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Volunteers

CWO Scott F. Patterson CD

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Commanding Officer’s Statement on the Death of
Chief Warrant Officer Scott F. Patterson CD

To my fellow Riflemen and friends of the Regiment:

It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I announce the passing of a dedicated and beloved member of The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada: Chief Warrant Officer Scott F. Patterson CD. He passed away while surrounded by family and friends at Sunnybrook Hospital on Wednesday February 10th 2016, after battling cancer over the last year.

The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada mourns the loss of one of our own and we wish to express our deepest sympathies to his family and friends who are mourning with us today.

‘Paddy’ was well liked and respected by everyone who knew him. His dedication to the Regiment and Canadian Armed Forces was unwavering, his loyalty to his friends and family unmatched and his cheerful disposition steadfast no matter the situation. Even in his last days his dignity and wonderful sense of humour were ever present. Scott had a passion for military history and his knowledge of our traditions was incredible. He was a fount of information and support for numerous Commanding Officers’ and Regimental Sergeants Major over his 37 years of service to Canada, including his time as RSM of 32 CBG Battle School and RSM of 32 Service Battalion. He will be deeply missed.

Our attention now turns towards supporting Scott’s family, his friends and each other. Further details will be forthcoming on a service at Moss Park Armoury, in keeping with his wishes. The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada is a united, strong and resilient family. As RSM Patterson would expect of us, we will lean on each other for comfort and support in the coming days and get through this together.

On behalf of Riflemen everywhere, RSM Martin and I would like to send our most sincere condolences to his family and friends in their hour of need. We hope it is of some comfort to know that you are not grieving alone.

Goodbye Mr. Patterson: we are better soldiers for having served with you and better people for having known you. Rest in peace.

Sandi Banerjee
Lieutenant Colonel
Commanding Officer

Scott was also a volunteer at the Regimental Museum and a font of knowledge regarding regimental history.  We will miss him very much.

Fenian Raid, Riflemen

Artifact Spotlight: March 1866 Nominal Roll

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QOR museum volunteer Alex Meyers recently graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a Master’s degree in Public History.  He has worked on the City of Toronto’s “Great War Attic” project, researched historical plaques for Heritage Toronto, served as a Curatorial Assistant at London’s Fanshaw Pioneer Village, and a Historical Interpreter at Toronto’s Pioneer Village. With the skills and experience Alex brings, we are very pleased to have him working on our team!

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In the early hours of 7 March 1866, the men of the Queen’s Own Rifles were called to arms. They enthusiastically assembled and paraded at the drill shed near Toronto Habour, and remained on active duty for the next few weeks. In winter and spring 1866, Canadians were wary of the threatening Fenian Brotherhood, a group of militant Irish nationalists, who were openly organizing in the United States. The Fenians talked about seizing part of Canada, to be used as a bargaining chip towards Irish independence from the United Kingdom. The QOR were called to active duty in anticipation of trouble around St Patrick’s Day (March 17), which was frequently a day of sectarian conflict between members of Toronto’s Protestant and Catholic Irish communities.

Toronto Globe, 10 march 1866
Toronto Globe, 10 march 1866

One particularly revealing document we have of that period is the regimental nominal rolls, a record of every man and officer in the regiment. The roll was written in a large hardcover book, the black cover is heavily worn. This particular book was used by the Queen’s Own from 1866 to 1882. Inside, there are more than 400 pages, each page number is neatly printed in the top outside corner. The pages are ruled and lined book like a school notebook.

The nominal roll as a physical artifact is quite fragile. It is at least 150 years old and was in active use for 16 years. Fortunately we don’t need to use the artifact to study its contents. The nominal rolls were manually scanned by some anonymous, but much appreciated, archivist. The whole book can be viewed as a PDF through the Archives section of this website. Being able to scroll through the nominal rolls as a PDF on my computer screen is great but to really understand it, I needed to sort and manipulate the data. If the tables of the nominal rolls were typed I could have used an Optical Character Recognition (OCR) program, which interpret scanned text and turn it into machine-readable ones and zeros. But even the best OCR programs have trouble with handwriting, so the next step was to transcribe the data for the whole regiment, nearly 600 men.

Nominal Roll, March 1866
Nominal Roll, No. 3 Company, 20 March 1866

Military clerks would take a record the regiment’s strength at regular intervals during times of peace and active-duty. This task fell to rotating cast of Non Commissioned Officers (NCO). The rolls are not without gaps though. Human error shows up from time to time. A whole page seems to be missing between No. 6 and 7 coys, so the record for both companies is incomplete. There is also a note where No. 10 coy should be, indicating that the roll of that company was never brought to the orderly room, so we lack a record for that company as well.

Each pages neatly drawn into a ledger. The data being collected changes from year to year. We chose to analyze the entry for March 1866 because it is the first entry in the book, it contains the most data, and because it marks the beginning of a particularly active period for the regiment. The nominal roll entry for March 1866 tells us a lot about the regiment at the time. This entry collects the following data: Rank, Name, Date of Service, Country, Religion, Trade or Calling, Age, and Remarks. From this data we can learn about the demographics of the regiment, and draw comparisons to Toronto of 1866 and 2016.

In some ways the QOR represented the demographics of Toronto in 1866, in other ways it did not. Like the general population of Toronto, the members of the regiment were almost exclusively born in Great Britain or a British colony. Fifty five percent of the regiment are listed as born in Canada, but in the year before Confederation that would be the Province of Canada, composed of Canada East (Quebec) and Canada West (Ontario). New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, each represented in the nominal rolls by one individual, were still distinct colonies. Finally, three soldiers were born in the United States. The soldiers born in Canada were patriotic British subjects, but there was an emerging sense of uniquely Canadian identity.

