“For two decades afterwards, Canadians would gather on 27 February (known in Canada as “Paardeberg Day”) around memorials to the South African War to say prayers and honour veterans.” (Wikipedia)
The Canadian participation in the South African War of 1899-1902 saw the active involvement of various Canadian military units, including The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada. This esteemed regiment, based in Toronto, Ontario, contributed thirty-four soldiers to the conflict, playing a vital role in the war effort.
The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada, a militia regiment with a rich history and tradition, eagerly answered the call for service during the South African War. Known for their marksmanship and tenacity, the members of this esteemed unit demonstrated exceptional bravery and skill on the battlefield.
During the war, the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada played a crucial part in numerous engagements, including the Battle of Paardeberg (which concluded on February 27th) and the subsequent march to Pretoria. Their actions were instrumental in supporting the larger British war effort, as Canadian forces worked alongside other Commonwealth troops to achieve success in South Africa.
Three members of the regiment did not return – one killed in action and two of disease:
The experiences of the soldiers from The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada in the South African War were pivotal in shaping the regiment’s identity and legacy. The lessons learned from this conflict contributed to the ongoing development and refinement of the unit’s training and operational capability.
In the aftermath of the war, the contributions of The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada were celebrated and recognized as an integral part of Canada’s military history when they were awarded the battle honour “South Africa 1899-1900.” Their gallant service in South Africa served as a testament to the dedication and courage of Canadian soldiers, leaving an indelible mark on the regiment and the nation as a whole.
Cam Telch holds a Master Of Arts and a Master of Education and is a doctoral student in the Faculty of Education at Mount Saint Vincent University. Cam has also volunteered at The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada Regimental Museum and Archive.
Originally published in the Royal Canadian Military Institute’s Sitrep January-February 2024 Volume 84, Number 1. Reprinted with the author’s permission.
Introduction
The Canadian Centre for the Great War (CCGW) in Montreal is dedicated to preserving Canada’s memory of the Great War. Creating numerous virtual and in-person exhibitions, the CCGW has covered all aspects of the war, including the confinement of enemy populations in Canada, the demobilization of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, and female nurses and medicine. At the beginning of 2023, the CCGW developed its latest online and travelling exhibition, Shell Shocked: The Long Road to Recovery.
Shell Shocked analyses the Canadian and some British narratives of shell shock. Covering the history of shell shock into five categories, they include “In the Trenches,” “Treatment,” “Malingerers,” “Armistice,” and “PTSD.” “In the Trenches” covers the connection between conflict and nervous breakdown; “Treatment” examines traditional and modern methods of psychiatry; “Malingerers” is the marginalization of shell-shocked soldiers; “Armistice,” is the aftermath of shell shock in post-war Canada; lastly, “PTSD” is the historical relationship between shell shock and PTSD. The CCGW’s exhibit argues that all soldiers and officers, regardless of social standing, were susceptible to a nervous breakdown during the war.
During the fall of 2023, the RCMI acquired Shell Shocked from the Lethbridge Military Museum in Alberta. While the exhibition covers a broad range of topics, this article will focus on the aftermath of shell shock in the post-war Western world. Shell Shocked reveals that two new schools of thought emerged during the war. The former was led by Dr. W.H.R. Rivers who argued that shell shock was a product of the war and developed treatments where shell-shocked victims were encouraged to discuss their trauma. Clarence B. Farrar, Chief Psychiatrist, the leading authority of the latter for the Department of Soldiers’ Civil Re-establishment of Canada, asserted that shell shock was a condition of a weakened character deficiency or poor genetics. While the war did lead to the great shell shock debate, and often produced revolutionary new ideas toward the foundation of psychology, the latter school of thought about shell shock emerged, unfortunately, as the dominant position in Canada and Britain and, to some extent, in the United States after the war. As a result, shell-shocked veterans became victims of prejudice. This article will argue from a larger perspective in order to demonstrate that marginalization of shell-shocked veterans was not solely a Canadian phenomenon.
The Official View of Shell Shock After the Great War
After the war, the question of shell shock lingered in the post-war Western world. Debates continued regarding the origin, diagnosis, and treatment of shell shock. The British government investigated the nature of shell shock with the 1922 Report of the War Office Committee Enquiryinto Shell-Shock to try and settle the debate. Investigated and led by Lord Southborough in April 1920, the committee, including men who maintained traditional beliefs about mental illness, called forth fifty-nine witnesses to give evidence on shell shock, including army officers, psychologists, neurologists, and army doctors who treated shell-shocked soldiers, both on the Western Front and in Britain. After two years of testimony, and with the release of the final report in 1922, the committee recognized, to an extent, the need for psychological therapies to treat nervous soldiers; that doctors must acquire some understanding of psychology, and soldiers must be granted shorter periods of frontline service including constant rotation, and be sent home frequently to prevent nervous breakdowns.
While the 1922 document certainly contained some groundbreaking conclusions, they were overshadowed by the committee’s conservative beliefs about mental illness. The British War Office recommended that the term shell shock be abolished from the official military language, that nervous casualties not be listed as combat wounds, and that soldiers should receive better training to create a high spirit of morale to combat nervousness. As Lord Southborough’s committee concluded: “The most likely type of man for ‘shellshock’ is the brooding, introspective, self-analyzing man, the type who in the last war was constantly estimating his chance of survival, and whose imagination added the terrors of the future to those of the present.” Southborough’s committee disregarded the lived combat experiences of shell-shocked soldiers and officers. It unanimously decided that shell shock was a pre-existing condition that affected men with lesser masculine qualities, including those who easily succumbed to fear. It appeared that the lessons acquired from the war, including that every soldier and officer can have a breakdown in combat, were dismissed in favour of this new interpretation of shell shock.
The results from Southborough’s committee had far-reaching implications throughout the British Empire. In Canada, some doctors echoed a similar stance to that of their British counterparts. Sir Andrew (Dr.) Macphail, Canada’s official Great War historian, said: “that shell-shock is a manifestation of childishness and femininity and that against such there is no remedy; that hysteria is the most epidemical of all diseases.” Dr. Macphail, along with other Canadian medical authorities, contended that masculinity meant the suppression of emotions, and it was born on the battlefield. As Macphail thought, shell shock reverted its victims to a child-like mentality as they broke down crying, wet the bed, screamed when left alone at night, and panicked easily. He believed that shell-shocked men became overly hysterical as they “were not fit for the hard business of war.” In reality, the average shell-shocked Canadian soldier was 27 years old. In some ways, Macphail was correct to portray grown men as children as the image of “the early twentieth-century madman was widely held to be either dangerous or ridiculous.” While it was easier to depict shell-shocked veterans as boys to generate greater public compassion, the problem that Macphail implied was that they were grown men who required motherly affection, as he believed that shell shock deprived its victims of their manhood.
Throughout the mid-1920s, other experts in the United States interpreted shell shock differently. One expert, Dr. Frederick W. Parsons, of the New York State Hospital Commission, offered a radical view on it. Parsons denied the existence of shell shock, arguing “that there is no such thing as shell shock” from a psychological perspective. Parson still interpreted shell shock as a bodily injury from the result of an artillery explosion. Fear was the underlying reason why some soldiers broke down, despite the stoic state of the “soldier veteran who never complained of shell shock [as] real soldiers, the men who went through the crucible, never made a joke of a comrade laid up with shell shock.” For the shell-shocked veteran of the 1920s, their combat experiences were again undermined by this view. Shell shock was believed to be an example of mass hysteria where some soldiers panicked easily and could undoubtedly influence the behaviour of their comrades. Explaining shell shock from a physical point of view meant that wounds were attributed to their condition; Parson’s denial of shell shock from a mental health perspective indicated that there were no visible injuries to suggest otherwise.
