THE POWDER HORN
Monthly Newsletter
December 2023
COMMAND TEAM UPDATE
In the blink of an eye, winter is upon us.
On 6 December, the Regiment came together to celebrate and recognize our Riflemen. The Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers spent the evening according to annual custom: serving their soldiers. Amidst the food, drink and camaraderie, awards were handed out to deserving personnel, honours presented and promotions bestowed. Several members recently-returned from expeditionary operations, accompanied by their families, were in attendance.
Though training was stood-down, extra-regimental activity continued unabated.
Above: The winning QOR team of the 2023 Stimson Cup.
The Trust Fund and Senate, both performing critical supporting roles, held their annual meetings at Moss Park Armoury. The Officer’s Mess held their yearly luncheon, while the Warrant Officer and Sergeant’s Mess membership concluded their year with a dining-in. On 19 December, myself and the Regimental Sergeant Major attended Royal Canadian Legion Branch 258 for 2881 (Queen’s Own Rifles) Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps dinner. It was a great opportunity to meet and connect with Canada’s future leaders.
Below: Outgoing CO LCol Scott Moody being presented with a painting commissioned by the Officers' Mess.
Before we turn our efforts toward 2024, we need to focus on the present for a moment.
We have men and women deployed abroad, who will not spend Christmas with their families. Our thoughts are with them and with luck, individual care packages will have been received by everyone as small tokens of appreciation.
Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, Yule, Festivus, or simply the gathering of friends and relatives, I’d like to wish you a safe and wonderful holiday season.
In Pace Paratus
Chris Boileau
Lieutenant-Colonel
Commanding Officer
Justin Thorn
Chief Warrant Officer
Regimental Sergeant Major
Awards and Presentations
The annual Soldier's Holiday and Awards Dinner was held on December 6, 2023. During this dinner, many Riflemen were recognized with awards and promotions, including the following:
The CSM Charlie Martin DCM, MM Award for outstanding Senior NCO—WO McQuaid.
The 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion Reg Walker Award for Outstanding Leadership by an NCM—MCpl Balogh (above).
The British Airborne Forces Association RSM Harry Fox MBE Award for Most Promising Rifleman—Cpl Taylor.
Airborne Rifleman of the Year—MCpl Divito.
Sgt Dave Keenan Jump Hog Award—Rfn Wrobel.
Colonel Elliot Dalton Trophy—Capt Goldman.
The Silver Bugle Award for Top Musician—Cpl Laquerre.
Fitness Award—Rfn Currie.
Public Service Awards—Cpl Bakshi.
In addition, Sgt Fabry and newly-promoted MWO Thomas were presented with their Certificate of Airborne Achievement for 100 jumps (below).
QOR of C Hockey Team
Each year, The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada Hockey Team plays in a variety of games against teams from other regiments, ranging from exhibition games to tournaments. There are two major tournaments that the team participates in: The Ranger Cup in Toronto and the Sergeant Rick Foldeak Memorial Hockey Tournament in Brockville. There is a push to play more hockey in the Regiment as we grow in strength, and the QOR Hockey Team is an excellent way to build camaraderie, teamwork, and physical fitness.
The QOR Hockey Team is also seeking sponsors and donors to cover the cost of jerseys, ice time, and equipment. If you would like to support the Hockey Team, please contact us at info@1860club.ca.
QOR DAY AT CASA LOMA
Telling our Stories
"Telling Our Stories" is the theme for our Regimental Museum and Archive's next five-year Strategic Plan which was recently approved by the Museum's Board of Governors. It overarches the five strategic directions we've identified:
Preserving the regiment’s history;
Promoting the regiment’s history and current mission to the public;
Serve the interests of a wider community through outreach and digital presence;
Support and benefit from Casa Loma’s tourist business, and
Ensure the effective governance and management of the museum to accomplish the above.
These extend directions which were identified in our 2017-2022 Plan. You can read more about our Mandate, Mission, Vision and the newest plan (and how it was developed) here.
How are we telling our stories now?
Telling our stories isn't new for us. Since the museum's inception, we've been telling the stories of the Regiment and the Riflemen who have served in it. Here are some of the ways:
Our physical exhibits are the most obvious example with hundreds of artifacts helping to tell the story of the regiment's significant events as well as stories of individual riflemen. Over 300,000 visitors are exposed to these each year as they tour Casa Loma.
We continue to work with Gurkha Company of our Reserve Battalion to ensure that each new recruit has an opportunity to visit the museum and learn about the history of the Regiment from our museum team.
Our website has almost 500 profile pages - from Riflemen to Generals - from 1860 to the present. Of course, this is only a fraction of those who have served in the past 163 years but we continue to add new profiles regularly. Last summer we completed profiles for each of the 61 soldiers killed on D-Day.
We also use this blog to share stories as well as museum updates on this blog with 260 posts in the past 10 years.
Our Online Collections catalogue includes a searchable section called People. It includes over 4,800 entries which are crosslinked to website Profiles where appropriate but also display any objects in our collection connected to that soldier such as photos in which they are named, and any related donated medals, diaries, uniforms, trophies, shadow boxes, etc.
In addition, we've uploaded photos and information over 4,700 objects (and growing) that are available to anyone to access.
We have digitized various archival documents such as early nominal rolls, regiment orders, diaries, correspondence, etc. to assist family genealogists and historians (as well as preserve the originals).
We have digitized and uploaded over 130 multimedia items (and created some of our own) to our museum's YouTube Channel which has 2,500 subscribers and in 2023 has had over 133,000 views and 4,900 hours of watch time. Our most popular video is the "Evolution of the Rifleman's Uniform 1860-1900s" which has more than 366, 200 views since being uploaded!
