Royal Canadian Artillery Association
MINUTES OF THE 81st GENERAL MEETING OF THE RCAA[i]
HELD AT CFB SHILO, MAN, 29-30 SEPTEMBER 1966
The eighty-first Annual Meeting opened at 2:00 PM, September 29, 1966, with the President, Lt. Col. E.R. Clemis, MBE, ED, CD, in the Chair.
  1. The president called on Col. J.S. Orton, MBE, MC, CD, Commandant, Royal Canadian School of Artillery, who welcomed the delegates to the Home Mess of the Regiment and expressed the wish that their stay would be an enjoyable one.
  2. Major General H.A. Sparling, CBE, DSO, CD, acting on behalf of the Colonel Commandant, Major General A.B. Matthews, CBE, DSO, ED, CD, expressed the latter’s regrets at being unable to attend the meeting because of his unavoidable absence on business in England.
  3. The President presented his report which will be printed in full in the Annual Report.
  4. Both Col. J.P. Beer MBE, CD, Chief of Artillery, Headquarters’ Mobile Command, and Col. J.S. Orton, MBE, MC, CD, Commandant, Royal School of Artillery, spoke to the Meeting. Both these talks will be reported in full in the Annual Report.
  5. Lt. Col. R.J. Connor, Vice-President, reported on behalf of the President on the Conference of Defence Associations held in January, 1966. The full report with Resolutions and replies will be included in the Annual Report.
  6. Resolutions – Two Resolutions Committees were established:
    1. one consisting of Lt. Col. J.H. Turnbull and Lt. Col. J.D. Cambridge was to consider the Resolution on Unification, and
    2. One chaired by Lt. Col. W.S. Jackson was to deal with the remainder of the Resolutions.
    3. The resolutions dealt with were as follows:
      1. To be passed to the Minister of National Defence:
        1. Re unification and continuance of the RCA as a Corps.
      2. Those to be passed to the Conference of Defence Associations:
        1. Re Trade badges
        2. Re Camp Training Bonus
        3. Re Classified Commissions for Quartermasters
        4. Re sending selected Militiamen overseas with CA(R) Units during the summer months
        5. A copy of the Resolution on unification is to be sent to the Conference
      3. To be passed to the Directorate of Reserves
        1.  Change of establishment TSM vacancy.
      4. Those discussed and defeated:
        1. Re longer summer camp period
        2. Greater assistance to RCA Militia Units at camp and weekend shoots
      5. Those discussed and withdrawn:
        1. That dental vacancies be used for Gunner appointments
        2. Overage qualified Officers and NCO’s be retained.
  7. The following communications were sent:
    1. A cable to the Master Gunner
    2. A wire to the Colonel Commandant
    3. Greetings sent by letter to the 59 (Newfoundland) Heavy Regiment Reunion which was taken by Col. Nicholson.
  8. Amendments to Annual Report 1965-66:
    1. On the motion of Lt. Col. Lynch-Staunton and Major Chapman, the minutes of the last Annual Meeting, as detailed in the Annual Report, were adopted with the following corrections:
      1. On page 19 it should read 1038 points for 15 Fd Artillery Regiment instead of 038 points.
      2. On pages 78 and 80, the correct name of the CO 6 Fd Artillery Regiment should be Lt. Col. JG Lefebvre instead of Lt. Col. J Chouinard.
  9. Change in location of 1967 meeting – On the motion of Lt. Cols. Harvey and Shapiro, the action of the President in changing the location from Montreal to Ottawa was approved. The Secretary was directed to see if reservations can be made for the 18th to 21st October as a first choice or 20th to 23rd September as a second choice.
  10. The financial statement presented by the Secretary Treasurer was approved on the motion of Lt. Cols. Scott and Hogue.
  11. The budget as amended by the Executive Committee for 1966-67 was approved on the motion of Lt. Cols. Hegan and Hogue. This included authorization for $500 office rental and an increase of $100 remuneration for the Assistant Secretary.
  12. The History Committee Report was presented by Major General Sparling and was approved on the motion of Lt. Cols. Davis and Hogue. The Committee was authorized to proceed with arrangements with the publisher for Volume I to the value of $11,000 for 2,500 copies and to complete arrangements for a pre-publication price per volume and a package deal of both Volumes I and II.