Country of Orgin
Country of Orgin

The regiment was as overwhelmingly Protestant as it was British. More than half the soldiers identified as Episcopal, another name for the Church of England and Ireland. Taken together with the Presbyterians (22%) and the Wesleyan/Methodists (17%), the three dominant Protestant denominations made up 94% of the regiment. British and Protestant identities were central to military service and feelings of loyalty. The proportion of Roman Catholics in Toronto peaked at 27% in 1861, but they are disproportionately underrepresented among the QOR, making up just 2%. Almost all of the Catholics in Toronto at the time were from Ireland. Catholics were considered outsiders by the dominant Protestant culture, but unlike the small numbers of Jews, Germans, and Italians in the city they were not considered ‘foreigners’.

Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation

British Protestants were not the only Torontonians ready to defend Canada from the Fenian menace. The Globe newspaper reported [10 March, 1866] that 120 men of the city’s “coloured population” had assembled in two companies and had offered their services to the government. Toronto had a small population of people of African descent, some of whom had come to the city along the famous Underground Railroad after escaping from slavery in the United States.

By 1866, Toronto was established as a regionally-important commercial, administrative, and educational centre. It was also valuable as a transportation hub for the export of Canadian agricultural products and the import of manufactured goods from Britain. In addition, it was becoming an important centre of industrial manufacturing. The men of the regiment represent 66 different occupations and reflect Toronto’s increasingly diverse economy. The heterogeneous occupational composition of the QOR provides an interesting contrast to its homogenous religious and ethnic origins. Several companies of the regiment were initially affiliated with particular trades or institutions and later became numbered units: Merchant’s Company, No. 5 Coy; Civil Service Company, No. 7 Coy; Trinity and University companies, No. 9 Coy. Students from the city’s colleges, universities and medical schools were the largest occupational group, making up 26% of the total; 8 and 9 coys were almost exclusively composed of students. The students were closely followed by clerks who made up 23% of the regiment, many of them concentrated in the No. 5 coy (Merchant’s Company). No other occupations were nearly as numerous as the students and clerks, but several were well represented, including merchants (17), shoemakers (13), laborers (11), and printers (9). There are also many more niche trades among the regiments, including Private R. Watson, silversmith; Private J.C. Smith, sailmaker; and Corporal J.B. Howe, dentist, age 19.

The nominal rolls for 1866 provide a glimpse into the spiritual and working lives of the Queen’s Own Rifles and of Victorian Toronto. The city retained its British Protestant identity well into the 20th century, even as it became increasingly diverse. The QOR has also evolved to reflect the cosmopolitan city.

See also The Fenian Raid 1866.

Volunteers

Volunteer Recognition Night 2016

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On Thursday January 28th over 30 volunteers joined us at the Officers’ Mess for a reception to recognize volunteer service to the museum in 2015. In total 93 volunteers put in over 1,600 hours!

We were pleased to be joined by Honorary Lieutenant Colonel Lionel Goffart, members of the Museum Board of Governors,  and the Deputy Commanding Officer and President of the Officers’ Mess Committee, Major Shawn Stewart.

Thanks to Adam Hermant, Rob Chan, and Pat Di Donato of the Liberty Entertainment Group, we were able to presents some gifts to our top volunteers in terms of hours of service:

  1. Larry Hicks (235 hours)
  2. Graham Humphrey (184 hours)
  3. Shaun Kelly (121 hours)
  4. Ken Kominek (88 hours)
  5. Cheryl Copson (77 hours)
  6. Joe Wyatt (76 hours)
  7. Rob Grieve (73 hours)

The presentations were followed by a tour of the various messes at Moss Park Armoury which are filled with fascinating collections of military heritage.

We’re also pleased that some of our occasional volunteers have expressed an interest in becoming more regular and we look forward to another successful year in 2016!

Regular Force

Reg Force Reminiscences: “WUN BUN DAZE”

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by Major Ronald R. Lilley, CD

This article was the first of two found in our collection. The date or purpose for which is was written is unknown. The second article will be posted in two week. Lilley left the Loyal Edmonton Regiment to join the 1st Battalion QOR in March 1954.

Back in the Spring of 54 (1954), not 1854, as many of my more recent associates would claim, the formation of 1 QOR of C was in progress at Currie Barracks, Calgary. Major C.P. McPherson (CP), acting by authority of Lieutenant-Colonel John Delamere’s absence, was the Supreme Commander of a handful of riflemen, NCOs, WOs and officers. The term “motley” may be an unkind term to use in describing this crew, but motley it was. The Adjutant, Captain Frank Moad and RSM Rusty Rowbotham completed the Bn HQ triumvirate. Lieutenant Fred Sargent (the QM) and I, at the time of my reporting in, were the only two First Lieutenants. Our association increased in size when Lieutenants Lloyd Cornett, Herb Pitts and Bob Munson reported for duty. At that time the PPCLI still reigned supreme in the permanent Mess on the hill while the LdSH (RC) were located adjacent to them in the temporary wartime buildings. Our Mess was located in an old Air Force H-Hut located adjacent to the Northeast corner of the parade square.

“Tea” was an informal “parade” where the CO determined the progress made on the state of the union and made or rescinded his various pronounce­ments, such as “ALL officers will wear moustaches.” Parties “spontaneous or otherwise” always ended up with “Grease the Tube”. After every shot, the Mess Secretary, while he was capable of doing so, gathered up and placed in an appropriately labelled bag, mainsprings, crystals, cog wheels, etc., of the individual’s wristwatch. The equivalent of a Timex was soon worn by all officers, and issue watches were in great demand.

Inevitably, Wainwright was upon us and Major Don Creighton became acting 2IC, relinquishing the command of HQ Coy to Lieutenant Lilly. The Coy was in the best shape possible considering the paucity of equip­ment and personnel. At the time, I was corresponding with Captain “Honest John” Mitchell, who was the Sigs Officer designate. “Honest John” took over his platoon several weeks after we were in Wainwright and it he had been prone to heart seizures we would have lost him on day two of his service with the unit. CO’s briefings were held daily, with the officers assembled around a campfire pit. Young 2/Lt Mike Newell ([later] Deputy Commander 12 RBC – Valcartier) commanding one of the sp wpns pls, was scorched by the CO’s wrath when, after receiving a direct order for events to take place the following day, he said: “I won’t do it.” Mike was suffering from an abscessed tooth, as I recall, and had a dental appoint­ment for the next day. CP’s fury provided an unexpected anaesthetic. Incidentally, Mike did have the tooth extracted and not by CP.

