Volume 8

coo fflotober room

SEPTEMBER 1998

Peot)le and PLaces

AUDIENCE W7ITH TIIE COLONElrIN-CHIE F. LcoL AL.BLwalsh.Commanding Officer, was granted anaudience with the Regiment's Colonel-in-Chief, Her Royal Highness PrincessAlexandra on 22 July 1998 at St. JamesPahce in London. He was accompaniedby his wife Andrea.

SILVERWARE RETURNS HOME.The keen and discerning eye of BGENC.L."Kip" Kirby resulted in the return tothe Regiment of a large silver bowlwhich had been presented to TheQueen's Own Rifles of Canada by "TheBuffs" on the occasion of theRegiment's 100th anniversary. BGENKirby spotted the bowl in the FortFrontemc Officers' Mess and initiatedproceedirLgs for its return to its rightfulowners. How the bowl found its way toKingston remains a mystery. At a specialdinner hosted by BGEN Jam Axp,Commandant of Canadian Land ForcesCommand and Staff College on 10 June1998, the bowl was handed over toBGEN D.A. Pryer, Honorary Colonel ofthe Reginent, in the presence of BGENC.L.Kirby, LCOL John G.B.Strathy anda number of senior officers of theDirecting Staff at the College.

Pijbllshed By.

Begimental Headquarters

Issue 2

REGIMENTAL fiiEB slTE. Thaha tothe initiative of MWO John Wilmot, TheReginent now has a web site.He has assumed the responsibility ofanswering all inquiries. When hereceives a request he cannot answer, heposts it on the Internet and asks for helpfrom the Regimental family. Requestsfor information on persons who hadserved in the Regiment or who had someassociation with the Regiment have beennumerous. A striking example of ananswer to one of the inquiries isevidenced by the e-mail MWO Wihotreceived from Wendy Cimicata, a copyof which appears in this newsletter.

CANAL)A NORMANDY PROJECT.

Th¥S,f#:::agengc;e;Veen:,bRycz:¥rboefse°:to purchase a building in Bemieres-sur-Mer to house an information centrewhere Canadians and people from othercountries would lean about Canada andthe role Canada played on land, sea andair in the struggle to preserve freedomand democracy. Contact Galth Webb orLise Cooper at 2407 Woodward Avenue,Unit 24, Burlington. Ontario L7R 4J2 orTelephone (905) 333-0233 or Far (416)252-3621 for more information.

Moss Park Armoury.130 Queen Street EastToronto. Ontario M5A 1 R9 Tel (416) 362-3946

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OOR of C BullednBv Major I.M. Fotherinfhqm

Ten riflemen led by CAPT AdamHarmes participated in "ExerciseRinbling Rifleman 98", the ongoingseries of exchange visits with our alliedRegiments. The riflemen were hosted bythe ls` Battalion, Royal Gurlcha Rifles inHampshire during the period 1-21 July.Seven of the para-qualified riflemenwere detached to C (Gurkha) Companyof 2 Para Bn to participate in "ExercisePegasus Anvil" while the remainingthree rifleman took par( in aimobileoperations with I RGR.

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?f°yti)eg:enB:#a¥;Cot:#etepnrinmceeTsbe:SfWales's Royal Regiment, joined theQueen's Own Rifles in Petawawa duringthe August training camp.QOR of c is the coordinating unit for theinfantry portion of 32 CBG's "ExerciseSteadfast Wanior". LCOL A.R.Welsh isplanning a demanding and excitingpatrolling exercise which will includeairborne and airmobile operations,rappelling, live firing and assault boatcrossing. Two officers from 44 ParaBrigade, South Africa, and a detachmentof the RCMP Emergency ResponseTealn will also take par( in this training.

"Sovereign Steadfast". a 32 CBG

sovereignity exercise in Gjoa Haven,NWT, includes a number of QOR of Cmembers. MWO Patterson, WO tenKortenaar and Rfii Amodeo,Candelario,Delaney, Lam, Morris, Pytlik, andTraynor will be part of a company ofsoldiers training with native Rangersduring the period 4 - 22 August.

