First World War

First World War Symposium

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On Sunday September 28, 2014 the Regimental Museum of the Queen’s Own Rifles and the 15th Battalion CEF Memorial Project (48th Highlanders of Canada) present a symposium on the First World War featuring acclaimed authors and presenters on the Great War:

  • Andy Robertshaw: Feeding Tommy: Battlefield Recipes from the First World War; Digging the Trenches
  • Robert Konduros and Richard Parrish: WW1: A Monumental History
  • Norm Christie: For King and Empire
  • Jack Granatstein: The Greatest Victory: Canada’s One Hundred Days, 1918
Details
  • The event will be held at Moss Park Armoury, 130 Queen Street East, Toronto, M5A 1R9 from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
  • Seating is limited to 100 attendees so make sure you register early!
  • The cost is $65 which includes lunch.
  • There will also be book signings, dealers, and artifacts.

Eventbrite - First World War Symposium

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What are my transport/parking options getting to the event?

There is a municipal parking lot one block west of the Armoury on Queen Street. Parking on side streets near the Armoury is limited and mostly metered. If at all possible we encourage you to use public transit. The Queen St East streetcar passes in front of the armoury a short distance from the Yonge-University-Spadina subway line (Line 1)

2. Is my registration/ticket transferrable?

Yes you can transfer your ticket online up to to another person (see updating your registration info below) by the end of day on September 25th.

3. Can I update my registration information?

You can update the information on your order (like name, email address, or answers to the organizer’s questions) from Current Orders under My Tickets.

4. Do I have to bring my printed ticket to the event?

Please print and bring your ticket to the event. If you do not have your ticket you will be required to provide identification that will support your registration information.

255th Bn, First World War

Milestones

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On this the 100th Anniversary of Canada going to war in 1914, we wanted to share some milestones with you. We’re very excited that late last night we surpassed 100,000 views on our website since we launched in February 2012! About three-quarters of those views were from visitors in Canada however the remaining 25% were from 134 countries.

We started small but since then we’ve made 119 posts, have 249 static pages and have uploaded 1,025 images.

Fittingly some of the most viewed pages on our site our the transcriptions of the war diaries of the 3rd Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force which were completed as part of a crowdsourcing project in the Fall of 2012.

We’ve continued to add material relating to the First World War including nominal rolls, letters from soldiers, personal diaries and profiles on a number of QOR that served. We’ve recently put links to all this material on our WWI Resources Page to make it easier for visitors to find – please take a look!

Of course this isn’t the end – we’ll continue to post information and resources particularly related to the First World War over the coming years and months. Thank you for being on this journey with us!

First World War, Remembrance

WWI Public Commemorative Ceremony

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Thursday July 31

On behalf of Blake Goldring, Founder and Chair of Canada Company, you are invited to a special evening to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the beginning of the First World War.

Join the Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary International History, the Munk School of Global Affairs and the Canadian Armed Forces on the evening of July 31 at Varsity Stadium for this commemorative event.

Host: former war-correspondent, Gemini-winner Brian Stewart, Remarks by noted historian Margaret MacMillan and the CDS, Gen Thomas J. Lawson, CMM, CD. Vocal performances by Ruth Ann Onley, Danielle Bourre, and Jean Miso with the Canadian Children’s Opera Chorus.

Event is free but tickets required; for reservations and further info click here.

Regular Force

RMC 1963 Grads Badged to QOR

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Thanks to Dan Martel for forwarding the 1963 RMC yearbook entries for three grads who badged at Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada:

  • Donald Douglas Dalziel
  • Ronald Calvin Coates
  • William Douglas McKay

You can click on the images for larger versions.

Coates, RC RMC 1963

Dalziel,DD RMC 1963

McKay, WD RMC 1963

 

Artifacts, Remembrance, Second World War

Rolph Jackson artifacts return to Normandy for Colonel-in-Chief visit

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As Colonel in Chief of The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada, The Duchess of Cornwall met veterans and serving members of the regiment on Thursday June 5 and toured the Juno Beach Centre.

At Juno Beach Centre, 5 June 2014 from L to R: the Prime Minister's wife Lauren Harper, Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall, and Lieutenant Colonel John Fotheringham, CD
At Juno Beach Centre, 5 June 2014 from L to R: the Prime Minister’s wife Lauren Harper, Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall, and Lieutenant Colonel John Fotheringham, CD

Former QOR Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel John Fotheringham is a Director of the Juno Beach Centre and recently passed on a request from them. They asked if it might be possible for us to make available some artifacts that related to D-Day and the Queen’s Own that the Duchess could see during her visit.

We checked around our collection and decided that items which had belonged to Lance Corporal Rolph Jackson might fit the bill. They had to be fairly small and easy for John to pack in his luggage when he headed to Normandy so we settled on six items.

  1. Identity tags
  2. A French “invasion” 5 franc note
  3. A new testament
  4. A bundle of pay books
  5. A separate pay book
  6. A letter written to his girlfriend (and eventual wife) just before D-Day
Lance Corporal Rolph Jackson's New Testament
Lance Corporal Rolph Jackson’s New Testament
Last letter from Rolph Jackson to Olive Lipski before D-Day
Last letter from Rolph Jackson to Olive Lipski before D-Day
Rolph Jackson identity tags
Rolph Jackson identity tags
French 5 franc "invasion" notes from Rolph Jackson Collection
French 5 franc “invasion” notes from Rolph Jackson Collection
French 5 franc "invasion" notes from Rolph Jackson Collection
French 5 franc “invasion” notes from Rolph Jackson Collection
Inside of one of Rolph Jackson's pay books with a photo of Olive Lipski, who he would later marry.
Inside of one of Rolph Jackson’s pay books with a photo of Olive Lipski, who he would later marry.

"In Pace Paratus – In Peace Prepared"