The Shell-Shocked Veterans’ Experience
During the early 1920s, there was heightened anxiety in Britain that shell shock led to a surge in crimes among veterans. In February 1920, The Vancouver Sun reported that a former British officer shot and killed a bank manager during a robbery in Leeds. The same paper also relayed that, in a similar case, another robbery was committed by a veteran in Newcastle. The Vancouver Sun made it apparent that shell shock might make “[a] man (…) not know what he is doing and has left men weak-willed.” The debate that emerged during this period was that shell-shocked veterans were not in control of their actions when a crime was committed. Rather, they were the unfortunate victims of their mental tendencies. This image of the shell-shocked veteran probably created uneasiness among some Britons, who feared that they might not be held accountable for their crimes and used mental illness as their justification. However, not all people believed that the shell-shocked veteran would not be held accountable in the legal system. The Gazette conveyed that a report from the commissioners of prisons and the directors of convict prisons in Britain said, “shell shock [is] an excuse for criminal acts.” As this report argued, prosecuting and convicting shell-shocked veterans would send a clear message that they were not victims of their mental symptoms but had every intention to commit the crime for their own gain, whether it was robbery or fraud. The report communicated one message to the public: the shell-shocked ex-serviceman is highly unpredictable and menacing.
With the end of hostilities, Canadian veterans expected to receive their fair share from the state in the form of a pension. But those veterans with invisible wounds were at a massive disadvantage compared to ex-servicemen with physical injuries. Several government organizations were established between 1916 and 1918 to assist returning soldiers. The first of these was the Board of Pension Commissioners (BPC), created in 1916, to assist wounded soldiers who were ineligible to return to the workforce, and which eventually administered a pension system by 1918. The Department of Soldiers’ Civil Re-establishment (DSCR) was created in 1918 to evaluate the injuries of returning servicemen and determine the kind of medical treatment and job training they required. The DSCR submitted the medical forms of returned soldiers to the BPC, which determined their pension eligibility. Canadian veterans with a missing limb or in a sling or cast were granted a pension as their injuries proved beyond doubt that their injuries were war-related. Those veterans with shell shock and other mental health disorders experienced greater struggles as there was no evidence to suggest that their mental wounds were attributable to their service. One medical officer at the Ontario Military Hospital in Cobourg, Ontario dismissed shell shock as “simply exaggerated” as a special “kind of medical evidence” was required to qualify for a pension. The challenges of shell-shocked veterans were unparalleled since it was difficult to acquire a source of income, whether pension or job, to support themselves and their families. As The Calgary Daily Herald exemplifies, “a returned man, made a physical wreck through shell shock watches the mail hopefully twice a day for the pension which never comes. Until it does come, he and his two halfstarved little boys must have enough food and warmth to sustain them.”
During the Great War, there was a stigma in the Allied medical community that shell shock caused its sufferers to go insane. That same stigma was still associated with shell shock after 1918. In Canada, there is some evidence to suggest that some shell-shocked soldiers were admitted to lunatic asylums during the war. After the war, there are scant statistics in the archives about how many Canadian veterans with shell shock were declared insane and confined to mental institutions. While the reality is not as clear in Canada, the situation of shell-shocked veterans in Britain created a fulsome image. In Britain, as many as 5,000 or 6,000 British veterans with shell shock and other mental health disorders were sent to lunatic asylums. The situation for British veterans was gloomy, it was almost as if the British government absolved itself of caring for its citizen-veterans. The circumstances concerning the families of shell-shocked veterans were more demoralizing as some families could not handle the challenges, including screaming and violent outbursts, brought upon by their shell-shocked loved ones; to preserve their sanity, some families abandoned their loved ones and admitted them to lunatic asylums, where some veterans spent the remainder of their life.
Conclusion
Historian Martin Stone argued that the Great War was a watershed moment for the development and advancement of mental health. While it is certainly true that the war led to some groundbreaking psychiatric treatment methods, including talking therapies, the need for a quiet environment, diet, and rest, it appeared that the lessons of the war were forgotten during the post-war years. With the Second World War, the mental health lessons and treatments of the First World War had to be rediscovered and relearned. Even with the Vietnam War and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the cycle of rediscovery and relearning occurred yet again. With the endless pattern of violence and conflict throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, soldiers and officers of Western armies must suffer psychologically for the lessons of the past to be realized.
The CCGW’s Shell Shocked showcases the Canadian experience of shell shock but also touches upon the British experience. While highlighting the many commonalities between the Canadian and British experiences of shell shock, including combat and breakdown, the stigma of mental health, and the aftermath of shell-shocked veterans at the end of the Great War, Shell Shocked also demonstrates traditional and modern attitudes about mental health. The war was a clash of thinking between old and new ideas. This article argued that mental health attitudes did not change after the war, as the old way of thinking lingered. Shell-shocked soldiers were the victims of prejudice by the medical community during the war as they were mostly perceived as cowards, malingerers, or insane. While their service might have held personal significance in 1914, the war eventually changed by December 1914 as it became one of survival and attrition. From 1915 onwards, the service of shell-shocked soldiers to the Canadian Expeditionary Force and British Expeditionary Force meant almost nothing if they were to be treated quickly by doctors, only to return to the same inhumane conditions, including mud, rain, sleet, rats, lack of sleep, and constant artillery bombardments in their trenches, all of which was responsible for their breakdown, but rejected by many medical personnel. Even in the years after the war, many shell-shocked veterans were cast aside by the Canadian and British governments, receiving the same kind of treatment they underwent during the war. Deprived of the promise that the Canadian and British governments would care for their citizen-veterans, many shell-shocked veterans were left to their own devices to cope with their broken minds. They resorted to heavy drinking, or were confined, in some cases, for decades in mental asylums. Some also committed suicide, or existed on the fringes of their respective societies. Shell-shocked veterans truly suffered for nothing during and after the war, only to become marginalized and outcast in the official historiography of the Great War.
Lawrence and Glynnis Stevenson’s “Cyprus: An Ancient People, a Troubled History, and One Last Chance for Peace” is a meticulous and insightful examination of the multifaceted history and contemporary challenges faced by the island nation of Cyprus. This book not only serves as a historical account but also sheds light on the ongoing struggle for peace in a region marked by deep-rooted conflicts.
The authors delve into the ancient history of Cyprus, providing readers with a solid foundation for understanding the cultural richness that has shaped the island. From the earliest civilizations to the Ottoman and British occupations, the book meticulously traces the various influences that have left an indelible mark on Cyprus and its people. The narrative is both engaging and accessible, making it suitable for readers with varying levels of familiarity with the region.
What sets this book apart is its focus on the contemporary challenges faced by Cyprus. The authors skillfully navigate through the complex web of political, social, and cultural issues that have contributed to the ongoing tensions on the island. They provide a balanced perspective, presenting the viewpoints of all major stakeholders involved in the conflict.
The exploration of the numerous attempts at reconciliation and peace-building efforts is particularly enlightening. The authors analyze the impact of international interventions, diplomatic initiatives, and grassroots movements, offering readers a nuanced understanding of the intricate dynamics at play.
The strength of “Cyprus” lies in its ability to humanize the conflict. Through personal stories, anecdotes, and interviews, the authors bring to life the experiences of individuals affected by the troubled history of Cyprus. This approach adds a human dimension to the narrative, fostering empathy and a deeper connection with the subject matter.