Seven officers and men have returnedsafely from "Operation Palladium Roto2" in Bosnia where they served with 1RCR. Sgt Paton and Cpls Lawlor,Mor[on and Vulakovich are now intheatre on Rote 3 with 3 RCR.

Lt W. Beardmore, attached to theCanadian Para Teain (Skyhawks) hadthe misfortune of breaking a leg during a

ieum£#g#;=rsinoTfhtTedei:?a%;::him a speedy recovery.

Congratulations to Cpl Rick Kurelo whowas the top LCFA candidate on the QL3infantry course.

slGNI FlcANI counNG EVENIs

CHANGE OF CO PARADE

LCOL A.R.Welsh will hand commandover to LCOL B.G.MCEachem onWednesday, 30 September 1998 at MossPark Armoury. Guests to be seated by2000 hours.Dress will be combats formilitary guests and business suit orRegimental blazer and medals forcivilian guests.

GALA DINNER

Friday, 6 November 1998 in honour ofMGEN H.C.Pitts,MC,CD, HonorayLieutenant Colonel of the Regiment.Mark this date on your calendar . Fullddetails on this Gala Regimental Dinnerwill be announced later.

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ReE!lmenlal Museum News

The Passing Scene bv CaDtaln P.A.Simundson. Curator

Highlights of Museum operationsbetween July 1997 and June 1998 covera wide field of activities ranging fromthe acquisition of Regimental artefactsand paraphernalia to the up-dating ofdisplays to dealing with coneapondencefrom a myriad of sources.

Acquisitions of Regimental artefacts andmaterials include: a cash donation and aset of greens won by members of theRegular battalions in Gemany dorratedby Larry Bean, owner of LB Towing inScarborough and brother of CaptainGeorge Bean, MC ; RfuC.M.Bloomfield's medals donated byMiss Dorothy Bloomfield; a crossbeltand mess kit donated by Major J,C.Rushof Victoria; a crossbelt, uniforms andother Regimental paraphernalia dormtedby LCOL M.I.Jackson; a section of aWWII aircraft fuselage domted byMajor Jim MacKendrick; an assortmentof material from the estate of JimDickson, bugler; a number ofRegimental uniforms and photographsfrom MGEN H.C.Pitts; a group ofartefacts donated by George Aylward ofTillsonburg which included hisgrandfather's North West Canada medal;and a selection of maps donated byNDHQ. Many of these artefacts are ondisplay in the Museum or are beingprepared for display while the crossbeltsand mess kits were passed on to theBattalion for use by serving officers.

The recent release of the movie"Titanic" has rekindled an interest in this

tragic event. Major Arthur Peuchen, a

member of the Queen's Own RIfles andPresident of Standard Chemical, was onboard the Titanic returning from abusiness trip in England. As the shipsank, he took charge of a lifeboat andmanaged to survive. Major Peuchenjoined the Queen's Own Rifles in April1 897. He rose quickly through the ranksand left the Battalion before the start ofWorld War I thus his service in theRegiment can best be described asuneventful and undramatic.

The rumour of a "Queen's Own"Lieutenant at the Battle of Little BigHorn as Custis' adjutant appearsunfounded, There is no W. Cooke listedanywhere in any Regimental recordsfrom its formation to 1876. It is possiblethat he may have been an ex-Britishsoldier who picked up the nickname"Queen's Our".

Case Loma allocated 150 passes to theRegiment in 1997 and 1998 of which114 passes were distributed. Due to anapparent lack of interest, Casa Lomanow allocates only 75 passes per year,`Use them or lose them" is the message

here.

Finally, much work has been done incleaning and re-arranging the picturestorage room All other storage rooms inCasa Loma, with the exception of theuniform area, have been refurbished.The Museum plans to make a diaplayboard of bayonets for display in the halland donations of bayonets are requested.