My turn came at the end of one of the Bde exercises. The Bn was granted 24 hours in the built-up area for R&R. I had checked over the officers’ quarters and had allocated the rooms by placing the officer’s name on the appropriate door. Unfortunately for me, I had to return to the Men’s area because their quarters allocation had been halved and I had to make up a new plan. In my absence the Straths advance party over­ruled our representatives and re-allocated the CO’s suite and most of the choice rooms to their CO and officers. On my return to the Officers’ Mess I felt righteous indignation for the treatment to which I was subjected.

By this time, we had all learned to keep our mouths shut and not to raise the subject of our undoing until another officer fell into the excreta, or for at least 48 hours. My saviour had already been earmarked by fate, Lt Ivor MacLeod by name. Those were the days of “NO shortages.” A smouldering mattress heaved from a second storey window (still open) was discovered the next day by CP. Poor Ivor had fallen asleep with a lit cigarette; feeling extremely warm, he had taken the aforementioned action which caused the inevitable chain reaction.

That same summer, then, in an effort to increase the mobility, started the first post-war experiment which eventually led to the procuring of the M113A1 APC. 2/Lt Spike Vanier, with a fleet of tired bren gun carriers, streaked around the training area on a preconceived battle plan. Experiments the next summer included transporting troops in 3/4 ton trucks and trailers. We must have been blessed by either CP or the Almighty, because we never lost a man.

Individual training began once again after the leave period and we were soon introduced to a new Capt Adjutant in the personage of George Hall. George, the nemesis of CP, was noted for using his Christian name on part one orders, green tinted glasses, a moustache and his wife Bunty. George and Bunty were also noted for their after-duty escapades. George continually tried to widen the entrance to Currie Barracks, was usually successful, much to the chagrin of the Garrison Commander. Bunty became infamous at a Strath Mess Dinner involving CP, Kurt Greenleaf (CO LdSH (RC) and General Vokes (GOC Western Command) . I eventually replaced George as adjutant and Lloyd Cornett in time replaced me . By accident or design, all the adjutants (Frank Moad, myself and Lloyd Cornett) with the exception of George Hall, were to meet Rod MacKay, the former Bn 2IC, in Vietnam.

After a sojourn in Vietnam, I returned to the unit in Sep 56 and after a relatively short but peaceful existence. “Rapid Step” was upon the unit in its full fury. I was relegated to be OC Rear Party and missed out on all the fun in Halifax, much to my dismay but to the eternal joy of my wife. Rehearsals for the Feu de Joie were held on the RCAF tarmac at Lincoln Park. This always caused a minor problem because the Air Force stenos had tender ears and objected profusely to their Station Commander about the air pollution which followed the unit in the form of a blue haze. Needless to say that RSM Rusty Rowbotham was the main contributor with minor contributions being made by various CSMs. Officers received sword drill from CSM Ken MacLeod in Scott Hall. We in those days carried the famous Wilkinson Sword made in Japan. Trying to balance it was like holding a 6-pounder Atk gun in the vertical position by the muzzle. Young Ken using the best techniques of instruction of that day, continued to practise us in sword drill by numbers and by numerous demonstrations to inculcate the finer points in our rather erratic movements. In due course, we were able to do the whole drill. Wishing to sharpen us up, he prepared to give us one more demonstration using his own words of command. “Draw Swords”, shouted CSM MacLeod, and with a flourish, his hand went through the motions. To his dismay and to our amusement, the blade never left the scabbard and momentarily basket, sword knot and handle were held in a gloved hand with the blade parallel to the ground, elbow at the side, then in slow motion the basket, complete with knot, did a barrel roll to the concrete floor. Sword drill was suspended for the rest of that day in a gale of laughter.

Wainwright 57 saw the unit in bivouac at Border Lake and once again I was casting covetous glances at our mates in our rifle coys and at those officers in the rifle coys of the ad hoc bn formed under Major Ron Wilkinson, our Bn 21C. We went through the various rounds of inspections of the HQ Coy Bivouac area. On one occasion, LCol Chuck Lithgow accompanied by the Comd MO and Food Services Officer, commented on the completeness of amenities in our area and jokingly said “Where’s your deep freeze?” To his amazement, I said to Staff “Zump the Pump” Zumprelle, “Show them our deep freeze.” Zump showed them our ice cream cooler suitably concealed in a bush near the kitchen.

The next summer saw us located in the Westgate area. That was the summer I learned to tactically employ helicopters. My most important task, brought on by the introduction of helicopters, was to race around the whole bn area ensuring that crapper lids were closed. The Bde Commander, Brigadier Wrinch, had a fetish for hovering over bivouac areas and peering into open crappers.

The incident I remember best and will undoubtedly be reported on more adequately by others, involved the OC and 2IC of a rifle coy which shall remain nameless. On a dark and probably stormy night the 21C Capt John Probyn (1 had to use a web belt on the old grouch to make him human when he was adjutant) was returning from a recce of a coy crossing site. The coy was to launch an attack across the Battle River. Time being of the essence, the coy Comd Major Hank Elliot had decided to move the coy forward. In ground mist obscured depression, the 2IC and Coy Comd encountered each other and locked radiators.

Pte McAteer, the outstanding batman in the unit, was ordered during an emergency move of HQ Coy to look after our stock of ammunition (blank of course) by CSM George Collings. While establishing our new position the CSM yelled several times for McAteer to bring forward the ammuni­tion for redistribution. McAteer had disposed of the ammo by burying it in the old location.