Despite the challenges explored in the book, the authors leave readers with a sense of hope. The title, “One Last Chance for Peace,” suggests that the book is not merely a recounting of the past but a call to action for a more harmonious future. The concluding chapters offer thoughtful insights into potential paths forward and emphasize the importance of collective efforts in achieving lasting peace.
In conclusion, “Cyprus: An Ancient People, a Troubled History, and One Last Chance for Peace” is a commendable work that skillfully combines historical analysis with contemporary relevance. Lawrence and Glynnis Stevenson’s comprehensive and well-researched approach makes this book an essential read for anyone interested in understanding the complexities of Cyprus and the ongoing pursuit of peace in the region.
Twenty-five Canadian soldiers were executed during the First World War: twenty-two for desertion, one for cowardice, and two for murder.
In 2001, the Canadian government added the names of those executed for desertion and cowardice during the war to the Book of Remembrance at Parliament Hill. (See full speech by the Minister of Veteran Affairs below.)
In 2006, the British parliament granted an official pardon to all soldiers of the British and Dominion forces.
Two executed soldiers served with the 3rd Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force which The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada perpetuates.
Pte. Côme Laliberté
Private Come Laliberté
Côme Laliberté was born on 24 March 1893 in Lotbinière Quebec, the son of Ludger Laliberté (deceased in 1907) and Eugénie Hamel, of Montréal, Québec.
He served with the 22e Battalion (service number 61703) from October 24, 1914, to March 3, 1915, and was released due to his conduct.
Three days later in March, he re-enlisted in the 41st Battalion (stating being born in Lotbinière in 1893), travelling with them to England in June 1915.
Before the end of 1915, Laliberté already had several entries on his conduct sheet.
Date
Offence
Punishment
29 June 1915
Drunkenness
Fined 2 days’ pay
5 August 1915
Absent Without Leave (AWOL)
Fined 2 days’ pay
10 September 1915
Out of barracks with a pass and improperly dressed
7 days Field Punishment No. 1
On moving up to the trenches during the Summer of 1916, as part of the 3rd Battalion’s contribution to the battles around Mount Sorrel, Laliberté left the ranks and refused to go forward. He was tried for desertion, found guilty and sentenced to death by shooting.
On 4 August 1916, Laliberté (aged 23) was executed by firing squad. His remains are now located in Poperinghe New Military Cemetery, Plot II, Row H, Grave 3.
Pte. Edward James Reynolds
Private Edward James Reynolds
Edward James Reynolds was born on 2 January 1896 in Toronto. In April 1915, Reynolds enlisted in the 35th Battalion. By November 1915, Reynolds was a member of the 3rd Battalion in the line near Ploegsteert.
On 25 July 1916, the Germans exploded a mine under a portion of the front line called “The Bluff”. The 3rd Battalion was ordered forward to plug the resulting gap in the front line. However, Reynolds fell out from his platoon only to be found 2 days later at his battalion’s transport lines. Reynolds claimed that he had been ordered back and got lost. This excuse was accepted.
During the following night (26 July 1916), Reynolds was ordered to accompany a ration party up to the front line. Again Reynolds fell out and went back to his battalion’s transport lines. This time Reynolds was arrested and charged with desertion. He was found guilty by a court-martial and sentenced to death.
At 05:27 on 23 August 1916, Reynolds (aged 20) was executed by firing squad. His remains are now located in Longuenesse Souvenir Cemetery, Plot IV, Row A, Grave 39.
It is of interest that both the Toronto Star and the Toronto Telegram reported at the time that Reynolds had been killed in action.
Speech by the Hon. Ronal Duhamel, December 11th, 2001:
Mr. Speaker, hon. colleagues, I rise in the Chamber to speak about the First World War and the fate of some Canadian soldiers, a fate that has been essentially forgotten in the pages of history.
For the young nation of Canada, the promise and optimism that infused the dawning 20th century was abruptly cut short by the First World War. No one anticipated such carnage, or that we would soon be sending young citizens into a war that would see 65 million people from 30 nations take up arms, where 10 million people would lose their lives and 29 million more would be wounded, captured or missing.
Never before had there been such a war, neither in the number of lives taken, nor in the manner of their taking. New weapons would turn fields of battle into slaughter grounds, while the rigours of life in the trenches would kill many of those who escaped bullet or bayonet.
This “war to end all wars” challenged our small country of 8 million to its limits. Almost 650,000 served in the Canadian Forces in the Great War. Over 68,000—more than one in ten who fought—did not return. Total casualties amounted to more than one third of those who were in uniform. Thousands came home broken in body, mind, and spirit.
The service of Canadians in uniform was as remarkable as it was distinguished. History records their sacrifice in places whose names resonate even to the present day. Battle names such as Ypres, The Somme, Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele and Amiens.
Those who lived then and the historians who followed would declare that Canada came of age because of its actions and ingenuity during World War I.
But where history speaks of national sacrifice and achievement, it is too often silent on the individual stories of triumph, tragedy and terror of those who fought and died on the terrible killing fields of France and Belgium.
Those who went to war at the request of their nation could not know the fate that lay in store for them. This was a war of such overwhelming sound, fury and unrelenting horror that few combatants could remain unaffected.
For the majority of the Canadians who took up arms and paid the ultimate sacrifice, we know little of their final moments, except that they died in defence of freedom.
Today I want to talk about 23 of our fallen. I would like to tell the House about these soldiers because these circumstances were quite extraordinary. These 23 soldiers of the Canadian Expeditionary Force occupy an unusual position in our military history. They were lawfully executed for military offences such as desertion and, in one case, cowardice.
We can revisit the past but we cannot recreate it. We cannot relive those awful years of a nation at peril in total war, and the culture of that time is subsequently too distant for us to comprehend fully.
We can, however, do something in the present, in a solemn way, aware now, better than before, that people may lose control of their emotions, have a breakdown for reasons over which they have little control. For some it would have been known today perhaps as post-traumatic stress disorder.
To give these 23 soldiers a dignity that is their due and to provide a closure for their families, as the Minister of Veterans Affairs on behalf of the Government of Canada, I wish to express my deep sorrow at their loss of life, not because of what they did or did not do but because they too lie in foreign fields where poppies blow amid the crosses row on row.
While they came from different regions of Canada, they all volunteered to serve their country in its citizen-army, and that service and the hardships they endured prior to their offences will be recorded and unremembered no more.
Allow me to enter their names into the record of the House: Quartermaster Sergeant William Alexander, Bombadier Frederick Arnold, Private Fortunat Auger, Private Harold Carter, Private Gustave Comte, Private Arthur Dagesse, Private Leopold Délisle, Private Edward Fairburn, Private Stephen Fowles, Private John Higgins, Private Henry Kerr, Private Joseph La Lalancette, Private Come Laliberté, Private W. Norman Ling, Private Harold Lodge, Private Thomas Moles, Private Eugene Perry, Private Edward Reynolds, Private John Roberts, Private Dimitro Sinizki, Private Charles Welsh, Private James Wilson and Private Elsworth Young.
We remember those who have been largely forgotten. For over 80 years, they have laid side by side with their fallen comrades in the cemeteries of France and Belgium.
I am announcing today in the Chamber that the names of these 23 volunteers will be entered into The First World War Book of Remembrance along with those of their colleagues. Adding the names of these citizen soldiers to the pages of this sacred book, which lies in the Memorial Chamber not far from here, will be a fair and just testament to their service, their sacrifice and our gratitude forevermore.