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UEEN'S OWN ASSOCIATION (TORONTO BRANCH) NEWSDry CWO Brian Budden. Association President

At the request of Toronto Star \witerMitch Potter, the Association assembledeleven Normandy veterans to viewSteven Spielberg's recently released film"Saving Private Ryan." Among Queen's

Own Veterans who attended this specialviewing were Alex Adair, Dick Ayton,Joe Oggy, Ken Scott, Orville Cook,Doug Hester, John IIadley, Jack Martinand Dave Kingston. In short, "it's brutal,and it's dead on.", said first-waveveteran Doug Hester. At the end of thefilm, these veterans emerged from thetheatre red-eyed, shaken and virtuallyspeechless. They had just witnessed acollective past that until now was oftentoo pairful to share.

A thank you to D-Day veterans JamesWilkins and Hugh Lamb for sharingtheir wartime experiences with membersof the Toronto Rotary Club on June 4th.Their presence added to the dignity ofthe occasion and made everyone awareof the important role the Queen's OwnRifles played at a crucial time inCanada's history.A special thanks toRorrald Denham, Governor of the RotaryClub for the hospitality.

There was an excellent turnout at the D-Day Parade on June 6th. The Associationexpresses its gratitude to Major JohnFotheringham of the Battalion for hissupport and for the breakfast after theParade.

The Annual Association Rifle Shoot washeld on the same day at Niagara-on-the-Lake ranges. It was successful despitethe low attendance. Rob Grieve deservesa great deal of credit for making thearrangements for the shoot.

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the second year in a row.Congratulations to all the members ofthe Association who paraded and aspecial thanks to the Colour Partyconsisting of Peter, John, Steve, Phil,Ding, Art and Joe Smith - the ColourParty Commander. The RegimentalBand and Bugles perfomed in theirstellar fashion as is to be expected.

Members of the Association are invitedto attend the Change of Command

L%:::exfty,¥e°pstsempbarearrk3oprs:%ato°r:are requested to be seated by 2000 hours.Dress is Regimental blazer ,beret andmedals.

Normandy 1999 - 55th Anniversary ofD-Day. Those interested should contactCWO Brian Budden at (905) 567-4975for listings of contacts in Normandy.Those who wish to travel to Normandywill be responsible for making their owntravel anangements,however, assistancecan be provided by me if needed.

£emh:Td:bro:CfroDv:ym£:ur8Cthhaptarst?:a#]:Church and the Remembrance Day

Rgv¥:£i[[]:#e Place at 11 o'clock on

Finally, I was honoured to have beenselected as "Rifleman of the Year" for1997/98 and I wish to thank themembers of the Executive Committeeand Directors of the Association for this

Onour.

Also I wish to express my gratitude tothe Regimental family and friends fortheir expressions of sympathy on myunfortunate accident from which I amwell on the road to recovery.

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uEEN's OwN AssOcLLTION (cALGAHr__B_RANCH) NEwsDry Capitain RaLDh _E. Rqulgy_

On Saturday evening, 18 April 1998,approxinately 100 members includingwives and friends of Calgary Branchgathered at the Royal Canadian Legion

PhreanRcehg:0;n:gi¥:##fdDa;:f£:e:t:activities consisted of a buffet dinner,dancing and plenty of socializing. Manyout-of-town guests were present butonce again the couple travelling thegreatest distance was Ron and BettyWilson from Brandon. The dinner wascatered by the Legion Branch in a mostbefming manner, however, theatmosphere was not quite the same asthat experienced at the former BaseWOs/Sgts Mess. During the latter part ofNovember. the Branch is planning aluncheon at the same Legion Branch tobring members together once again.

John Cresswell repor(s that he met withHerb and Marianne Pitts, Cy Arkinstall,Cord Hryhoryshen, Bill Carleton and

F4°thn.CaplanwhileinvictoriaonAugust

Approximately three years ago, JohnCresswell visited the Union Jack Club inLondon, England and noted that AubreyCosens name appeared in their HonourRoll for having been awarded aposthumous Victoria Cross whileserving with the Canadian ScottishRegiment. Notwithstanding thisaffiliation at one time. it does not alterthe fact that he was serving with theQueen's Own RIfles at the time of hisheroic deed. Recognition has now beengiven to his Queen's Own Riflesaffiliation. On Friday, October 2nd, JohnCresswell will meet with Colonel

Cowen. Secretary of the Union JackClub, when he will be presented with aQueen's Own RIfles plaque for displayin the Club.