Cadets, Fenian Raid, Uncategorized

QOR and Upper Canada College: 150th Anniversary of Affiliation

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Major Francis Collier Draper
Major Francis Collier Draper

On 12 January 1866 No 11 Company “Upper Canada College” of The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada (QOR) was formed under the command of Captain Frank C. Draper.

Draper seems like an excellent choice to fill this role as he was both a UCC Old Boy (1844-52) and had been a QOR officer since 1863. In 1874 he would resign his commission and become Toronto’s Chief Constable (i.e. Police Chief).

Creation of Upper Canada College Company of the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada (Gazette)
Creation of Upper Canada College Company of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada (Gazette)

The following article is excerpted from “COLBORNE’S LEGACY: Upper Canada College 1829-1979″ by Richard B. Howard

“It is Difficult to Establish a Date on which the College Rifle  Company, alias the Rifle Corps, later the Cadet Battalion, held its first official parade…..

The first hint of any military enthusiasm at UCC is mentioned earlier, when during the 1837 Rebellion, a troop of boys offered their services to the Lieutenant-Governor. …..

Early in Principal Cockburn’s regime, military drill was the subject of much attention in schools in England, Canada, and the United States. Ways were sought to promote what was thought of as a patriotic  spirit. The aim was to foster love of country along with a disposition to defend it, and to develop obedience and discipline. The important habit of prompt obedience could then be carried over into the classroom. By 1865 drill had been introduced into schools in many Ontario centres, including Toronto, London, and Port Hope. The College was probably one of the earliest participants; it is known that in 1863 the older boys paraded weekly under a Major [Henry] Goodwin, a strict disciplinarian but “kind-hearted” and “cheery.”

In 1865 Fenian troubles were creating much unease in Canada, and several Upper Canada College students asked Principal Cockburn’s permission to transform the recently formed cadets into a company of the Queen’s Own Rifles.

In December of that year an unknown number of pupils were enrolled, and in January 1866 the company was attached to the 2nd Battalion, Queen’s Own Rifles.

Thus , Upper Canada College was possibly the second Canadian school to have an “official” cadet corps, following Bishop’s College School in Lennoxville, Quebec, whose corps was organized in 1861.
……………….

The Queen’s Own were called out on March 8, 1866 , and though the College boys were not specifically mentioned, they appeared at every parade and march anyway (they even had their own marching song).

On St. Patrick’s Day the company waited for any trouble arising
out of the parade, but nothing happened . When the Fenians actually struck at Fort Erie on June 1 , the Queen’s Own were ordered out to meet them.  School was dismissed for the day and the College company reported for duty only to find that, by orders of General Napier, they must “…. remain in garrison to guard the armouries and official stores. Some students wanted to “desert” to join the battalion at the front, but evidently no one did.

“They performed the duty which was given them. ” After the raid there were plenty of volunteers in Toronto, and so the College company was released; but, just in case, it was “agreed that should the College bell ring at any time out of class hours, the members of the Company would . . . assemble at the Armoury.” The bell did, in fact, ring once, and the College boys were the first to report to the armoury, but it was a false alarm. A dense crowd gave them three cheers.

It has been thought that the Upper Canada College Rifle Company received “battle honours” for its passive though honourable role in the Raid. Not so. The Queen’s Own Rifles did not receive such honour; neither did the College. However, General Napier did give them honourable mention in his report, and it is true that they were called out for service (along with Bishop’s College School) — apparently the only time in Canadian military history this has happened.

Over thirty years later, the government decided to present medals to those who were engaged on active service in the Fenian Raid: the College Rifle Company, though denied the privilege of fighting, had performed some important functions, and all the members of the company still living received a medal.”

As of October 22, 1886, the Rifle Company officially became a Cadet Corps (#17) affiliated with The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada. During the First World War, the Cadets’ association with the Queen’s Own had lapsed, and by 1923 two regiments, the Toronto Regiment (now the Royal Regiment of Canada) and QOR were requesting that the Corps affiliate itself with them. After some dispute between the three parties, the College settled on the Queen’s Own again by 1927.

In 1976 the compulsory “Battalion” was disbanded to be replaced the following year by a voluntary Cadet Corps. This lasted until 1988 when it was officially disbanded as of April 15th.

Over most of these 144 years, the connection between UCC and the QOR remained very strong. Many Old Boys went on to serve with the QOR – some even becoming Commanding Officer. Even today, the Regiment values this long and distinguished relationship between one of Canada’s oldest continuously operating schools and Canada’s longest continuously serving infantry regiment.

You can read more:

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Events

QOR Band at Casa Loma November 2015

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We were very pleased to once again have the Regimental Band and Bugles perform on Saturday November 7th, as part of the QOR Day at Casa Loma 2015.

Check out these videos of their performance (taken by Corporal Justin Dreimanis):

7 November 2015 QOR Day at Casa Loma performance #1

7 November 2015 QOR Day at Casa Loma performance #2

7 November 2015 QOR Day at Casa Loma performance #3

7 November 2015 QOR Day at Casa Loma performance #4

7 November 2015 QOR Day at Casa Loma performance #5

7 November 2015 QOR Day at Casa Loma performance #6

7 November 2015 QOR Day at Casa Loma performance #7

7 November 2015 QOR Day at Casa Loma performance #8

Sports

32nd Brigade “Rangers Cup” Tournament 2016

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The “Rifles” returned to the ice on January 1st to defend their Rangers Cup title in the second annual tournament. Despite not losing any games, they placed third.

Museum volunteer Cpl Justin Dreimanis captured the action with some excellent photographs:

Artifacts

Artifact Spotlight: Nominal Rolls 1866 to 1882

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This is the first of an ongoing series of articles in which museum volunteers were asked to share information about an interesting artifact they have come across in our collection – some of which may be on exhibit but others may be in storage. We start with Curator John Stephens.

So what artifact have you chosen to spotlight for us today?

One of my personal favourite items in our collection is not from the museum side  but from our archives. It’s a bound ledger of nominal rolls by company beginning in March 1866 – just three months before the Fenian Raids – and pretty much annually through to 1882.

