Recongition | The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada Regimental Museum and Archive

Our annual event to recognize our 2024 volunteers took place in the library of the Royal Canadian Military Institute on the evening of 6 February 2025.

Twenty-five attendees included our weekly volunteers, members of our museum’s Board of Governors, the Curator and Assistant Curators of Casa Loma (which hosts our museum) and Major Rhys Henderson, Deputy Commanding Officer of The Queen’s Own Rifles (on behalf of the Commanding Officer) and Master Warrant Officer Darnel Leader, Quartermaster Sergeant Major Instructor (on behalf of the Regimental Sergeant Major.)

After an hour of socializing and snacking on beef sliders and grilled cheese sandwiches and introductions, Museum Director John Stephens recognized individuals for their hours of service in the past year. From just 6 hours from our newest volunteer Eli to 270 hours by our dedicated Curator, Shaun Kelly.

Thanks to the Casa Loma operator Liberty Entertainment Group, we were pleased to present $50 gift certificates for any of Liberty’s Toronto restaurants to six volunteers with the most hours (except Shaun):

Anne (73 hours)
Sarah (75)
Patrick (77)
Brock (95)
Bruce (95)
Briahna (98)

Three volunteers were also recognized for some significant all-time hours milestones: Graham Humphrey (since 2013) and Briahna Bernard (since 2018) for surpassing 1,000 hours and Shaun Kelly (since 2012) for reaching 2,000!

Major Henderson congratulated all our volunteers for their important contribution to collecting, caring for, and sharing the long and distinguished history of The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada and the soldiers who served in it.

We are also very grateful for the support of the members of our museum’s Board of Governors for their thoughtful oversight, the Queen’s Own Rifles Trust Fund for their funding, the Regimental Senate for recognizing the Museum as an important part of the Regiment Family, and not least the support of both the leadership and members currently serving in the regiment, particularly for their support on QOR Day at Casa Loma!

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If you would like to provide financial support for the operation of the museum, please note that the government has put in place a temporary extension for donations made before the end of February 2025 which allows them to be used with your 2024 income tax returns.

On February 13th, we held our first Museum Volunteer Recognition Night to thank those volunteers who have helped us out in the 2012 and 2013. Thirty-five volunteers and guest gathered the Queen’s Own Rifles Officers’ Mess at Moss Park Armoury for food and refreshments all courtesy of a donor who wishes to remain anonymous. We’d like to thank the President of the Mess Committee and the mess staff for a great spread!

We we’re also pleased to be joined by RSM Mark Shannon and Captain Adam Hermant, President of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada Trust which “owns and operates” the museum.

From October 2012 to December 31, 2013, seventy-four volunteers provided over 950 hours of service! These volunteers come from former members of the regiment and their families; serving members of the regiment; students from various museum studies programs; and friends of the regiment and museum – each bringing different talents, skills and experience. This event was also an opportunity for them to meet and get to know each other.

We have an ambitious “to-do” list for the museum and we can’t hope to make any significant progress without the help of volunteers. It was a little slow to get started with just Clay and Nancy Downes and Larry Hicks in the Fall of 2012 but as the word got out, volunteers were coming out in greater and greater numbers.

So what have they been doing? They’ve catalogued and photographed artifacts, cleaned display cases, built storage shelves, constructed exhibit walls, painted, moved display cabinets, planned our First World War commemorations and activities, and organized and support events (including members of the band) just to name a few things.

We also took this opportunity to recognize some volunteer who had put in significant hours of service:

Lieutenant Colonel (Ret) John Fotheringham and Master Corporal Graham Humphrey each put in over 25 hours
Captain (Ret) Larry Hicks put in over 50 hours and
Nancy and Clay Downes together put in over 200 hours of service!

Special Presentation to Nancy and Clay Downes for their 200+ hours of service in the past 14 months!

Clay and Nancy were presented with the first edition of the QOR Portraits book as a special thank you.

RSM Mark Shannon also took a moment to thank on behalf of the regiment, Curator Major (Ret) John Stephens and Assistant Curator CWO (Ret) Shaun Kelly for their service over the past eighteen months.

Curator Major John Stephens (L) with RSM CWO Mark Shannon (R)

Thanks to all our volunteers from 2012 and 2013 even if you couldn’t make our recognition night and we look forward to another successful year in 2014!