St. George’s Day 2018 and Regimental Sergeant Major Change of Appointment – Annual Regimental Event

This upcoming weekend signifies an annual event that has been conducted by the King’s Own Calgary Regiment since 1927 when it was adopted by the King’s Own Calgary Regiment from an Allied Regiment. St. George’s Day is celebrated on the closest Sunday to the 23rd of April and is closely tied to the regimental birthday.

St. George’s Day All Ranks Formal Ball – Friday 20 April 2018
The regimental will be holding an All Ranks Formal Ball on Friday 20 April 2018. The Ball will start allowing guests to arrive at 1800hrs for the commencement of the dinner at 1900hrs. The Ball is to be held at the Glenmore Inn and Convention Center  – 1000 Glenmore Court SE, Calgary AB  T2C 2E6.

St. George’s Day Skills Competition and Luncheon – Saturday 21 April 2018

On Saturday 21 April 2018, the Regiment will be holding a skills competition starting at 1000hrs at Mewata Armouries. Master Corporals and up are expected to show up for 0930hrs and for Corporals and below to arrive for 1000hrs. Former serving soldiers of the regiment will compete with current serving soldiers in an event to test individual soldier skills.

St. George’s Day Regimental Parade and Regimental Sergeant Major Change of Appointment – Sunday 22 April 2018

On Sunday 22 April 2018, the King’s Own Calgary Regiment will be holding a regimental parade at Mewata Armouries. Soldiers will be expected to arrive at 0800hrs at Mewata for a parade practice in CADPAT and bring DEUs for the regimental parade.

Family, friends of the Regiment, and the general public are encouraged to come watch the St. George’s Day Parade on Sunday afternoon. Please arrive at Mewata Armoury at 1pm for the parade’s start at 1:30pm. Come even earlier if you would like to get a tour of the Regiment’s new Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicles! Seating is available inside the Armoury. Parking is limited in the immediate vicinity of the Armoury but available within 1-2 blocks. The parade is expected to be completed by 2:30pm.

The Regiment will also be holding a change of appointment parade. The current Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM), Chief Warrant Officer Cruickshank CD, after 4 years of hardworking and admirable service in the current role is now handing over his appointment to Master Warrant Officer MacGillivray CD. MWO MacGillivray CD has been a member of the King’s Own for nearly 30 years. He has seen a number of deployments including a deployment to Afghanistan in 2009 as a Force Protection Platoon Warrant Officer in Kandahar City. He was Wounded in Action during this time on 30 December 2009.

The St. George’s Day Parade will also be the graduation parade for The King’s Own Calgary Regiment’s Basic Armoured Crew member Course. Since September 2017, the 14 Troopers graduating have learned how to operate machine-guns, use radios, drive reconnaissance vehicles, and employ reconnaissance tactics in combat situations. They trained on Wednesday nights and weekends over the last several months, and are now qualified to move on to more advanced driver and gunner courses, including on the Regiment’s new Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicles.

Upon conclusion of the regimental parade the King’s Own Calgary Regiment will be holding a reception at the Officer’s Mess at Mewata Armouries. Medals, Awards, Commander’s Commendations and promotions are typically awarded during this time. The following awards and scholarship recipients will be announced at the reception:

Regimental Awards

  1. Burgess Sword: Awarded to the top Troop Leader in the Regiment. This award was initiated by then Captain Gordon Fisher in 1983. It is named after Lt Walter Hartley Burgess DSO, MID2, an officer of the 50th Battalion from the First World War.
  2. The Lovo Trophy: Awarded annually to the top Senior NCO or Warrant Officer in the Kings’ Own Calgary
    Regiment. This trophy was introduced by RSM (WO1) Robert S. (Bob) Lovo CD. WO1 Lovo joined the King’s Own after service in WWII and was RSM from 1962-1970.
  3. The General Howard Trophy: This trophy was initiated by Major General (ret’d) W.A.(Bill) Howard, CM,CMM, CD, QC for the Top Troop as selected by the CO, OCs, RSM, and SSMs.
  4. The Major Joe Howard Trophy: This trophy was initiated by Maj. Joe Howard, CD, CA, LLM, to the individual member of the Regiment who has shown the greatest amount of “Robustness” in their service to the Regiment.
  5. The Cunningham Trophy: This trophy was donated to the regiment by RSM (WO1) T.R.(Tommy) Cunningham CD. RSM Cunningham took part in the Dieppe Raid in August 1942 and was taken prisoner. Following the war, he joined the Militia and served as RSM KOCR from 1952 to 1964. Originally, this trophy was open to any Non-Commissioned rank. The winner was selected by having all ranks cast a single vote for the person that was deemed to be the one you would “follow into battle”. The trophy was re-assigned as one that would be awarded exclusively to the top Junior NCM in the regiment.
  6. The Tankers Trophy – This trophy was initiated by Major (ret’d) R.S. Westbury following the introduction of the AVGP Cougar to the Army Reserve. This award is currently awarded to the Top Junior Car (Recce) commander in the regiment. This member will typically be a Master Corporal or corporal, qualified or not, that is employed within the regiment that year as a Crew Commander of a recce junior call sign.
  7. The MacPherson Trophy – The MacPherson Trophy was instituted by Captain H. G. (Hugh) MacPherson CD, long time Director of Music and Calgary musician. The intent of this trophy is to recognize the the musician who has contributed the most the King’s Own Band both by playing ability and dedication to the Bands activities.
  8. The Hornburg Trophy: This trophy was initiated in 2011 by the Hornburg Family in honour of Corporal Nathan Hornburg MID, killed in Afghanistan 23 September 2007. It is awarded to the top Trooper/Corporal in the Regiment.

Regimental Scholarships 

  1. Recipient of the $5,000 Charbonneau Scholarship; and
  2. The 12 Recipients of the $1,000 Regimental Funds Foundation Scholarships.

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