We regularly share stories and artifacts on our Facebook Page (with 6,200+ followers) and Instagram (with almost 2,000 followers.)
Moving forward, we plan to expand on these efforts and identify new ones.
Who helps tell our stories?
All of our dedicated museum team are volunteers. First, we have a great museum Board of Governors, that meets periodically to provide governance oversight of the museum activity and financing.
Ms. Michele McCarthy (Chair)
Mr. Jim Lutz (Past Chair)
Major Anthony S. Schultz, CD (Ret’d)
Captain (Adam Hermant, CD (Ret’d)
Ms. Jenna Zuschlag Misener
Ms. Lisa Holmes
Mr. Tristan Strathy
Major John M. Stephens, CD (Ret’d) (Director & Acting Archivist)
CWO Shaun Kelly, CD (Ret’d) (Curator)
The major operational work is done with a team of volunteers under Shaun’s direction that includes Assistant Curator Graham Humphrey, Collections Officer Briahna Bernard, and Photography Officer Anne Frazer and works at the museum most Thursday evenings cataloging, photographing and properly storing new donations, updating exhibits, clearing cabinets, and a raft of other tasks that always need doing!
How do we fund our work?
We receive a small annual grant of $1,500 from the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport however the remainder of our $25-30K annual budget is provided by The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada Trust Fund.
Actual expenses vary year to year but generally include upgrades to exhibits, labels, interpretive panels and creation of pop-up banners, website and collection management database costs, association memberships with the Ontario and Canadian Museum associations and the Organization of Military Museums in Canada (which provide training and networking opportunities), archival grade storages materials from acid-free folders and boxes to mylar clothing bags and other supplies, third party conservation work, occasional purchases of important objects, general office supplies, and annual volunteer recognition reception.
In 2024 our exhibit upgrades include raising 4 four exhibit cabinets and adding LED lighting which is the last of a three-year project. The final year’s cost is estimated at $8,000.
How is the QOR Trust Fund funded?
The Trust fund receives some grants and foundation funding but the majority of income is from individual donations which are of course eligible for a charitable tax receipt.
How can you help?
Please consider making a donation to the QOR Trust Fund and directing it to the Museum Fund. You can mail a cheque to the Trust or donate online through a recurring donation, a one-time donation, or even by donating securities or certain cryptocurrencies. You can also make a Tribute donation in honour or memory of someone. All these options are available through the Trust’s CanadaHelps page and explanations, addresses and links to donate (which are preset to the Museum Fund!) are available on our Donate page.
Please help us “Tell Our Stories” and become part of our team by making a financial donation to support our museum.
You can find more information – as well as a Volunteer application form – on our museum website. Please visit our YouTube and Flickr page for the latest content.
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.
QOR Association Update
The Association enjoyed a great evening at the Soldier's Holiday and Awards Dinner.
Congratulations to:
Association Padre John Howie for 2023 Rifleman of The Year
CWO (Ret'd) Shaun Kelly for the Colonel Paul & Bev Hughes Award for Excellence
At the D-Day Dinner on June 6th at Casa Loma, I was very honoured to receive the QOR Lifetime Achievement Award along with Jim Lutz and Phil ten Kortenaar. Congratulations also to Don Ethell and Louise Hodder from the Calgary Branch, and Ben and Kathleen Turpin from the Newfoundland Branch.
Association Dues
Again, thank you for renewing your membership. It is our goal to make sure our Association remains one of the most active military Associations in Canada.
By sending your dues, you are part of a 108 year tradition of service to The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada Association.
Also, if you know of a former member or anyone that would be interested in becoming a member please don’t hesitate and contact us.
And if you have let your membership lapse, please use this opportunity to rejoin the QOR Toronto
Association, and become part of the QOR Regimental family!
Regular member - $25.00 a year
Serving Member’s (MCpls and below) - $10.00 a year
To pay by e-mail:
The address is qora-tor-treasurer@rogers.com (No password)
To pay by mail:
The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada Association (Toronto Branch) Association Dues
1235 Trafalgar Road
PO Box 84024
Oakville, ON L6H 3J0
In Pace Paratus
CWO (Ret'd) Brian Budden, CD
President & Health & Welfare Chairman
QORA (Toronto Branch)
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 merchandise from the Airborne Reunion.
Please visit the QOR Kit Shop here.
Watch and Shoot (Upcoming Events)
February 24, 2024
Toronto Garrison Officers’ Ball
June 1-8, 2024
D-Day 80th Anniversary Trip (Mess Dinner on June 6)
For more events, please consult the calendar of events.
Trust Fund and Fundraising Update
Auditor needed for Trust Fund
After many years of providing our Audit on a pro bono basis, our Auditor has informed us that he will no longer be doing our Audit due to his retirement.
An annual Audit of our Financial Statements is not a legal requirement, but the Trustees feel that it is important practice that ensures that the Trust is being run within legal and regulatory requirements as a well as adhering to the requirements of the Declaration of Trust.
The Trust Fund is asking the Regimental Family/1860 Club Members if they have any suggestions for the position of Auditor or contacts who may be suitable and/or interested in being our Auditor. Please forward any suggestions or contacts to: qorofctf@gmail.com
Thank you,
Maj (Ret’d) Anthony Schultz, CD
President
The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada Trust Fund
Since the launch of the 1860 Club, our members have donated over $300,000 to support The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada Trust Fund and various Regimental initiatives. We would like to express our sincere gratitude for your generosity and support. The full list of Founders can be viewed here.
For more information on supporting the Trust Fund, please click here. For any additional questions, please do not hesitate to 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/ryzm
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 Brian Whittaker, 1860 Club Communications Director at editor@1860club.ca