THE RIFLES REPORT
Monthly Update
June 2022
COMMANDING OFFICER’s UPDATE
May has been a busy month for the Regiment and Regimental family. We started the month by joining the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment, in CFB Petawawa to conduct Exercise Maroon Hammer. The exercise consisted of 2 platoons of the QOR joining Mike Company, 3 RCR with enablers from the Artillery and Engineers to conduct a deliberate attack. On Saturday, they conducted Battle Procedure, before deploying to the field in the evening and executing the attack at first light. It served as a great opportunity for QOR members to hone their soldier skills. After the attack, 3 RCR and QOR paratroopers conducted a static-line parachute descent onto DZ Anzio.
On June 4th, I had the opportunity to go to Robert Land Academy in Wellandport, Ontario to attend their Cadet Corps Annual Inspection. The Robert Land Academy Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps is affiliated with The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada; the Academy also has a deep connection with the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion.
On June 6th, the 1860 Club held the inaugural D-Day dinner at Casa Loma in Toronto to commemorate the 78th Anniversary of the landings: an important landmark in Regimental history. This was a great time for members of the Regimental Family to get together after 27 months of reduced engagement. Due to many requests, we have reopened the opportunity to become a Founder within the 1860 Club until June 30th, 2022.
On June 8th, the Regiment marched from Moss Park Armoury to the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 344 located at 1395 Lakeshore (The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada Legion). This was our official stand-down for the summer. It ended with a BBQ and free rounds. The Royal Canadian Legion offers a free membership for veterans for one year, and I encourage you all to join.
In Pace Paratus
LCol Scott Moody, CD
Commanding Officer
The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada
First Annual D-Day DINNER
June 6th saw the 1860 Club’s inaugural D-Day Dinner at Casa Loma in Toronto. More than 200 members, veterans and friends of the Regiment gathered to remember the sacrifice and courage of QOR riflemen at Juno Beach in 1944. Amidst readings of the recollections of D-Day veterans, including a recorded interview with our own Alex Adair, and multiple courses of great food, members shared a meaningful evening of community and remembrance. We were honoured to have with us Jim Parks of The Royal Winnipeg Rifles, one of our sister rifle regiments. At 19 years of age, Rifleman Parks was one of the first ashore on their section of Juno Beach, which is directly in front of the modern Juno Beach Centre.
The evening also provided the opportunity to award Maj (Ret’d) John Stephens, CD, the Director and Curator of our Regimental Museum and Archives, with a Lifetime Achievement award for his outstanding work with The QOR of C museum.
Thanks to the organizing committee, led by LCol (Ret’d) John Fotheringham with WO (Ret'd) Phil ten Kortenaar, Jenna Misener, and 2Lt Steven Ye, as well as our museum volunteers, and Capt Megan Hodge and The QOR of C Band and Bugles for a great evening of camaraderie and great music.
Pictures from the evening are available here.
Nijmegen 4 Day Marches 2022
The 1860 Club is now organizing teams to participate in the upcoming 4 Day Marches taking place in Nijmegen, The Netherlands from 19-22 July 2022. A team consists of a minimum 11 pers (which must finish together). We will field two teams, one each in the 40Km and 50km categories.
Accommodations have been secured and travel arrangements are to be made individually, with more information to follow. Work up training is required for all that participate with a distance test to be completed prior to departure. There will also be a callout for a support team (drivers, cooks, etc.).
If you are interested in participating in either the 40 or 50 km category or the support team, please forward your expression of interest via email to info@1860club.ca.
Book Recommendation
This month's recommended book, Cyprus: An Ancient People, a Troubled History, and One Last Chance for Peace, was written by former QOR HCol Lawrence Stevenson. He served two tours of Cyprus as a United Nations peacekeeper during the 1970s and 1980s and saw an island at war with itself with no hope of resolution in sight. Those experiences, and Cyprus’s intractable division between North and South, haunted him deep into adulthood. Now, fifty years later, he returns to the tiny island in the Eastern Mediterranean as its chances of a peaceful reunification are fast running out.