Why do you find this so interesting?

The history of the regiment is usually considered in terms of battles and campaigns and weapons and uniforms and training and deployments – but ultimately at its most basic level, it’s about people. And generally when we think of people in the regiment we know the stories of commanding officers, other officers and senior NCO’s but these rolls list everyone who served from the youngest bugler to the Surgeon Major.

Over the various years, these contain a varying amount of information on each person listed but they do allow us to follow the progression through the ranks of many of our regiments earliest members.

I’m also into family history research and there is no question the March 1866 roll is probably the most valuable for genealogists as it includes country of birth, religion, age and occupation.

Obviously it would be handwritten – is it legible?

Surprisingly yes it is for the most part. The ink for the June 1866 roll is very faded but generally the handwriting is legible – there are certainly some exceptions of course.

What condition is it in?

Surprisingly good condition considering its almost 150 years old and it was actually in active use for 16 years. The cover and spine are holding up well and while there page are somewhat brittle, they really aren’t too bad.

Just recently we received a donation to cover the cost of a new metal cabinet with doors in which we are now storing our highest at-risk items. Hopefully this will provide some better protection for items like this ledger.

Anything  else you’d like to share about this object?

With the 150th anniversary of the Fenian Raids and the Battle of Ridgeway coming up in June 2016, there seems to be increasing interest in the information that we have in our collection related to that period from researchers and descendants of those who fought.

We’ve digitized this ledger and posted it on our website Archives page. This provides people access to the information while still protecting the artifact itself from damage caused by handling. You can check it out here.

We’re also going to use the 1866 rolls to do some analysis of the regiment’s make up and how reflective it was or wasn’t of Toronto at that time.

Training

Helicopter Insertion Training

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Members of the regiment were recently spotted in Downsview doing some helicopter rappel training. Photos by Cpl Justin Dreimanis.

Volunteers

Volunteer Profile: Shaun Kelly

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CWO (Ret’d) Shaun Kelly (at right above) has volunteered at the museum since 2012 in the much appreciated role of Assistant Curator. Through some very challenging times he’s brought his hard work ethic, positive outlook and strong organizational skills to help us keep the museum moving forward. In 2014 Shaun was presented the Commanding Officer’s Commendation for his work with the museum.

After retiring as Regimental Sergeant Major, Shaun began work as a civilian with the Department of National Defence in the position of 4th Division Safety Officer.

How did you end up volunteering at the museum?

I was recruited by Lieutenant Colonel (Ret) Rob Zeidler as part of a “team” when former Curator Captain Peter Simundson retired. After 33 years of full and part-time service I was still interested in serving the Regiment in some form and my wife said I should get out of the house a least once a week.

What background do you bring with you that you think helps you contribute in this role?

As a former RSM and a member of the Regiment for 33 years I had a good idea of its history, accomplishments, and stories. I have a particular interest in our history before 1900 as I don’t think we know or share enough about that time period considering it includes the Battle of Ridgeway, the Northwest Canada Campaign and South Africa which have been somewhat overshadowed by the huge accomplishments of WWI and WWII.

What do you enjoy most about volunteering at the museum?

I enjoy the research I have done on our Regimental Sergeant Majors since unlike the Commanding Officers, no formal records had been kept so finding names and dates has been a real challenge. This research continues when I’m not putting up pictures, building shelving units or cleaning-out storage closets.

What aspect or content of the museum are you most passionate about and why?

As above but including learning more about the soldiers who served during the first 50 years, what they did, where they lived and what may have motivated them to join the militia.

Is there one object in the collection that really excites you or that you think people should know about?

The photos of the different Companies that were taken after the Battle of Ridgway in 1866 I find fascinating. Firstly, photography was in its infancy so to take the time to carefully document who was there must have taken a good amount of effort. Secondly, you can see real character in the faces of the men, they looked like a real tough bunch that certainly could have done some damage to the Fenians had the battle gone differently and they had the chance to close with the enemy.

Number 10 Company June 1866
Number 10 (Highland) Company June 1866

Why do you think a museum like this is important?

Countless thousands of soldiers have served under the Queen’s Own Cap badge over the past 155 years, 1700 of them have died, many others have been decorated for acts of courage and bravery, we have an obligation to remember and share their stories. The museum is an important way to preserve their memory but also to share the Regiment’s history with our serving soldiers and the public in general.

Would you recommend volunteering to others and if so why?

Our volunteers are a diverse group: serving and former members of the Regt, civilians  with a museum background and people with an interest in military history, some help at the museum and some help virtually via the internet, some come in every week and others only come by for specific tasks, all have one thing in common that is the betterment of our museum to become a multimedia resource to share our history and heritage, everyone has something to offer.

If you’d like to help volunteer at the museum, check out our Volunteer page for information and an application.

General

Timelines, timelines and more timelines

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Our role as the Regimental Museum is to both capture and share the history of The Queen’s Own Rifles. Maintaining our physical exhibits at Casa Loma is a big part of how we share and hundreds of thousands of people come through out displays every year – many tourists from around the world. But realizing that many more people will never be able to visit our physical location, we felt it was important, like any other museum, to have an online presence and so we created this website in 2012. We followed that up with a Facebook Page, a Twitter account, and most recently our Flickr site for sharing our thousands of photographs.

Timelines

Part of our challenge with the website was how to best present historical information from 1860 to the present. We opted for timelines. Don’t get too excited – these aren’t fancy java scripted timelines with awesome graphics and pop up info boxes. They are just a chronological listing of activities and milestones for the regiment. Sometimes we can provide links to further information or biographies of those noted. Sometimes we have some relevant photos to add in as well just to keep it from getting too dry. J

So where do we get the material to include? Great question with some good news/bad news answers. Prior to 1960 we have a number of histories of the regiment to draw from including LCol W.T. Barnard’s great work produced in 1960: Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada, 1860-1960: One Hundred Years of Canada. Pdf versions of this and earlier histories of the regiment can be found on our Research page. There is a lot more to add but we certainly have covered quite a bit about the first hundred years – for the most part on timelines divided into 25 year periods.

