Bay near Victo-

ria). Marshall Aubrey Kent, a former Victorianalderman, past President of the Union Club(‘Home to generations of leaders since 1879’) andPresident of the Chamber of Commerce died todayat the age of 87. Kent was born in Victoria on Sep-tember 8, 1891 and lived most of his life here, es-tablishing himself as a businessman, and rising tothe rank of lieutenant-colonel during two worldwars. He also spent years in civic politics. He at-

Aubrey Kent arriving homewith a bag of brant, ca. 1953.

Recognized patriot, respectedpolitician, avid sportsman andaccomplished decoy maker

Swimming tack-eyed brantdecoy with Kent’s signature“razor back” design.

BY GENE & LINDA KANGAS

tended Victoria high school and was paid$15 a month during school holidays to actas a trumpeter on early “Tally-Ho” wagons.A keen athletic sportsman (handball, bas-ketball and sculling), in 1921 he led the jun-ior and senior James Bay AthleticAssociation doubles rowing teams to a se-ries of trophies. In 1914 Kent received com-mission in the militia and served three yearsin France with the 39th Lethbridge Battal-ion. From 1934 to 1938 he commanded the5th B.C. Coast Brigade. In 1941 the armycalled him up and he served as officer com-manding the artillery officers’ trainingcent(er) at Gordon Head…For the last twoyears of the war he served on the of-ficers’ survey board of WesternCanada.“He began a career in civil pol-

itics in 1947 when he was elected alder-man, leading the polls. In 1949 he wasbarely edged out in a race for the mayor’sseat by Percy George, and he lost out inanother mayoralty challenge to ClaudeHarrison in 1951. Kent was a City of Vic-

Lt. Aubrey Kent (second from left) with his militia unit in Whitney, England, ca. 1914.

Hollow bluebill hen with glass eyes, distinctive billcarving and grain-painted surface embellishments.

Hollow bluebill hen with glass eyes and bold combpainted surface. The white stripes on the side of thebody and around the tail were applied with his fingers.

September/October 2011 25

Because he was such a well-respectedand highly visible person and businessman– and a true patriot – Kent was encouragedto enter municipal politics, and he was suc-cessfully elected to the Victoria City Coun-cil in 1948. His popular “for the people”policy was well received during his years asCity Alderman, despite his two unsuccess-ful runs for mayor.After his stint as the President of Vic-

toria’s Chamber of Commerce, Kent re-vealed another facet of his personality,giving the following critical report to themembership as he prepared to leave office:“There is one matter which has concernedme…and that is the deplorable conditionof parts of our downtown area…The har-bor and the Gorge, an original setting ofgreat natural beauty even in my youngerdays, have been despoiled by the march ofprogress. I am not saying this should havebeen avoided as we needed industry to pro-vide employment, but it is a pity we couldnot at least have developed industry to-gether with some preservation of our nat-ural heritage…Fifty years have passed andwe have added nothing of an aestheticvalue…Maybe our vision has been cloudedby cupidity (greed) but surely we shouldhope to do better in the future.”Kent married Doris Harriett Kenning

on June 23, 1923. She was the daughter ofFlitcroft Evans, City Editor of the“Colonist” newspaper in the 1880s. The1964 city directory listed Aubrey as thepresident of Kent’s Ltd., a store that soldpianos, bicycles, Edison phonographs, tel-evisions, stereo equipment, musicalrecords and household appliances. He andDoris retired from that business in 1972.An amateur actor following in his father’spassion, Kent had a role in “The BeautyShop,” a 1923 play also starring FredBartholomew, Eva Christie, Betty Hether-

toria Alderman/Councilor in 1948, 1949and 1951 and was later honored by thecity in 1973 for his years of dedicated civicservice. He was president of the VictoriaChamber of Commerce from 1960-61. Analderman, Kent is included in Councilphotographs dated from1948 to 1951.”M. Aubrey Kent, a true Victoria pio-

neer and resident for over 85 years, wasalso a multi-talented sportsman who lovedthe outdoors. He was also a prolific duckhunter and decoy maker. Victoria CityCouncil records confirm he was born in

Victoria, British Columbia on September8, 1891. As noted in the article quotedabove, in 1914 he was awarded a commis-sion in the local militia and later joinedthe 39th Lethbridge Battalion as Lieu-tenant. Kent served three years in France,taking part in the successful 1917 VimyRidge Battle that involved four divisionsof Canadian Corps against three divisionsof the German Sixth Army. He also servedadmirably during World War II and con-cluded an outstanding military career byachieving the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.

Two early bluebills with varied paint patterns. Early solid-bodied wigeon pair.

Aubrey Kent (R) with his hunting body, Pat Dunn,on the Sidney Spit, ca. 1956

26 Decoy Magazine

ington, Art Kerr and Myrtle Steenson.Kent’s career as a decoy maker began

around 1910 and ended in the 1950s,nearly half a century of his life. Knownspecies include brant, canvasback, mal-lard, redhead, wigeon, bluebill and buf-flehead. His later decoys tend to behollow, feature a distinguishing ridgealong the back; they are finished with hissignature scratch painting technique. Theyevolved from earlier efforts that have lesspronounced ridges, solid bodies and lackof scratch paint. The number of decoysproduced throughout his lifetime was lim-ited – most estimate his output at about100 - as they were primarily for personaluse.Kent began hunting brant at the Sid-

ney Spit on northern Sidney Island in the1920s, using full-bodied floating decoysand a complimentary set of at least 30 tinsilhouette stick-ups. The Spit forms a largetranquil saltwater lagoon that attracted amixture of birds to its eel grass and manycrabs. His puddle duck decoys were usedon the small quiet lakes and tributariesalong the east coast of the island.Both Patsy Fleming’s “Traditions in