Relying on his own insights and research—as well as interviews with a diverse lot of international lawyers, UN officials, politicians, and Cypriots—Stevenson and his daughter Glynnis, a historian, reflect on how the island came to its impasse, and why the UN, the EU, the US, and the UK have failed to return it to peace.
With a fair-minded appraisal of the wrongs committed and suffered by both sides and a clear-eyed sense of diplomatic possibilities, Lawrence and Glynnis outline the only remaining option available for those who wish to see Cyprus reunited under one government. It is an option they passionately endorse, not only for the sake of the Cypriots, but as a rare example of peaceful co-existence in an increasingly fractured world.
The QOR Association
The Association looks forward to doing our usual events this coming year. The June 6th D-Day Dinner at Casa Loma was a great evening, and we look forward to hosting, along with the 1860 Club, our Annual Golf Tournament in early September. More to follow.
Our Keep Connected group has increased over the last month or so and we presently have 68 members.
Congratulations to those members that completed The Ridgeway and Normandy Challenge March!
Health & Welfare Report—QORA (Toronto Branch)
Members at Sunnybrook Health & Sciences Centre
Major (Ret'd) David Vine - "L" Wing 2nd Floor - Room L2 - 40 LSSE
Sergeant (Ret'd) Andy MacNaughton - "L" Wing - 3rd Floor LTSE L341
At a LTC – The Golden Plough – Cobourg
WWII D-Day Veteran - Alex Adair (98 years old, 99 in August) - Cobourg, Ontario.
Alex is the oldest QOR Veteran. We had the opportunity to visit Alex Adair on May 28th, and he is doing quite well.
In Veteran’s Wing at Parkwood – London, Ontario
WWII Veteran - George Beardshaw (98 years old, 99 in September) - London, Ontario.
At Home
Ron Craig - President – QOR National
Major (Ret’d) John Stephens – Curator, QOR Museum
Brian Budden
President
Health & Welfare Chairman
QORA (Toronto Branch)
In Pace Paratus
Rifleman Strong!
QOR of C Kit Shop
If you are interested in purchasing QOR of C merchandise, you may do so via our online Kit Shop. We now have the ability to issue invoices and accept payment online. We have several new items in stock, including Stainless Steel Coffee Cups and Water Bottles from canuckcanada.ca.
Please visit the QOR Kit Shop here.
The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada Regimental Museum and Archives, led by Acting Curator CWO (Ret'd) Shaun Kelly, CD, supported the First Annual D-Day Dinner at Casa Loma with the selection of historical vignettes, as well as displays staffed by museum volunteers.
During the dinner, Maj (Ret'd) John Stephens, CD, was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work with the museum. Special thanks to museum photographer Anne Frazer for her amazing photos of the event!
The museum is open again, and regular volunteer nights have resumed. Please visit our website at qormuseum.org for more information, as well as our YouTube channel!
If you have potential items for our Museum and Archive collection, please read this page and complete the online form, or contact us at museum@qormuseum.org.
Watch and Shoot (Upcoming Events)
Brigadier General (Ret’d) Don Pryer, CD Celebration of Life
Saturday, June 25th at RCMI from 2-5 PM.