From 1960 to 1970 the Regiment produced an annual Powerhorn – essentially a yearbook which captured a wide range of activities of the two regular force and one reserve battalion, the regimental depot, the cadet corps, the association and the Black Net. We have a dedicated volunteer (he also does our “This Day in History” or OTHDIH post on Facebook and Twitter) plodding through these volumes and adding details to the appropriate timeline.

And of course more recently, Charles McGregor has published a history of the regiment since 1960 and we’re using this to help fill out our timelines as time and resources permit. In each case we try our best to reference our source for the information we add to the timelines.

But why haven’t you included X on a timeline?!

Unless it’s your birthday, odds are we’re happy to include info you might have on our timelines, but we just haven’t got to them in our research OR we just don’t know about them. In particular we would love to have more info to include for the late 1950s and from 1970 to present. Deployments, training exercises, jumps, graduations, special postings, etc. Ideally we’d want the exact dates (so we can use in our OTDIH posts) but we could also include if you just have the month and the year. We’re not looking for full-fledged stories or even paragraphs – just a one liner.

And don’t let the idea of “history” turn you off sending in more recent information – everything that has already happened is by default, part of our history, even it was just yesterday. And the sooner we capture it, the more accurately it will be recorded. Our only exception to this is to record operational deployments only when they are completed.

If you have items to share you can post a comment below or send an email to museum@qormuseum.org.

And if you haven’t has a chance to look yet, do check out the existing information on our timelines!

Archives

Photos, photos and more photos – now on Flickr!

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In our museum collection we have loads and loads of photos – some in files and some in frames and some in albums and some more recent ones digitally. And in addition to those, over the past two and half years we’ve been taking more photos – of museum events, of each artifact and even photos of photos!

Much of this effort has been led by Captain (Ret’d) Larry Hicks who has been diligently photographing each artifact in our collection – a mammoth task on which he’s made amazing progress but still lots more to go. Among these have been some amazing photo albums for which Larry has painstakingly photographed each individual photo. He has been assisted by Corporal Justin Dreimanis, a serving soldier in the regiment and a recently graduate of Humber College’s photography program. And last but definitely not least, our WWII “guy” Master Corporal Graham Humphrey has scanned every WII photo in our files.

Of course the more photos we collected, the question increasingly became what do we do with them? Photos of artifacts are added to our Museum Collection Database but how could we share these to a wider audience – be they descendants or researchers or members of the regimental family?

And so I’m pleased to announce the official launch of our new QOR Museum Flickr site for sharing all these photos – almost 4,800 actually! There are some great photos from the Cold War regular force days, awesome officer photos from the late 1800s, a scrapbook of Fenian Raid newspaper clippings, a great record from the 1910 trip, and loads of WWII photos from Newfoundland, New Brunswick, England and Europe as some examples.

All these photos are organized into “albums” – 48 so far. Albums contain photos with something in common – they could be all from a real album in the museum’s collection, or they could contain photos on a certain topic – 1910 trip or band photos for example. Photos can show up in more than one album. So a band photo from the 1910 trip will be in both the band and 1910 trip albums – pretty cool if we do say so ourselves. There are special topic albums on shooting, sports and the Pellatts among others.

And all of this is still a work in progress – we’ll keep organizing and sort and uploading – and of course taking more photos so come back regularly to check them out!

But wait – we need your help!

If you’ve ever inherited your parents’ or grandparents’ or great grandparents’ photo albums – or shoeboxes – you’ll know how frustrating it is when they so often don’t have names on the back! And trust me for a museum its even more frustrating 😦

And so this is where we hope you can help 🙂 If you can identify people or places or sometimes even dates in any of our photos which don’t already have that information indicated, PLEASE take a moment to share what you know in the comments box. Before you can do that, you will need to create a Flickr account if you don’t already have one but it only takes a few moments and we would very, very, very much appreciate any help you can give us in documenting these valuable historic records of QOR history.

As a sample of what you can look forward to, here’s a gem: No 5 Company in Stratford, June 1866 (shortly after the Battle of Ridgeway)

No5Coy

Happy viewing and let us know what you think!

 

Volunteers

Volunteer Profile: Jim Lutz

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This is the first in a series of interviews profiling our museum volunteers. We begin with Jim Lutz (at right in photo above) who has served on the museum board of governors for several years. A US veteran of the Vietnam war, Jim also served for many years as a civilian instructor with the Queen’s Own Rifles affiliated 17 Upper Canada College Rifles, 96 Trinity College School and 2881 QOR cadet corps.

How did you end up volunteering at the museum? 

As a member of the QOR Trust Fund, I was involved with the City staff in transitioning Casa Loma to the Liberty Group, and I have stayed involved with the Museum because of my interest in history.

What background do you bring with you that you think helps you contribute in this role? 

I have a strong background in military history, having been a graduate student of C.P.Stacey at the University of Toronto.  I have been associated with the QOR for over 30 years, so I know its history well and have known many of its distinguished veterans.

What do you enjoy most about volunteering at the museum? 

I enjoy helping to preserve our history, and meeting the other volunteers.

What aspect or content of the museum are you most passionate about and why? 

I enjoy reading all the documents in the archives, which tell so much about the history of the QOR.

Is there one object in the collection that really excites you or that you think people should know about? 

Two items: The Paardeberg bugle, and the number side panel from one of the D-Day landing craft that was preserved by the Lieutenant Colonel Elliot Dalton who commanded one of the QOR companies in the first wave on D-Day.

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Douglas William’s bugle used during the South African War to sound the charge at the Battle of Paardeberg

Why do you think a museum like this is important? 

The Museum shows the volunteer spirit of Torontonians who served in the QOR, and how these people participated in some of the most important events of modern history.

Would you recommend volunteering to others and if so why? 