On Wednesday, August 19th severalmembers of the Association met atMewata Amoury to join MGEN LewMacKenzie at a 7 o'clock breakfast tomark the 56th anniversary of the DieppeRaid. Following breakfast, MGENMacKenzie addressed a group of about50 choosing as his subject "TheEvolution of the Canadian Forces",particularly the Any over the past fewdecades. A§ expected he had a captiveaudience and no one seemed to disputehis facts.

A move is underway to gain a niche inthe Museum of the Regiments, locatedwest of the main Currie Barracks. It ishoped to display minor articles ofRegimental memorabilia to serve as areminder to all of the years the activecomponent of the Queen's O`un RIflesspent in Calgary, and for that matter inwestern Canada. The Museum hasattracted much attention from both thelocal citizens and visitors, and should beincluded in a visitor's itinerary.

On June 22nd the Association waspleased to be visited by BGEND.A,Pryer, Honorary Colonel and LCOLJohn G.B. Strathy and his wife Jane.Under the kind and generous auspices ofCOL Paul and Bev Hughes, theTorontonians were wined and dined atthe Ranchmans' Club. Ten formerQueen's Own officers and their wivesalso joined in the evening's festivities.

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O"WA COMMUNIOUEFrom LCOL B.GTahame Baskerville

LCOL Grahame Baskerville continues toserve on the Onawa-Carleton RegionalPolice Board. He attended the annualconference of the Canadian Associationof police Boards in Edmonton in Augustwhere he met `whh LT Norm Gardner,Chairman of the Toronto Police Board,and another rifleman involved in thefield of policing.

LCOL M.G. (Mike) MCKeo`un, whoretired last year and chose to remain inKingston. is working on contract at theRoyal Military College in theDepartment of Applied Military Scienceresponsible for preparing the module onDefence Program Management. His wifeMarion is a lecturer in English Literatureat the College. It would appear they havesettled in Kingston on a permanent basis.

CAPT A.L. (Al) Way and his wifeRosanne have moved from Ottawa totheir summer retreat on Sydenham Lakenear Kingston where they built a newlog home and where they intend to liveyear round. Rosanne recently retiredfrom her position as Principal in theOttawa-Carleton scho ol system.

On August 30th the Ceremonial Guard,under command of MAJ C.P. (Pat)Dillon, carried out the Trooping of theColour at RIdeau Hall. This parade, atwhich Pat tuned over command to hissuccessor, marked his last day of serviceas he retired from the Canadian Forceswith over 34 years of service. His wifeSusie recently completed her master'sdegree in linguistics. Pat and Susie planto go back-packing in Russia, China. andSE Asia for a two year period with Susiedoing some teaching of English as a

second language and Pat possibly doingsome United Nations work in SE Asia.

MAJ RS. (Clair) Domelly was marriedlast November without fanfare. TheRegimental family sends itscongratulations and best wishes to Clairnd his bride.

h4rs. Eileen Munro, widow of LCOLW.G. (Glen) Munro, has moved fromTichbome near Lake Charbot to take upresidence in Ffrogston.

MAJ J.P.O. (John) Saunders finallycommenced his retirement on January 1 stafter many years with NationalHeadquarters of the Corps ofCommissionaires in Cmawa. He andAudrey are keeping busy by visitingfiinily and friends as well as hostingvisitors of their own. MAJ W.A, ( Bill)Crew and his wife Joan from Winnipegwere recent guests.

LGEN R.R. (Ray) Crabbe retires fromthe Canadian Forces on September 15thafter serving as the Deputy Chief ofDefence Staff at NDHQ for the pastyear.

MGEN Vie Mcpherson a`CAMC) andhis wife June are moving fromTichbome to Kingston where they arehaving a new home built.

THE RIFLEMAN

Submissious for the 1998 issue of "TheRifleman" should be in the hands of theEditor by December I 5th.

