Saint Barbara's Day Special Guest Night
Another great dinner hosted on the floor of Bessborough Armoury. The pictures are lacking a bit in size and quality but many of the characters that were there that evening can be seen. Discovered some additional biographical information on an early Regimental Sergeant Major. He was a commissioned Officer in the Royal Artillery prior to joining the 15th Brigade!
15th (Vancouver) Coast Brigade, RCA - Warrant Officer Class I Robert James Watson EM Enlisted Royal Artillery in India 1907, mobilized with 75th Battery Royal Field Artillery, served Western Front from 15 Jan 1915, transferred to Salonica 30 Sep 1915, in command of 85th Brigade Small Arms A.C. until Armistice, transferred to the Army of the Black Sea in Constantinople, served in 130th Brigade Royal Field Artillery for nearly 2 years, resignged commission in May 1920, emigrated to British Columbia 1924, Battery Sergeant Major 85th Howitzer Battery Canadian Field Artillery 1930, Warrant Officer Class II from 1931 to 1937, promoted Warrant Officer Class I and appointed Regimental Sergeant Major 15th (Vancouver) Coast Brigade, RCA on 1 Oct 1939, deceased 6 May 1946 due to carcinoma of pancreas, buried Mountainview Cemetery. 14/15, BWM, VM, EM It's always great to see additional Artillery faces at lunch on the 3rd Wednesday of the month. John Brownlee-Baker, Brian Cormier, Bob Mugford, Leon Jensen, Eric Halstead to name a few.
But it's not all wining and dining!. The new plexiglas side windows were installed on the Field Artillery Tractor, the engine was fired up and it looks all set for another summer of festivals. We also spent some time reviewing dates on historic pictures. It was determined that we've used some of the same photographs for two different Christmas dinners. 1976 and 1977 had become intermixed over time. Detective work was required; ranks and uniforms were examined, length and trim of mustaches were compared and the length and style of haircuts and receding hairlines were checked. The deciding factor came down to the tablecloth that was used to decorate the room. In 1976 it was a plain tablecloth while 1977 featured a Christmas theme. Good work! The afternoon and evening was spent with a few visitors to the Museum, some file sharing (thanks for the pictures, Bob!) and a bunch of scanning. (Did you know that the Officers' Mess dining in nights today are a lot different than those held in the 1950s? There were some notes about baby buggy races held after dinner back in the day that needs further investigation) Mark your calendar for April 18th - our next Artillery Wednesday! C'mon down for lunch! More pictures of the Officers' Mess St Barbara's Special Guest Night are now on line compliments of Major (ret) Bob Mugford CD. Is there anyone out there that would like to write up a story about the evening?
See the pictures here! The 1939 royal tour of Canada by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth was undertaken in the build-up to World War II. They were in Vancouver 29 May 1939 and the 15th (Vancouver) Coast Brigade provided a contingent to man the route and our Regimental Trumpeters and Drummers. Check out the other photos and a YouTube video of the entire parade on this page.
Highland Homecoming
The Band of the 15th Field Artillery Regiment RCA participated in this day of celebration on 24 September 2016, which included a parade, ceremonies and a military tattoo, as the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada returned home to the Seaforth Armoury at 1650 Burrard Street, after four years away. Check out more photos here. More photos from the Edward (Ted) Edmonds album. As the Brigade converts to Coast Artillery they venture over to Macauley Point for what may have been their first firing out to sea. Check out the other photographs here.
“C” Wing, Canadian Small Arms School
It appears that selected individuals attended a Chemical defence class at Camp Sarcee involving exposure to chlorine gas and a subsequent decontamination period in the Elbow River. Photographs from Lieutenant Edward (Ted) Edmonds. The 1976 Yearbook has been updated to the new look, in line with all the later ones. Check it out! Try out the links! Take a look at the photos and send me some stories about your time in the Regiment in 1976!
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