Lest we forget.
With info from Wikipedia, the Canadian War Museum and OpenParliament.ca
“Telling Our Stories” is the theme for our Regimental Museum and Archive’s next five-year Strategic Plan which was recently approved by the Museum’s Board of Governors. It overarches the five strategic directions we’ve identified:
Preserving the regiment’s history
Promoting the regiment’s history and current mission to the public
Serve the interests of a wider community through outreach and digital presence
Support and benefit from Casa Loma’s tourist business
Ensure the effective governance and management of the museum to accomplish the above
Telling our stories isn’t new for us. Since the museum’s inception, we’ve been telling the stories of the Regiment and the Riflemen who have served in it. Here are some of the ways:
Our physical exhibits are the most obvious example with hundreds of artifacts helping to tell the story of the regiment’s significant events as well as stories of individual riflemen. Over 300,000 visitors are exposed to these each year as they tour Casa Loma.
We continue to work with Gurkha Company of our Reserve Battalion to ensure that each new recruit has an opportunity to visit the museum and learn about the history of the Regiment from our museum team.
Our website has almost 500 profile pages – from Riflemen to Generals – from 1860 to the present. Of course, this is only a fraction of those who have served in the past 163 years but we continue to add new profiles regularly. Last summer we completed profiles for each of the 61 soldiers killed on D-Day.
We also use this blog to share stories as well as museum updates on this blog with 260 posts in the past 10 years.
Our Online Collections catalogue includes a searchable section called People. It includes over 4,800 entries which are crosslinked to website Profiles where appropriate but also display any objects in our collection connected to that soldier such as photos in which they are named, and any related donated medals, diaries, uniforms, trophies, shadow boxes, etc.
In addition, we’ve uploaded photos and information over 4,700 objects (and growing) that are available to anyone to access.
We have digitized various archival documents such as early nominal rolls, regiment orders, diaries, correspondence, etc. to assist family genealogists and historians (as well as preserve the originals!)
We have digitized and uploaded over 130 multimedia items (and created some of our own) to our museum’s YouTube Channel which has 2,500 subscribers and in 2023 has had over 133,000 views and 4,900 hours of watch time. Our most popular video is the “Evolution of the Rifleman’s Uniform 1860-1900s” which has more than 366, 200 views since being uploaded!
We regularly share stories and artifacts on our Facebook Page (with 6,200+ followers) and Instagram (with almost 2,000 followers.)
Moving forward, we plan to expand on these efforts and identify new ones.
2023 Museum volunteers celebrating some Christmas cheer as we wrap up for the year!
Who helps tell our stories?
All of our dedicated museum team are volunteers. First, we have a great museum Board of Governors, that meets periodically to provide governance oversight of the museum activity and financing.
Ms. Michele McCarthy (Chair
Mr. Jim Lutz (Past Chair)
Major Anthony S. Schultz, CD (Ret’d)
Captain (Adam Hermant, CD (Ret’d)
Ms. Jenna Zuschlag Misener
Ms. Lisa Holmes
Mr. Tristan Strathy
Major John M. Stephens, CD (Ret’d) (Director & Acting Archivist)
CWO Shaun Kelly, CD (Ret’d) (Curator)
The major operational work is done with a team of volunteers under Shaun’s direction that includes Assistant Curator Graham Humphrey, Collections Officer Briahna Bernard, and Photography Officer Anne Frazer and works at the museum most Thursday evenings cataloging, photographing and properly storing new donations, updating exhibits, clearing cabinets, and a raft of other tasks that always need doing!
How do we fund our work?
We receive a small annual grant of $1,500 from the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport however the remainder of our $25-30K annual budget is provided by The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada Trust Fund.
Actual expenses vary year to year but generally include upgrades to exhibits, labels, interpretive panels and creation of pop-up banners, website and collection management database costs, association memberships with the Ontario and Canadian Museum associations and the Organization of Military Museums in Canada (which provide training and networking opportunities), archival grade storages materials from acid-free folders and boxes to mylar clothing bags and other supplies, third party conservation work, occasional purchases of important objects, general office supplies, and annual volunteer recognition reception.
In 2024 our exhibit upgrades include raising 4 four exhibit cabinets and adding LED lighting which is the last of a three-year project. The final year’s cost is estimated at $8,000.
How is the QOR Trust Fund funded?
The Trust fund receives some grants and foundation funding but the majority of income is from individual donations which are of course eligible for a charitable tax receipt.
How can you help?
Please consider making a donation to the QOR Trust Fund and directing it to the Museum Fund. You can mail a cheque to the Trust or donate online through a recurring donation, a one-time donation, or even by donating securities or certain cryptocurrencies. You can also make a Tribute donation in honour or memory of someone. All these options are available through the Trust’s CanadaHelps page and explanations, addresses and links to donate (which are preset to the Museum Fund!) are available on our Donate page.
Please help us “Tell Our Stories” and become part of our team by making a financial donation to support our museum.
Having spent three years at the Royal Canadian School of Infantry in Camp Borden wearing RCIC badges, I was glad to be interviewed by Col. Peter Bingham as to my choice of “rebadging” among the Canadian Guards, the Black Watch (RHR) and The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada. Having started my military career in 1941 in the King’s Royal Rifle Corps (60th Rifles), I naturally opted for The Queen’s Own, which turned out to be the best choice.
Soon after getting myself back into “Green and Black” I was posted to Korea as a replacement for Maurice Whiting, in 1954. The posting was for three months as 2QOR of C was rotating home in the spring. On arrival at the battalion, I was posted as 2 I/C D Coy. which was a large (170) company containing all the troops taking their release on return to Canada. For some reason, it was known as the “Jaggy Company’” by the other rifle and support companies. It was commanded by Maj. Larry Harrington who used hearing aids for which he had trouble obtaining batteries and was constrained to save them by switching them off whenever possible! Every morning was OC’s Orders where justice was dispensed.
As the battalion reserve, we manned the defensive positions in the Kansas Line during the numerous “Scram” Exercises, and did a large amount of repair work to the bunkers and slit trenches. Just as the Battalion was getting prepared to leave for Canada I was posted into the HQ 1 COMWEL Division to replace Capt. Erwin Fleury as Staff Captain (Canadian) and OC to KATCOM (Korean Army Attached to Commonwealth Division) Defence Coy, a standard three-platoon rifle company.
The staff work was the standard stuff and I spent a lot of time with piles of paper, one of which was 125 copies of the nominal roll of 2QOR to get the battalion aboard the troopship at Inchon. I went down to see them off and say goodbye to friends like Ron “Awful” Werry, Charlie Belzile and Peter Nixon. The tragic death of Lt. Bill Vipond was on my desk and that Board of Inquiry took a while to get to Ottawa, going back and forth. Years later, in the 90s, my wife Brenda and I visited Pusan and laid poppies on the graves of the three 2QOR casualties in the impressive UN cemetery on the hillside overlooking Pusan harbour.
The three months in Korea was extended twice to 13 months as the powers that be vacillated about who was leaving and who was staying. Before I left I was awarded a Korean medal by the Korean Army Chief of Staff and it now hangs in the QOR museum at Casa Loma as, in those days, we were not authorized to wear foreign decorations for peacekeeping duties.
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If you’d like to support the Regimental Museum and Archive with our goal of “Telling Their Stories,” you can find more information on how you can make a sustaining or one-time financial donation on our Donation page.
Above: Claire Mitchell holds a photo of Canadian soldiers who participated in the tests in the Nevada desert. At the centre of the photo is her husband, Peter Mitchell, who died in 2008 of cancer.