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THE OUEEN'S OWN RIFLES OF CANADA TRUST FUNDANNUAL REPORT

The Annual Meeting of Tnistees of The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada Trust Fund washeld in Toronto on 11 May 1998 under the chairmanship of the President. LCOL J.G.B.Strathy.Twelve of the sirdeen Tnistees were present at the meeting.

LCOL M.IJackson, Trust Fund Treasurer, presented his report which shoved totalreceipts in 1997 of$33,70 I while the expenditures amounted to sO3,628 .

Major items of expense include the publication and distriultion of "The Rifleman" andt`ro issues of `The Powder Horn" (S14,225), upgrading and maintenance of theRegimental Museum (se,888),operating costs of Regimental Headquarters ($3,708),insurance premium on Regimental property ($3,183), memorial plaques for Normandybattle sites ($9,764), and support of the Battalion ($3,860).

The Trustees approved expenditures of se6,860 in 1998 for the annual recurringRegimental activities. The Tnistees also considered a proposal by LCOL S.D. Brand forthe completion of several memorial projects in Normandy at an estimated cost of$22,000. A Committee is being formed under the leadership of LCOL SD.Brand todetermine the feasibility of completing these projects by the year 2000.

LCOL J.G,B. Strathy stressed the need for all members of the Regimental family tofinancially support the many Regimental activities which fall outside the responsibility ofthe Defence Department. Without this support. it may be necessary to eliminate some ofthe activities which are essential to keep the Reginental apirit alive.

The Oueen's O\I]n tines of Canada Trust Fund

TrusteesQOR of C Trust FundReginental HeadquartersMoss Pack Armoury130 Queen Street EastToronto, Ontario M5A 1 R9

I am aware of the financial needs of the Trust FLmd to retain those Regimentalactivities that are outside the responsibility of the Defence Department and I am pleasedto enclose S .............. in support of the Trust Fund.

Name

Street Address

Province ............ Postal Code .....................

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TTi .qor .c:CJn. Helps Com|ilete a Family History

Dear John Vlrfu:

I wanted you to know how the William Gilbert May posting tuned out, as I'm sure you'llbe pleased.

As the posting said, all that was lmown of Gil was his name, and that he was with theQQORofCwhenhediedonD-Day.

I e-mailed the whter to tell I found Gil's name in the QOR's Book of Remembrance, andwas also al>le to provide the regimental number. With that infomation, I infomed themhow to get Gil's service records, and how to find out his burial plot row/number in Beny-sor-Mer Cemctery in Normandy. Also, through my father (Jim Wilkins), I was al]le toprovide him with a QOR of C veteran's name and address `who actually grew up on thesame street in Toronto as Gil. I phoned this particular veteran, Jack Martin. and found outthat he and Gil vere in the sanie company (A), and that Jack also knew certain details ofdil's death on the beach. The author (Dave Burden) e-mailed me back to say thanks, andalso to tell me a little of the circumstances behind Gil's death.

It seems that Dave Burden is Gil's grandson-in-law, and he is doing research for a familytree, Gil was born in Toronto, and from his regimental number my father told me he wasamong the first 500 men to enlist in the QOR, and that he would have enlisted at theToronto armouries on University Avenue. Dave knew that, while stationed in England,Gil had married an English girl (his grandmother-in-law), and together they had a babyg+rl (his mother-in-law). who never got to know her father. Within the past ten yearstthese t`ro `romen have passed away.Too bad, as Dave says. "They would have beenthrilled to be able to see all this information on Gil!"

After learning Gil was in A Company, and that Charlie Martin was obviously hisCompany Sergeant-Major, I decided to go further and provide him with the name ofCharlie's book, `Battle Diary", which he has ordered. Then, I rmde a copy of the tape"Battle Diary, A Day in the Life of Charlie Martin", and mailed that to him. I hadn't

watched the tape in over a year myself, so I was very pleased when yesterday I receivedan e-mail from him telling me that Gil is actually shown near the end of the tape andCharlie actually mentions a uttle about him.

IInngine, from only lmowing a person's name, regiment, and where/when they werehulled in action, to all this!

I'm sure you're as pleased as I arty and I just know that somewhere Charlie is smilingtoo.

Sincerely,

Wendy Cinin