  13. Sales Committee for History – Lt. Col. Cambridge was appointed by the Executive Committee to head this Committee and to add to it as he sees fit. Lists of potential buyers are to be completed by Units and forwarded to the Secretary. This latter point was stressed as of the utmost urgency.
  14. On the motion of Lt. Cols. Harvey and Lefebvre, it was agreed that the History Committee have leather bound copies of the History made for presentation to certain people.
  15. The Competitions Committee report was presented by the Assistant Secretary and approved on the motion of Lt. Cols. Vergette and Turnbull.
  16. Notice of motion to amend the By-Laws in certain sections was given by Lt. Col. Connor and Lt. Col. Jackson. These amendments will be written out in detail in the Annual Report in order that delegates may have the opportunity of studying them before the next Annual Meeting.
  17. It was approved on the motion of Lt. Cols. Conor and Jackson that two ad hoc members be added to the Advisory Committee for the coming year and to attend the meeting next year.
  18. Chairs for Shilo Committee – was presented by Lt. Col. McAlpine and was adopted on his motion seconded by Lt. Col. Shapiro.
  19. Payment of the maintenance cost for the Artillery Memorial in France and the cost of a wreath to be laid at the annual November Remembrance Ceremony in London by a Canadian Gunner was approved on the motion of Brigadier Robertson and Lt. Col. Grose.
  20. Travel expenses for delegates to next year’s meeting were approved on the motion of Lt. Cols. Harvey and Taylor. These are Manitoba (including Kenora) and west by air, Ontario and Quebec by rail, and the Maritimes by air and on an allowance of $15.00 a day for the Meeting.
  21. Regular officers in attendance included Major General Dare, deputy Chief of Staff reserves, Air Vice Marshal Stovel, Commander, Training Command, Col. K. Toms, Commander Manitoba District, Lt. Col. J.M. Sinclair and Major B. Stirling from D Reserves, and Col. J.S. Orton and Col. J.P. Beer. Talks by some of these Officers will be printed in full in the Annual Report.
  22. The nominating Committee, chaired by Lt. Col. Jackson, presented the following slate for office, which was approved on the motion of Lt. Cols. Platt and Hogue to close nominations:
President                                                            - Lt. Col. R.J. Conor,
Vice-President                                                  - Lt. Col. J.D. Cambridge,
P.E.I., N.B. and N.S. District                          - Lt. Col. J.H. Turnbull,
                                Western Quebec District                              - Lt. Col. S.D. Smith,
                                Eastern Ontario District                                 - Lt. Col. B. Shapiro,
                                Central Ontario District                                  - Lt. Col. J.A. Williamson,
                                Manitoba and Saskatchewan Districts     - Lt. Col. T.G.K Hegan,
                                Alberta and British Columbia Districts      - Major D.V. Reynolds,
                                Past President                                                   - Lt. Col. E.R. Clemis,
                                Advisory Committee                                      - Major General H.A. Sparling,
- Lt. Col. E.A. Royce,
- Lt. Col. J.G. Lefebvre,
- Lt. Col. L.O. Grose,
- Lt. Col. W. D. Elsdon,
Secretary                                                             - Lt. Col. E.C. Scott,
Assistant Secretary                                         - Lt. Col. H. T. Vergette,
Auditor                                                                 - Chas. W. Pearce.
24.          Motions of thanks were unanimously approved to Major General Dare, Air Vice Marshal Stovel, Col. Orton and his staff, and Col Beer. The secretary was directed to write letters of thanks to these gentlemen, and this has been done.
25.          Lt. Col. McLean brought up the question of scholarships and the matter was referred to the Competitions Committee for study during the next year.
26.          On the motion of Brig. Robertson and Lt. Col. Turnbull the meeting approved the purchase of a gift to the School of Artillery Officers’ Mess not to exceed $200.00.
27.          On the motion of Lt. Cols. McLean and Grose, approval was given that the chair, for which $2.00 was collected from each delegate, be presented to the RCSA Mess to commemorate the name of General A.G.L. McNaughton, a former Life and Honorary Life member of the Association.
28.          Adjournment took place at 4:00 P.M. on September 30.
The Canadian Gunner, Volume 2, December 1966
​