From the Summer/Fall 2008 issue of the Powder Horn.
G Baskerville, c1995
By Lieutenant Colonel Grahame Baskerville CD
The QOR has now had an Airborne tasking for almost 25 years and is the only Militia unit able to retain this tasking. Many Regular Force QOR members qualified as parachutists and served with distinction with the Airborne Regiment. Also within the Regular Force the QOR had members who had served in WW II with the 1st Cdn Parachute Battalion as well as British Airborne Forces. As a matter of Regimental historical detail, it would be interesting to determine who was the first person wearing a QOR hat badge to qualify as a parachutist. Was it someone during WW II or was it later?
One of the earliest Regular Army paratroopers was MWO (Ret) Pete Mitchell. He enlisted (at age 17) in 1944 with the 2nd (Reserve) Bn QOR in Toronto. He joined the Regular Army in 1951 and went to Germany with the 1st Cdn Rifle Bn (QOR Coy) in 27 Bde. Sgt Mitchell, along with Sgt Fred Swan (also QOR) returned to Canada in 1952 and went to Rivers, Manitoba where they qualified as parachutists on Basic Para Course 164. They remained at Rivers as Para Instructors. Sgt Swan later re-badged to PPCLI to continue his parachuting and Pete Mitchell returned to 1 BN QOR in 1954 where he served in Calgary and Germany. He later rebadged to PPCLI and retired in 1980. Hearsay evidence indicates that these two were the first to return to Canada for parachutist training. As Mitchell is ahead of Swan alphabetically, it is highly possible that Pete Mitchell may be the first QOR person to qualify as a parachutist. Are there others?
[MUSEUM NOTE: In the summer of 1926, Colonel James (Jim) G. K. Strathy, OBE, OStJ, CD, ED (then a Lieutenant with The Queen’s Own Rifles) was training as a pilot at CFB Borden and was required to complete a parachute jump which he did – with much success obviously! Whether that means he was a “qualified parachutist” could be debatable however it seems extremely likely he was the first QOR to actually make a parachute jump.]
NOTE: In 1957 the 1st Bn QOR was selected to provide a platoon for nuclear weapons training at the United States Atomic Energy Commission Test site at Yucca Flats, Nevada. MWO Mitchell was selected to be the Platoon Sgt for this task which involved 40 members of the 1st Bn QOR working with US Army units and being subjected to six atomic blasts over a two-month period with no protective clothing or shelter other than slit trenches. They were assured repeatedly that they had not been exposed to harmful levels of radiation and they accepted these assurances in good faith.
Like many of the others, Pete Mitchell developed cancer in later life and died in early summer, after much physical distress. The Canadian Atomic Veterans Association continues to pursue the Canadian government for compensation – so far without fair results.
If you’d like to support the Regimental Museum and Archive with our goal of “Telling Their Stories,” you can find more information on how you can make a sustaining or one-time financial donation on our Donation page.
Reprinted from the Summer/Fall 2008 issue of the Powder Horn.
HRH Princess Alexandra, KG, GCVO – Colonel in Chief, 1960-2010. The original 40″ x 30″ oil on canvass painted by John Stanton Ward hangs in the Officers’ Mess. Portrait photo by Christopher Lawson, June 17, 2010.
The first notification, on the letterhead of Kensington Palace, W.8 (London), marked “Private and Confidential” was to Col James G.K. Strathy, OBE, ED, in March 1963. From Sir Philip Hay KCVO, the Private Secretary to HRH Princess Alexandra, Colonel-in-Chief of The Queen’s Own Rifles, it began as follows:
“My Dear Jim. Princess Alexandra has asked me to write to you, as Colonel of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada and to convey to you her ideas as to how her Regiments may best be represented at her wedding at Westminster Abbey on Wednesday, 24th April.
“I think I should make it clear at the outset that, while the Princess is most anxious that the maximum number of officers and other ranks from all her Regiments should take some part at her wedding, it is very well understood by Her Royal Highness that it may prove difficult, or indeed impossible for The Queen’sOwn Rifles of Canada to meet the various requirements set out below, which I repeat are only tentative suggestions and should by no means be interpreted as royal commands.
“In the case of your Regiment, the Princess is aware of the very special difficulties which are bound to arise because the whole of the Regiment is stationed outside the United Kingdom.”
The letter continued, providing details for those who might be invited, including senior officers as official representatives, plus other members of The Queen’s Own, some who would act as ushers and others to form part of an escort party lining the entranceway to Westminster Abbey’s front doors, through which the wedding party would enter and exit.
As was his custom, Col Strathy acted with swift decisiveness, nominating the Commanding Officers of the Regiment’s three battalions, along with their wives, to be The Queen’s Own’s senior representatives, along with four junior officers and two NCOs from the 1st Bn serving in Germany, to round out the official party, which would also include Col and Mrs. Strathy.
This resulted in LCol H.C.F. Elliot CD, CO of the 1st Bn stationed in Fort McLeod, at (Dellinghoffen) Germany, his wife Bessie; 2nd Bn CO LCol D.N. Osborne CD, and his wife Phyllis stationed at Currie Barracks, Calgary, and 3rd Bn CO LCol Glenn McIver CD, and his wife Jean, in Toronto, going into frantic overdrive to prepare themselves for this occasion of a lifetime for members of The Queen’sOwn, the marriage of their Colonel-in-Chief to the Hon. Angus Ogilvy, London born son of the twelfth Earl of Airlie, a Scot. The last survivor of the four senior officers present at the wedding was LCol McIver, who died in March 2008, and who was survived by his wife, who had written an interesting account of their trip to attend the wedding. The following is an extract from a lengthy hand-written document which Jean McIver had taken the time to compose as she and her husband took a short pre-wedding vacation before flying into London and “touching down on Sat. Apr 20/63 at 12:30 a.m. after a holiday of eight days on the continent.”
She wrote, following a couple of days of sightseeing in London, that “Tuesday was the day of days. We were picked up by Canadian Army cars and driven to Kensington Palace, the home of our Princess. We were met at the door by an aide to Sir Philip Hay, who is secretary to Princess Marina (Princess Alexandra’s mother) and Princess Alexandra. We entered the Dining Room and then Princess Marina’s Drawing Room. These rooms impressed me very much, not because of their grandeur, for they were not pretentious but very, very home-like, just like any other bride’s the day before the wedding, with unopened gifts in the Dining Room.
“Lady Hamilton, the Princess’Lady-in-Waiting made us all welcome and talked to each person present while we waited and drinks and canapés were served to us. There were about 20 people present, eight QOR people plus representatives from Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. The Princess was scheduled to stay for 15 minutes but stayed for 45. She arrived wearing a very chic green suit with her lovely hair done in a French roll. She was very charming and far prettier than her photos show. Angus was with her and is a very delightful person with a tremendous sense of humour and ready wit.
“When the Princess first entered the room we were presented to her singly. She spoke to us about Toronto. She has a great knowledge of the Regiment and its battalions. They both expressed delight at our coming so far and thanked us profusely. She expressed her desire to see us in the near future in Canada. We actually had the opportunity to speak to them three times for when the time came to leave they said goodbye to each one individually.
“An amusing incident occurred when Alexandra had finished saying goodbye to us. She proceeded to the next couple and walked behind us so she and Angus could get by easily. Glen moved me in front of him. This was very close to the centre of the floor and, at this point, Angus appeared and there we were alone in the centre of the room. He took my hand like one would in a French Minuet and said “Shall we dance this one alone?” And so our goodbyes ended with a laugh from all.