If you are interested in attending, please RSVP to info@1860club.ca
November 5
Museum’s QOR Day at Casa Loma
TBC
Golf Tournament
Trust Fund and Fundraising Update
Since the launch of the 1860 Club, our members have donated over $150,000 to support The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada Trust Fund. We would like to express our sincere gratitude for your generosity, and recognize the following members:
Normandy 1944 Donors
Over $186,000 in lifetime contributions
HLCol Lionel Goffart, OStJ, CD
Col Paul F Hughes, CD (Ret’d)
Vimy 1917 Donors
Over $18,600 in lifetime contributions
Capt (Ret’d) Bernie Aaron
HLCol (Ret'd) Brendan Caldwell
Lt J. Chris Donald
Mr. Bryan Gransden
Capt (Ret'd) Adam Hermant, OStJ, CD
Hermant Family Foundation
HCol Larry Stevenson, CD
LCol (Ret’d) John Strathy, CD
WO (Ret’d) Philip ten Kortenaar, CD
True Patriot Love Foundation
1860 Club Founders
Col (Ret’d) William Ball—US Army
LCol (Ret’d) William Barnard, CD
LCol Sandi Banerjee, CD
Mr. Hans G. Bathija
Bruce Beauchamp Memorial Fund and Mr. Terry Beauchamp
WO Jason Bridge, CD
Hon Col Bryan Brulotte, KJ, CD
Cpl Brian Buchan
2Lt Martin Bunch
LCol (Ret’d) Greg Burton, CD
HLCol (Ret'd) Brendan Caldwell
Ms. Dara Carpenter
Maj (Ret’d) Allan Champion, CD
Capt (Ret’d) Robert Chan, CD and Ms. Annie Li
Mr. Michael Chisholm
Lt Ricardo Chiu, CD
Maj Daniel Copeland, CD
MWO Adam de Bartok, MMM, CD
Ms. Linda Di Felice
Lt J. Chris Donald
WO (Ret’d) Bob Dunk, CD
Lt Brandon Filatow
LCol (Ret’d) John Fotheringham, CD
2Lt Juron Grant-Kinnear
MCpl Robert Grieve
Cpl Lee Harrison, CD
Capt (Ret'd) Adam Hermant, OStJ, CD
Hermant Family Foundation
Mr. Winston Hewlin
WO David Hodgson, CD
MGen (Ret’d) Walter Holmes, MStJ, MSM, CD, MBE
Ms. Lana Holmes
Capt Ted Howard
Col (Ret’d) Paul F Hughes CD
Jackman Foundation
CWO Jeff Johnson, CD
CWO (Ret’d) Shaun Kelly, CD
WO Inasio Kim, CD and Ms. Lorena Kim
2Lt Matthew Kocal
LCol Frank Lamie, CD
MWO Darnel Leader, CD
Maj Samuel Leibel, CD
Capt Ben-Jaemin Lee, CD
Capt Roland Llewellyn-Thomas, CD
Mr. James Lutz
Capt (Ret'd) Brian MacDonald
Maj Henry McCabe, MMM, CD (Ret’d)
Ms. Michele McCarthy
Ms. Jenna Zuschlag Misener
Lt David Merrithew
Mr. Nick Migliore
LCol Scott Moody, CD
CWO (Ret’d)John O’Connor, CD
Mr. Carmine Nigro
Mr. Jansen Ng
Capt David Pampe, CD
2Lt Weng Pan
Dr. Dylan Pannell, CD
Mr. Keith Perera
Lt Marco Petta
Cpl Sharl Robinson
Maj (Ret’d) Adam Saunders, CD
Mr. Eric Schneider
Maj (Ret’d) Anthony Schultz, CD
CWO Mark Shannon, MMM, CD
MGen (Ret’d) John Sharpe, CMM, CD
Capt Kevin Sheedy, CD
LCol Peter St. Denis, MSC, CD
Maj (Ret’d) John Stephens, CD
Mr. Tristan Strathy
WO (Ret’d) Philip ten Kortenaar, CD
Dr. Lynn Tomkins
Capt (Ret'd) Usman (Uzi) Valiante
Mr. Jeffrey Wallace
LCol (Ret'd) Tony Welsh, CD
LCol (Ret'd) Rob Zeidler, MStJ, CD
For more information on supporting the Trust Fund, please click here, or contact us.
Online Links
The QOR of C Regimental Association
More information about The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada Association Branches can be found at:
Toronto Branch
https://www.facebook.com/qortorontoassociation
East Coast Branch
https://www.qor-east.com
Calgary Branch
https://www.qorcalgary.com
Vancouver Island Branch
https://www.qorvi.com
The Rifleman Magazine (Annual Journal of the QOR of C)
https://fliphtml5.com/insrc/jjni
The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada Regimental Museum
https://qormuseum.org/
The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada Website
https://www.queensownrifles.com/
Kit Shop
https://sites.google.com/view/qorkitshop/
Submissions
To submit comments or content to the The Rifles Report or The Powder Horn, please contact Martin Bunch, 1860 Club Communications Director at editor@1860club.ca