Wood” (1987) and “Wildfowl Decoys ofthe Pacific Coast” by Miller and Hanson(1989) briefly mention Colonel AubreyKent and each illustrate a single blackbrant decoy. According to the PacificCoast book, “He made a rig of 80 solidblack brant decoys beginning in the 1920s.These birds are beautifully stylized with a‘razor back’ to shed water and weight.” Ifthat number is accurate, they representthe vast majority of his output.Fleming wrote, “…the high backs of

Aubrey Kent’s decoys represent a veryclever design feature. Instead of beingplump and rounded, the bodies taper topronounced ridges along the backs; as aconsequence, the lures are both tall whenfloating on the water and light enough tocarry easily.”Both books report that he was born in

England and immigrated to Canada afterWorld War 1. However, recent research re-vealed that he was actually born and raisedin British Columbia and lived there hisentire life. His father, Herbert Kent (1859-1958) arrived in Victoria from England in1861, eventually becoming Victoria’s “Mr.Music” and enjoying an active role in nu-merous musicals as a singer, actor, con-ductor and director.Kent’s grandson provided fond per-

sonal insights into his grandfather’s char-acter. “There was a ‘right way and a wrongway’ to do something…He thought hardwork solved just about everything and ex-pected others to work as hard as he did.He was devoted to tasks…He fished for

September/October 2011 27

Aubrey Kent (L) after a hunt on Nitinat Lake, ca. 1912.

Hollow bufflehead repainted by Kent.

Pair of mallards, the hen with a swimming posture.

28 Decoy Magazine

plored by his British Columbia peers.The bills details feature simply painted

nostrils juxtaposed against pronouncedcarved nails on the bottom side. Bills wererelief carved into the head at the bill/headjunction and the foreheads tend to beslightly flattened. A signature “razor back”ridge line emerges subtly behind the neckand gradually proceeds towards the spade-like tail, becoming increasingly defined asit delineates the decoy’s profile.Kent’s oversized hollow mallards cer-

tainly rank as the pinnacle of his artisticachievements. Measuring between 18 and19 inches in length, they are considerablylarger in scale than, for example, his nor-mal size bluebills. The drake’s head israised and positioned in a somewhat for-ward swimming posture. By contrast thehen’s head appears to be reaching belowthe water’s surface in search of nourish-

in imitation of feeding ducks. Kent uti-lized paint, metal tacks or glass taxidermyeyes for his decoys.Flamboyant grain painted feathering

on his mallard and bluebill decoys is a par-ticularly commanding trait identifiable tohim. Following the application of variouscolor coats, boldly aggressive graining wasscratched into the wet paint with a sharpmulti-pronged tool, producing elaboratesurface ornamentation somewhat remi-niscent of faux decorated country furni-ture, which simulated specific high endwood grains. Graining was applied to thebodies but not the heads. Another un-usual and distinctive characteristic are thecasually “smeared” finger painted designsdirectly rubbed on when the bodies werefreshly painted. The unique combinationof brushing, finger painting and combingresulted in surface treatments not ex-

cod and salmon, and caught crabs (usuallyby hand while wading) and harvested oys-ters. He was always careful to take onlywhat he/we could use, and was alwayswatchful for those that did not.” Thedaughter of his hunting partner, PatDunn, remembered him as a very caringand thoughtful person.Meticulousness and determination

were two of Kent’s many life virtues, andhe applied those qualities when makinghis decoys. He hollowed his decoys fromthe bottom to an eggshell thickness then a¼-inch bottom board was secured watertight with dozens of small nails. They areso light and well balanced that only a fewrequired weights. Almost all have straightforward facing heads. Some are of normallength and position while others reachslightly forward, suggesting a swimming at-titude. A few rare ones are missing heads

Rare hollow canvasback hen. Rare redhead.

Pair of hollow-carved oversized mallards, the drake with a slightswimming posture and the hen as a feeder with its “head” appearingto reach below the surface. They represent the pinnacle of Kent’sdecoy achievements.

ment. But it’s a carefully planned illusion,as her head is, actually, non-existent; thebody and neck is sensitively sculpted fromsingle piece of wood, hollowed and fittedwith a water tight bottom board. Her fluidorganic form elegantly portrays the act offeeding as the prominent ridge line pro-gressively transitions from a smooth curvi-linear and downward shaped neck to aperceptibly upswept and slightly pointedtail.Lieutenant-Colonel Marshall Aubrey

Kent was a recognized Canadian patriot,history student, respected politician, suc-cessful businessman, avid sportsman andfisherman and an accomplished decoycarver. Superior qualities inherent in bothhis sculptural form concepts and match-less surface embellishments rank him asone of British Columbia’s premier decoymakers

Thanks to Susan Bagstad, KenGreenway, Ron Gruber, Rhys Kent,Blair Ledingham, Paul Mazzilli, Eric &Sandy McCready, Mike Miller, ValdaStefani and Ron Wellwood for their as-sistance. The authors can be reached atkangas@creeksidegallery.com.

September/October 2011 29

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Aubrey Kent at the Rivers Inlet in 1964 witha 60 ½ pound Chinook (spring salmon).