“London was all agog over the wedding and a great deal of fuss was made of it by the Press and Radio or TV. The day of the wedding LCol and Mrs Osborne and ourselves made quite an impression on the people in the lobby of the hotel when we came down and got into our chauffeur-driven Canadian cars.
“Westminster was a wonderful sight. The beauty of the Old Church with all of its lovely architecture cannot help but to impress us. We were ushered to our seats and were in plenty of time to see the arrival of all the dignitaries, the splendour and colour of the costumes of people from other countries as well as the beautiful fashions of the British Commonwealth people. Our spot in the Abbey was the Poet’s Corner (under Keats and Milton and on top of Hardy). This was one time when I had a desire to be seven feet tall to be able to see the whole of the Processional Aisle.
“The Abbey was equipped with closed circuit TV so it was possible to see the Royal Family and guests arriving at the Abbey and walking down the aisle. The TV showed the Princess leaving the Palace in her beautiful gown with her brother and at various points along the route. We saw the Queen, Prince Philip and Charles arrive and be received and the darling little bridesmaids and pages, who were a little impatient to be on their way, and Princess Anne trying to keep them in order. Princess Margaret smiling and happy with Anthony Armstrong Jones and Angus and the best man as they waited also.
“As Alexandra entered the Abbey there was a hush as all strained to catch a glimpse of the radiant and beautiful bride, a fairytale Princess, stately and regal, her magnolia gown so simple in design yet magnificent. The train, held by a diamond tiara and made of lace, was a true work of art. The details of the gowns of the wedding party are by now familiar to most people through press and TV coverage, although nothing can capture the excitement and grandeur of actually being there.”
If you’d like to support the Regimental Museum and Archive with our goal of “Telling Their Stories,” you can find more information on how you can make a sustaining or one-time financial donation on our Donation page.
(Lieutenant Colonel “Boom” Marsaw, commissioned 2/Lt in The Queen’s Own Rifles, was posted to Korea in 1954 where he commanded the Machine Gun Platoon and a platoon of ROK Army soldiers and later served as Liaison Officer to the ROK Army. He also served in Germany, Cyprus, India, Pakistan, Norway and Alaska. In April 1969, then Maj Marsaw serving with 1 Br Corps, he was recalled to take command of the 1st Battalion QOR of C, serving until it was rebadged as the 3rd Battalion PPCLI. In 1977 LCol Marsaw retired to begin his service as a Baptist pastor.)
When I first met LCol “Wild Bill” Matthews, he was sporting the badge of The Queen’s Own Rifles. He had been awarded not one but two Military Crosses, for bravery during WWII and he proved to be some CO! What an impact he was to have on my life, my career. As I see it, one of the true measures of greatness in this world is the capacity to inspire others to reach for — and achieve — excellence. That’s how Bill influenced me. It was he who launched me on the way to Regimental Command. There is just no doubt about it.
Colonel Bill was no stranger to his officers, especially junior officers. I had only been briefly at my new post before I was ushered into his office. “Where are you from, Boom?” he asked. “London, sir,” I answered. “Hey you’re practically home. (Camp Ipperwash was just an hour’s drive away.) They call this part of the province Western Ontario, don’t they? That’s great because we need some good westerners in this outfit. You’re going to command a platoon in D Company. It is made up of fellows from The Regina Rifles, a fine Regiment. They (and The Queen’s Own) were the only guys in the whole of the Allied D-Day landing force to achieve their objective. They even went beyond and had to be hauled back. They’ve got a great reputation.” He added that, “Oh, by the way we’ve got a track and field meet on this afternoon so you’d better unpack your running shoes. I’m sure the Company will be able to use you.” And they did. That afternoon I won the 100, 220, and 440. All the practice I had keeping out of Mom’s reach really paid off. It didn’t hurt either in the matter of winning the respect of those in my new command. There is something about working for the fastest guy in the Regiment. It was a great beginning for a relationship that lasted a lifetime.
From my earliest days with the Regiment it had always been my aspiration to achieve command. That opportunity came far sooner than I had anticipated when a posting to the British 1st Corps in 1970 was cut short and I was whisked back home to take over the 1st Battalion, The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada. I was 38 years old and for a moment the youngest Battalion Commander in the Canadian Forces. Immediately after the handover parade, I had the RSM assemble the troops in the mess hall. I don’t remember much of what I said that day, hopefully all the right things, but most significantly I addressed the issue of faith. I realized that there were some who were concerned about “the old Bible thumper” taking command. I acknowledged that fact and suggested that they might be just a little concerned that there would be a church parade every Sunday. I assured them that would not happen. They all cheered. “Every other Sunday,” I said. And they all booed. With that I assured them that I wasn’t there to push my faith down their throats, but I simply hoped to prove that having the likes of me in command would make an encouraging difference.
I knew that I had very big shoes to fill. The Regiment was turning out some really fine leaders. The last two Commanding Officers were nothing short of outstanding and both went on to become Generals. (Kip Kirby and Herb Pitts MC). Not only did I inherit a fine unit, but also some really encouraging operational roles — that of the Canadian Forces Mountain Warfare and Arctic Operations Battalion. The Queen’s Own was Canada’s contribution to Ace Mobile Force Land (AMFL). In practical terms that meant we were assigned to the defence of Norway.
In WWII Norway had very quickly fallen to Hitler’s Germany. AMFL was NATO’s attempt at preventing it from happening again should the Russian war machine start to roll. The Alliance had committed itself to putting a Brigade on the ground in Norway at the first sign of a serious threat by the Warsaw Pact Nations. Canada’s role was to have a Company there in 24 hours and an entire Battle Group in seven days. The Queen’s Own were the major component of the Canadian contribution and I was in command. The overall size of the force was a Brigade Group. The other two Battalions were provided by Britain and Italy, the Germans supplied the Armoured Regiment, each Battalion brought its own Artillery and the Americans added a lot of the bits and pieces that make a force of this size work.
There were about 1200 in my command including a flight of six Huey helicopters. We had enough Skidoos to move one whole company, Armoured Personnel Carriers (M113s) sufficient for another and snowshoes for all. The choppers could do a pretty good job of moving a Rifle Company in two lifts and the better part of a battery of light guns in one. This entire Force was airlifted to Norway by the RCAF Transport Command.
It is important to realize that the Norwegian venture was only one of the many things an Infantry Battalion may face in the passing year. Life in a Regiment is an unending chain of adventures. For instance, the unit already knew it was going to Cyprus for a six-month tour of duty the following year. Preparation for that was already in the back of our minds. But, between now and then it was train, train, train.
THE END OF AN ERA
On April 26th, 1970, we celebrated our Regiment’s 110th birthday and on the next, paraded as the Third Battalion of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI), The Princess Pats. The cartoon on the local newspaper’s editorial page pictured the Officers’Mess bar with a collection of its distraught members. It was captioned, “Cut to ribbons…Wiped out…Totally annihilated…By our own side.” The only consolation was that we were exchanging membership in the most decorated Regiment in Canadian history for membership in another wonderfully storied Unit.
If you’d like to support the Regimental Museum and Archive with our goal of “Telling Their Stories,” you can find more information on how you can make a sustaining or one-time financial donation on our Donation page.
On this Remembrance Day, we encourage you to visit our Virtual Wall of Honour, which lists all the names of The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada’s fallen since 1866.
These include many links to soldiers’ personal profile pages, which are some of over 450 that have been created by our Regimental Museum’s volunteers. These often create very touching pictures of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice in service of their country.