Depends upon your interests – if you love history, or if you have served in the QOR, or if you enjoy re-enactment, or if you value local history, then any of these is a good reason to volunteer.  Also, you will see tangible results of your work, which will be shared with all the visitors to Casa Loma.

3rd Battalion, First World War

Looking for 3rd Battalion CEF Descendants

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One of the friends of the museum WO (Ret) Bruce Walter CD, sent us a great photo of the HQ Lewis Gun section of the 3rd Canadian Battalion, Toronto Regiment taken on January 1st, 1919 “on the Rhine, Germany”. The photo includes his wife’s grandfather – James Herbert Smith.

Bruce recently wrote to us with an update and a request:

"It's been almost a year since I sent those pictures and I've even met a descendant of one of the guys who served with Leanne's grandfather!   The guy on the far left of the 2nd row is Frank Adderley (mis-spelled on the back).  He sits beside Leanne's grandfather, Herb Smith (2nd from left in the 2nd row).  Maureen Adderley is the granddaughter of Frank and we met her (finally) this past Remembrance Day.  

I'd like to initiate a search to find present day descendants of these men.  I'll be using the information from the back of the picture and also information taken from their Attestation papers.  From there I hope to "reach out" to localities and newspapers.  I was wondering if you could initiate an item on the QOR web page in case there are any descendants still contact with the QOR (or possibly still serving)!"  

So we’re doing just that. Below is the information from the back of the photograph about the soldiers.

If you have any information that you think might be able to help Bruce, you can contact him directly via email by clicking here.

Service # Name Initials Address Town
138005 BESSO J.W. 30 Murial or 30 ½ Hebet Ave Toronto
1096162 CHURNSIDE F. 464 Euclid Ave Toronto
916307 WILKES T.E. Lovering, Ont
757560 ISHERWOOD S. 34 Primrose Ave Hamilton
800109 BRIGGS J. Box 17 Holland Landing
202004 WINDLE F.W. 2 Fermenaugh Ave Toronto
201523 ADDERLEY F.d.S. 19 Lyall Ave Toronto
785103 SMITH J.H. 443 Wilson St Hamilton
A4197 SHARLAND T. 2185 Gerrard St. E. Toronto
139211 WIGGINS W.R. 1032 Ossington Ave Toronto
757162 PAGE T.W. Bronte, Ont
784781 LEWIS C. 172 East 23rd St Mt Hamilton
238196 HOUCHEN E.V. c/o W.J.H. Miller RR2 No. 8 St Thomas
669487 KERBY W.D. Copleston, Ont
Archives, Research

Newly Digitized Archival Films Uploaded to our YouTube Channel!

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We’ve recently had three 16mm films in our collection professionally digitized and I am pleased that they have now been uploaded to our Museum’s YouTube channel and added to our Videos page on the website.

The first is a 15 minute black and white overview of the various activities that took place during the Regiment’s 100th Anniversary in 1960 including events conducted by all three battalions which existed at the time.

The second film is a 26 minute black and white “History of The Queen’s Own Rifles” produced by the CBC and featuring then museum curator Lieutenant Colonel William T. Barnard.

And lastly is a four minute silent “tour” of the of the fairly new Moss Park Armoury including the Officers’ and Sergeants’ Messes. (If anyone is able to help us nail down the date by identifying any of the soldiers in the film, we’d greatly appreciate it. Leave a comment below!)

We’d like to thank the Digital Treasury Group for their excellent and professional work on this project and helping us with the cost!

We have almost a dozen more films which we hope to digitize as the funding becomes available. Unfortunately our storage facilities are not ideal for the storage of films and frankly they are virtually inaccessible now in the 16mm format so we’re very excited to be able to make a start on this important preservation project!

First World War, Remembrance

“It is Written” painting on loan to our museum

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This summer we were pleased to accept a loan of the spectacular painting It is Written by Brian Lorimer. The loan was facilitated by Honorary Lieutenant Colonel Brendan Caldwell on behalf of the Caldwell Foundation which owns the 5′ x 6′ painting which now hangs in our Riflemen Room. LCol Caldwell also donated a copy of the beautiful Project Remembrance book to the museum library.

Providing a glimpse into one of the more mundane yet psychologically important aspects of a soldier’s life, It is Written represents a soldier engaged in the quiet pastime of writing a letter home.

The canvas is inscribed with one-time Rifleman John McCrae’s “In Flanders Fields”. This canonical war poem was penned from the back of an ambulance after McCrae’s friend Alexis Helmer died as the result of wounds sustained in the Second Battle of Ypres and is perhaps the most well-known English-language poem of the Great War.

Project Remembrance is a fine art collection by Canadian painter Brian Lorimer that inspires remembrance and commemorates the centenary of the onset of The First World War. The paintings are a fresh and compelling rendering of the Canadian experience of the Great War, describing moments of individual fortitude and trial. More than that, they are a call to Canadians to consider and draw inspiration from the strength of character exhibited by our soldiers.

Their mission is to preserve, promote and celebrate Canadian history and heritage through the powerful medium of art. Their goal is to raise funds to assist in the betterment of Military personnel and their families. Funds raised with the support of Project Remembrance, individual and corporate donations are provided directly to the Support Our Troops Program.

If you would like to support Project Remembrance, you can purchase copies of the work as framed or unframed on paper, reproduced on canvas, as art cards or the book, via their online store.

We are extremely grateful to the Caldwell Foundation for this loan and encourage you to view it on your next visit to the museum!

Afghanistan, Combat

Hyena Road

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by Lieutenant Ted Howard, CD

[Then Sergeant Ted Howard of The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada, was awarded The United States of America’s President’s Gold Coin in recognition of his exemplary and outstanding service in Afghanistan in 2006. The coin was presented by U.S. Army General John Craddock, then Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) of NATO. He served as a producer on the Paul Gross film “Hyena Road” which recently premiered at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.]

Ted Howard (L) and Paul Gross on the set of Hyena Road.
Lt Ted Howard, CD (L) and Paul Gross on the set of Hyena Road.