If you have information or photographs to add to new or existing profiles, please send an email to: museum@qormuseum.org.
We also invite you to join us on Saturday, November 11 before 11 am at the Regimental Cross of Sacrifice at St Paul’s Bloor St (227 Bloor St E, Toronto) for our short Service of Remembrance and the laying of wreaths.
If you’d like to support the Regimental Museum and Archive with our goal of “Telling Their Stories,” you can find more information on how you can make a sustaining or one-time financial donation on our Donation page.
“Today, on Indigenous Veterans Day, we express our heartfelt gratitude to all First Nations, Inuit, and Métis service members who have served in the Canadian Armed Forces. On this day, we also remember those who never made it home and those whose lives – and the lives of their families – were forever changed by conflict and war…
We all have a duty to remember and honour the sacrifices of Indigenous Peoples who have answered the call to serve. On behalf of the Government of Canada, I encourage everyone to take some time today to honour Indigenous Veterans and learn more about their past and current contributions to Canada’s proud military history.”
From the statement by Prime Minister Trudeau,
8 Nov 2023
Chief Percy Joe
On this 2023 Indigenous Veterans Day, we also want to recognize the military service of Indigenous and Métis soldiers particularly those who served in The Queen’s Own Rifles – both reserve and regular force – and in the battalions from the First World War which we perpetuate.
The museum’s research to date has identified thirty-four indigenous and four Métis who served with the above, and ten of whom gave the ultimate sacrifice.
Rifleman Charles Nahwegezhic, MM
We invite you to learn more about the soldiers listed below, several of whom include links to more extensive profiles. A † following their name indicates they died while serving.
A few of note are Rifleman Herman Stock who died on Juno Beach on D-Day, Rifleman Charles Nahwegezhic who was awarded the Military Medal before being killed in action in Holland near the end of WWII, Oronhyatekha (also known as Peter Martin) – a nineteenth-century member of the QOR who has a life story worthy of a film, and Chief Percy Joe whose profile include a recent interview with our Museum Director.
We also invite you to share any additional names or information by leaving a comment a the bottom of this post.
Lest We Forget
Indigenous:
Amiskuses, Vincent – Kawacatoose First Nation – Saskatchewan (WWII/Peacekeeper)
As we approach Remembrance Day this year, we’d like to share a number of resources on our website that may help make this a meaningful time for you, your family, and your friends.
This page lists or links to lists of all those we have identified who died while “on service” – killed in action, died of wounds, died in accidents, or died of disease. Of course, this is only a fraction of the thousands who have served with the Regiment since it was founded. Many of these have links to “Rifleman Profiles.
Over the past 11 years, we’ve created over 400 profiles of soldiers who have served in The QOR since 1860. They include members from the ranks of Rifleman to Lieutenant Generals and everything in between. Those with † after their name died while “on service.”
A very incomplete listing of cemeteries where QOR riflemen are buried. Not unexpectedly, the most extensive lists are in Toronto – particularly the Necropolis Cemetery, St James Cemetery, Mt Pleasant Cemetery, and Prospect Cemetery. We have created cemetery “walks” for each of these cemeteries by plotting their graves on a Google map which you can use to find their location. Most plots include a photo of the grave marker and a link to their profiles on our website. For those who live in the Toronto area, we encourage you to make time to visit one of these cemeteries and leave a poppy at the base of these grave markers.
Re-enactors with uniforms and equipment representing various QOR eras
Temporary QOR Badge tattoos
Members of the Regimental Band Quintet giving performances in the Great Hall
The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada Regimental Museum program is included in your Casa Loma admission fee. You can also find directions and information on parking on the Casa Loma website.
Free admission for serving soldiers in uniform, veterans in regimental blazers, former members (with ID), and cadets in uniform.
Over 4,600 photographs and objects have been cataloged in our collections management system. Many of these have also been tagged or connected in the system to over 4,700 “people” records which have also been input. For example, if a group photo has names listed on the bottom, we record those names in that catalogue record. This makes it easy to research which records are “attached” to a certain person. Click on the link above to see what we mean!
If you like the work we are doing to maintain the history of The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada and tell the stories of those who served with it, please consider making a donation to support our work. You can make a donation in memory or in honour of an individual, make a one-time donation or set up a monthly sustaining donation. You can even donate stocks, bonds, mutual funds or cryptocurrency online.
On Sunday, September 10th, 2023 family, friends and members of the Queen’s Own regimental family (both former and currently serving members) gathered in London, Ontario to celebrate (a few days early) Second World War Corporal George Beardshaw’s 100th birthday.
George is one of two known living WWII veterans who served with The Queen’s Own Rifles. He was posted to the QOR as a reinforcement in September 1944 and served with them until the end of the war. However, he spent the final 28 days of the war as a prisoner of the Germans.
On 9 August 2023, members of the Association gathered at Peacekeepers Park in Angus.
Following the Second World War, the Regiment’s next major historic event was the 2nd Battalion’s deployment to the United Nations Korean Mission in 1954 which followed an armistice.
Some of the young soldiers who participated in the mission were Lieutenant-General Charlie Belzile, Frank Sypulski and Joe Byatt.
There were seven fatalities from the Regiment attributed to the Mission:
Rifleman G.P. Reid – 11 June 1955 – Killed in a car accident in Saskatchewan while on leave
Major P.E. Gower– 9 December 1956 – Airplane crash in the Rocky Mountains while returning from Korea
Association members at that day s event are: Peacekeeper Don Mitchell, Association Toronto Branch President Brian Budden, Major-General Lewis Mackenzie the reviewing officer, Association Padre John Howie and Robert Chan.
General Mackenzie laid a QOR wreath with the Association members at the Wall of Honour.
One of our goals is to provide access to archival materials that may have potential interest to researchers. We have been doing some of this through pages on this website.
In the past year, however, our collections management database has been upgraded to allow us to add documents such as pdfs which can also be made available in the Public Access view – the one any visitor can see. So where we have scanned certain documents, we can now provide the scans to researchers rather than just describe that record.
We recently scanned the seventy-three issues of the “Regimental Newsletter” (talk about monotonous!) which were published by the Regimental Depot between 25 November 1959 and 30 June 1970. These varied in size from the first issue of 2 pages to the last which was 88 pages. They cover more than half of the cold war period when the regiment consisted of a regular force training depot, two regular force battalions, and a militia battalion. These supplemented the annual “Powder Horn” publications (1960-1970) and provided information about and often letters from officers deployed or posted externally to the battalions, various postings, promotions, obituaries, cadet corps updates, museum reports, cartoons, and a host of other tidbits.
Another example of recently scanned material is several scrapbooks of news clippings of the 1910 Trip to England which have recently proved valuable to a researcher writing a book on the trip:
In addition, we can also add URLs to the record and again make them available in the Public Access View. That means if we’ve already uploaded scans to our website, we can just link to that from the collection record. We’ll be working on updating those links in the future.
In the meantime, you can find a variety of materials on our Research and our Archives page with past issues of the annual Rifleman Magazine and the Powder Horn newsletters (not the annual publication from 1960-1970 yet), nominal rolls, 19th Century Regimental Orders, diaries and memoirs, etc.
We hope you’ll find these useful and/or at least interesting reads!
Although the 2nd Battalion of The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada arrived in Korea about nine months after the Armistice was signed, they still had six casualties attributed to their service during the Korean deployment:
Don Perdue on the US Troop ship Marine Lynx en route to Korea
“The Korean Armistice was signed on 27 July 1953. The rotation of units on watch resulted in the selection of the 2nd Battalion for duty in Korea. The battalion came to Toronto and, on 27 February 1954, paraded with the 3rd Battalion to St. Paul’s for divine service. The same night the 2nd Battalion entrained for Seattle, Washington. The troopship [USS Marine Lynx] touched at Sacebo, Japan; then on to Inchon, Korea. The captain of the ship and his executive officer remarked, “Those men in the green berets and black belts are the ones to call on if you want a job done.”
Demmy Korea 1955
The battalion was warmly welcomed to the Commonwealth Division by Major-General (now Lieutenant-General) Sir Horatio Murray and Brigadier (now Major-General) J. V. AlIard. All units had 100 Katcorns (Koreans attached to the Commonwealth Division). The Queen’s Own formed theirs into one company under Major R. B. Firlotte. The company didn’t last long, however. The Koreans liked everything except the rifle pace. So they transferred to the road-building gangs where the pace was easier.
Korea – Don Perdue Collection
Korea presented an excellent training ground for all ranks. Exercises were held up to and including Corps level. Sitting on the line between North and South Korea meant alarms and excursions at any hour of the day and night. In fact, on one occasion, the officers had to leave a Mess Dinner and take up battle positions in Greens! Certainly, the work called for a high standard of leadership; the response from all ranks was excellent.
RSM William Demmy and his crew out on a patrol in Korea in 1955
The Fall of 1954 saw the Canadian Forces in Korea reduced from a brigade group to one battalion. The Queen’s Own was chosen as the one battalion to remain even though they were not the last to arrive in the country. Quite aware of the fact that the Army considers turning in too much equipment as bad as turning in too little, The Queen’s Own fell heir to the surplus from the departing battalions. Everything turned up from two-and-a-half ton trucks to battle dress.
Seen here is an Acting Corporal during the Deployment to Korea in 1955
Now The Queen’s Own were brigaded with The Royal Australian Regiment and The Dorsets. The association was most pleasant. Training was stepped up during the winter and culminated in an exercise conducted by Brigadier Geoffrey Musson CB, Commander of the Commonwealth Division.
Bill McAndrew on a visit to the 38th Parallel in Korea.
Finally, in the early spring of 1955, The Queen’s Own was ordered home. Now came the tremendous job of turning in the battalion’s own equipment and the surplus mentioned above. In this connection, the 2nd in Command, Major Ted Shuter; the adjutant, Captain Peter Nixon; H.Q. Company Commander, Major Ed. Price and the Quartermaster, Captain Fred Coe, deserve special mention. As the battalion sailed, a personal congratulatory letter came from Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds, the Canadian Chief of Staff.
Inchon, Korea was left on 6 April 1955. The V.S.S. General Mason arrived in Seattle, Washington on 22 April. After sixty days leave the unit reassembled at Gordon Head, Vancouver Island. ”
Contemporary Canadian war artist Gertrude Kearns is known for her evocative portraits of senior military leaders. She was embedded with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan in 2005-2006 but her portfolio includes earlier works on Somalia, Rwanda, and the former Yugoslavia.
Ms. Kearns eventually compiled her Afghan war art into an exhibit titled “The Art of Command: Portraits and Posters from Canada’s Afghan Mission.”
In 2008, she was commissioned to paint Tecumseh and Brock, the Shawnee Indian leader and British major-general who both fought and died in the War of 1812. In 2019 she was made a member of the Order of Canada.
In 2000 Warrant Officer Stephen Thomas joined the 7th Toronto Regiment and in 2003/04, he completed his first tour in Afghanistan. In 2005, he saw the light and transferred to The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada, later becoming a member of the regiment’s parachute company.
Thomas’ second deployment to Afghanistan occurred between July 2006 and March 2007, where he served as force protection. On October 3, 2006, in Kandahar then Corporal Thomas with three others, saved the lives of their fellow soldiers and local Afghan civilians by unloading ammunition from a disabled burning vehicle during a suicide bomber attack. For this action, he was awarded the Canadian Forces Medal of Bravery.
In early 2021 Ms. Kearns created a large portrait of Warrant Thomas using mixed media in her easily recognizable style. You may recall having seen an image of this on the cover of the 2020-2021 Rifleman magazine.
In the fall of 2022, the artist contacted our museum and very generously offered to donate the portrait to us. After a few delays, Curator Shaun Kelly picked up the piece earlier this year from Ms. Kearns’ studio. He then arranged to have the portrait framed and covered with museum-grade plexiglass to protect it while on exhibit. On 6 June 2023 at the D-Day Dinner at Casa Loma, Ms Kearns and Warrant Thomas unveiled the donated portrait. On the following Thursday our museum team hung the portrait for exhibit in our 1945 to Present Room.
Our very grateful thanks to Ms. Kearns for her generous donation!
Today marks the 79th anniversary of D-Day and the first time we commemorate without any known living survivors of that landing.
Some of us recently attended the memorial service for Alex Adair who passed away on Christmas Eve 2022 and was our last known living D-Day veteran.
Alex was one of the four soldiers in the well-known photograph (above) of the just liberated home now known as Canada House. The other three were Jim Leslie, Norman Hore and Bob McBurney.
You can hear about how they ended up in this photo from Alex himself in this short video:
The youngest was 19-year-old Rifleman Russell Adamson of Midland
The oldest was 40-year-old Corporal Hugh Rocks of Kirkland Lake
Many of these riflemen left school at the age of 14 or 15 – few completed high school
Many of their fathers had served in the First World War
Rifleman Calbert’s brother was also QOR and was killed in Holland in February 1945.
Rifleman Corvec was transferred to the QOR from a reinforcement unit on 26 May 1944 – just 12 days before D-Day
Rifleman Hall served in the 1939-1940 Finnish-Russian War before enlisting with the QOR in England in 1942
Sergeant “Freddy” Harris was the only Jewish rifleman among the QOR’s D-Day fallen.
Rifleman Lizon has no known grave and is remembered on the Bayeux Memorial however there are several graves in Beny-sur-mer Cemetery with no known names.
Rifleman Martin lied about his age in order to join the QOR in Jun 1940. He was two days shy of his 22nd birthday on D-Day
Riflemen May and McCallum were originally drummers but would serve as stretcher bearers on D-Day
Lance Corporal McKechnie was married in England on 18 May 1944 – just weeks before D-Day
Included in this list are two brothers – Gordon and Douglas Reed
Rifleman Showers was AWOL (absent without leave) when his original regiment The Black Watch, left Newfoundland, and on reappearing was posted to the QOR
Rifleman Stock was an indigenous soldier from Gibson Reserve
From the QOR fallen alone, at least 17 children became fatherless on D-Day
Watch this video to learn more about The Queen’s Own on D-Day:
You can find more about the QOR and the Second World War including personal reminisces of D-Day on our Second World War Resources page.
The other day a man approached me at the supermarket, he had noticed my QOR licence plate and wanted to let me know his grandfather was in the Queen’s Own during WWII.
I asked him if he had a minute to spare then was able to look up (on my phone) his grandfather on the Museum’s online catalogue using the people search function.
I was able to show him pictures of his grandfather with the Officers’ Mess in Sussex, New Brunswick, and with Queen Mary in England in 1941.
The Museum’s online catalogue is a powerful tool. It has access to thousands of artifacts and archival records that are linked to specific soldiers from the Regiment. They could be named in photographs or mentioned in documents.
Just click PEOPLE in the menu across the top and then enter the name of the person you want to search for.
The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada Regimental Museum and Archive 