Hyena Road is an organic film that developed out of the dust of Afghanistan. Paul Gross who wrote, directed and starred in the film, has integrated actual footage he gathered when following me while I was working with Task Force Kandahar as an Effects Officer in 2011.

Although the film is not anchored in any specific period of the mission, Mr. Gross has sewn together a visceral and compelling story fictitious story based in cinematic realism that truly presents an accurate snap shot of the Canadian mission in Afghanistan since the places, people and events are based in reality. In particular it centers on the creation of an MSR that we built in partnership with the Afghan authorities. The road, nicknamed Hyena, is meant to achieve three main objectives. It is meant to legitimize the local government in the eyes of the population as representative of the people, it will improve the local economy and as the Commanding General in the film puts it, “drive a dagger into the heart of the Taliban.”

The story is set around three main characters, Master Sniper Ryan, Effects Officer Pete and a legendary Mujahedeen warrior, only known to the coalition forces as the Ghost. Paul used stories he heard from a number of snipers, who spent time in Afghanistan, to create the character Ryan. He is a good example of our contemporary combat arms soldiers who have been inserted into contemporary conflict zones. Ryan has been inserted into an environment that is completely foreign to him; facing an enemy that does not play by the same rules he must.

The character Paul plays was inspired by the work he saw me do during his visit. He believes Pete represents the type of soldier the new wars paradigm is creating. Part businessman, politician and soldier, he focuses on the non-kinetic elements in contemporary warfare that can turn the tide of support for the military mission with the local population and supports our foreign policy objectives in foreign lands.

The Ghost was actually inspired by an individual who worked with me in Kandahar and a significant figure in the war against the Soviets.

When I first met Paul I was very skeptical about letting him into our world and even more skeptical he could create a film that truly depicted what was going on in Kandahar. He grew on me however. He went on foot patrols in Mushan, rode the streets of District 9 in the city with me and even walked through the Bazaar. With time, I came to realize that Paul was a patriot and if the story of what my brothers-in-arms and their families sacrificed in Kandahar was going to be told, there was no better person then Paul. There are some Hollywood moments in the film but for the most part it holds true to the people and events the film is rooted in.

I have seen the film a few times now and I am proud of what our team achieved with Hyena Road since it is an honest and accurate portrayal of what happened in South East Afghanistan. In my opinion, a plaque or some sort of war memorial is nice to have on a wall but that is soon forgotten. Something like this movie will help ensure the memory of our fallen comrades and those families who have paid dearly for our time in Afghanistan will resonate within the Canadian cultural landscape for years to come.

_____________________________

You can read about The Queen’s Own Rifles contribution to the Afghanistan mission here.

Exhibits

Exhibits Update

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We’ve been working hard to re-do most of our exhibits in our new locations on the third floor of Casa Loma. In addition we’ve been working hard to create an exhibit room that provides the history of the QOR since WWII. This room is still a work in progress but we hope to have ready for an official opening in the Fall.

We thought we share these photos to give you a taste of what you can see if you come to visit:

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General

New Museum Committee Appointed

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A new Regimental Museum Committee was appointed at the May 25, 2015 Annual General Meeting of the Regimental Trust Fund consisting of:

  • Lieutenant Colonel John Fotheringham (Chair)
  • Major Anthony I. W. Schultz (Member & Trust Fund President)
  • Captain Adam A. Hermant (Member & Trust Fund Past President)
  • Mr. Jim Lutz (Member)
  • Major John Stephens (Curator & Ex-Officio Member)
  • Chief Warrant Officer Shaun Kelly (Assistant Curator & Ex-Officio Member)

John Fotheringham has (uniquely) served as Commanding Officer of the QOR on two separate occasions. He has been responsible on behalf of the Trust, for initiating and updating QOR memorials throughout the world, a member of the Regimental Museum Committee and is also a Director of the Juno Beach Centre in Normandy. We look forward to his leadership in this new role.

We would also like to extend our thanks to outgoing Chair, Lieutenant Colonel Rob Zeidler who has served for a number of years, and in particular for his efforts during the transition between Curators, and the transition of Casa Loma operators from the Kiwanis Club of Toronto, to the City of Toronto, to the Liberty Entertainment Group. We wish Rob the best as he undertakes some new projects for the regimental family!

 

Exhibits

Portraits Exhibit Launch

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On Tuesday April 21st the Regimental Museum was pleased to host a private reception to launch our new “QOR Portraits Exhibit”. About 70 donors, members of the Regimental Senate and Trust, and other special guests joined the museum team for this event. Guests were received at the museum’s home, Casa Loma, by a detachment of Regimental Skirmishers, and a brass quintet from the regimental band provided entertainment throughout the evening.

Casa Loma very kindly provided the catering and refreshments and we were also joined by Liberty Entertainment Group (operators of Casa Loma) Vice President Pat Di Donato and Casa Loma President Lynda Washkau.

The exhibit which was originally conceived as a temporary exhibit, will now be a permanent addition to our Museum’s collection. The regiment is very fortunate to have 20 large portraits of our first 17 Commanding Officers, our first Honorary Colonel, and our last two Colonels-in-Chief.

The artist include some of Canada’s and the United Kingdom’s leading portrait painters:

Thanks to the generous donations of members of the regimental family, we able to reproduce high-resolution photographs taken by Christopher Lawson in 2010 (and one by Larry Hicks in 2015), onto high quality canvas working through Elevator Digital. An exhibit catalogue was also produced.

In the weeks prior to the exhibit, members of the museum’s volunteer team worked hard to ensure all the works were properly hung and labels mounted in  time for this reception.

I would certainly encourage you to visit the regimental museum to see this new exhibit. Casa Loma hours of operation and entrance fees can be found on their website: http://www.casaloma.org

You can also check out more photos of the event on our Facebook page.

Guests mingle at the QOR Portraits Exhibit launch reception.
Guests mingle at the QOR Portraits Exhibit launch reception.

Note: An earlier version of this post indicated an incorrect date for the event which has now been corrected.