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Men's Christmas Dinner
17 December 2005
Photos are thumbnailed, click to enlarge

Christmas in the Calgary Highlanders has always been a time of tradition, quiet reflection on a hard year of training, recognition of individual achievement, cameraderie, and above all recognition of the efforts made by the men of the rifle sections, and the rest of the Regiment whose job it is to lead and to support them, through the 12 previous months.

The theme of paying respect to the work of the junior ranks of the Regiment begins at the start of the dinner, with a receiving line; the Officers, Warrant Officers, and Senior NCOs greet the junior ranks at the door. The dinner is also held in the Officers' Mess, properly decorated with regimental finery, as well as a smattering of holiday themed decorations, placed with care by gruff and grizzled warrant officers and sergeants well in advance.
Lieutenant Colonel Tom Manley, Commanding Officer at centre, looks surprisingly chipper for someone about to be demoted. RSM Walters stands with back to camera, with Honourary Colonel Bob Gibson to his left. White cast belongs to retired Sergeant Floyd Rourke, holder of the Distinguished Conduct Medal and veteran of the Second World War and the Korean War, in which he served as an infantryman. The senior leadership has taken the time and care to be prepared for any eventuality the night may bring, with a first aid kit, crime scene tape, and hatchet visible.
The Officers' Mess when laid out with regimental finery contains evocative images of our past at every turn of the head. The regiment's pipe banners are used to decorate the room; these banners, generally worn by the pipe band on the bass drone of the bagpipes, bear the personal coats of arms of senior regimental officers. More information is found by clicking this link.
The theme of thanking the soldiers continues as the officers, warrant officers, and senior NCOs serve the troops. Always welcome is a cool beverage; Warrant Officer Jim MacDonald brings on the Canadian for the troops.
Private Sara Hein demonstrates the proper safety equipment necessary for destroying contaminated water jerry-cans...a week too late... Photo courtesy 2Lt Gavin Mills
Lieutenant Colonel Manley and Padre Stefan Ganowicz share a joke before the meal. In addition to the usual blessing by the padre, Captain John Alden delivered the traditional Selkirk Grace, followed by toasts to the Colonel-in-Chief Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, and to The Regiment.
The head table, seated in front of the National Flag as well as the Regimental Flag. The bronze statue is McTavish, a sculpture commissioned by Honourary Colonel Fred Mannix, depicting a Calgary Highlander as he would have appeared in the field in the 1970s and 80s, armed with a C2 Light Machine Gun. The silver mug is McTavish's mug, and is usually set aside in the Warrant Officers' and Sergeants' Mess. If these troops here look sad it is because they are on a weekend of training, which demands that the bottlecaps remain on the beer bottles. Other Highlanders, thoughtful to the last, no doubt disposed of the contents for them later in the evening.
Lieutenant Colonel Manley proposes one last toast to his Regiment before relinquishing his command. A bemused-looking image of the Colonel-in-Chief keeps a watchful eye on the proceedings.
The age old tradition gets a new twist. While the youngest soldier in the Regiment has always traditionally changed places with the Commanding Officer for the Christmas Dinner (in this case, Private Mike Wrightson exchanges rank slip-ons with Lieutenant Colonel Manley), this year the Regimental Sergeant Major also exchanged places with the oldest corporal in the Regiment. If J.P. Toussaint seems unsure of himself, it is only because he had been assured beforehand his selection was as the "best looking corporal."
The stern countenance of Colonel J. Fred Scott looks on, one hopes with approval. Private Bullock seems little inhibited either way. J. Fred Scott served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in the First World War, and on 1 September 1939 was selected to take over the Calgary Highlanders upon mobilization for the Second World War. The fine portrait at right - one of the Regiment's heirlooms and only brought out for special occasions - was done of a much older Scott than the officer who led the Highlanders to war. Scott - nicknamed "J. Fred God" - was an immensely popular commander who in 1942 revolutionized infantry training throughout the Canadian Army by adopting "Battle Drill Training" in the Calgary Highlanders. The rest of the Army followed suit. Unfortunately, his advanced age wasn't seen as compatible with leading a battalion in action, and he left his Highlanders to command a Battle Drill school in Canada. He retired from the military as a colonel, and still has an Elementary School in Calgary named after him.
Entertainment during the meal included a DVD presentation of movie footage shot on the recent DP2A (basic machine gunner's) course. Photo courtesy 2Lt Gavin Mills
The Pipes and Drums attended the dinner in DEU (Distinctive Environmental Uniform) and pay rapt attention to the goings on up on the screen... Photo courtesy 2Lt Gavin Mills
All three tables were filled to near capacity. Photo courtesy 2Lt Gavin Mills
Colonel Gibson looking very pleased, as is Floyd Rourke, DCM. If Acting-RSM Touissant's CADPAT uniform looks a little faded, it is because he - with several other Calgary Highlanders at the dinner today - are in the last stages of pre-deployment training before they head to Afghanistan as part of the Canadian Forces presence there. Two recent injuries in which death and injury were inflicted to Canadian soldiers made this a more sombre meal than in years past, and the Regimental Family looks to the future with slight anxiety, but mainly the realization that these soldiers will be going overseas well prepared to perform their duties, and hopefully pave the way for future deployments of even larger contingents of Calgary Highlanders.
Acting Lieutenant Colonel Mike Wrightson seems a little nervous; the knowledge that he is sitting next to a DCM holder may be the cause. On 26 April 1945, during the assault on Gruppenbühren, Germany, Lance Corporal Floyd Orin Rourke took command of his platoon when the senior leadership were hit by enemy fire. With his platoon commander dead, he led the remnants of his platoon over 700 yards of open ground, then took an additional bound to knock out a German 88mm gun. More information on Gruppenbühren, and the citation for Rourke's Distinguished Conduct Medal, can be found by clicking this link.
No regimental function is complete without the Regimental Pipes and Drums, as well as their Highland Dancers. Drum Sergeant Brian Woodward (a former commissioned officer of the Regiment) leads the all-volunteer drum corps. Painting behind the dancers depicts the Battle of Walcheren Causeway, while at far left, a portrait of Mark Tennant looks on. Mark Tennant joined the Calgary Highlanders as a Private in 1939, and by 1945 was a Major, having been severely wounded at Hoogerheide in October 1944, he insisted on finishing the war with the Highlanders. After the war he served as Commanding Officer, and then Honourary Lieutenant Colonel. He was also a long serving Alderman of the City of Calgary. More information available here.
Pipe Major Mike Giles leads the volunteer pipe section. Pipe Major Giles comes from several successful competition pipe bands and a brief stint with the Regimental Pipes and Drums of the Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary's). (Painting behind the Pipe Major depicts the Pipe Band of the 16th Battalion (Canadian Scottish) during the First World War). Pipe Major Giles only recently took over his duties and has been enthusiastically welcomed to the Calgary Highlanders.
Despite the large number of troops currently training for overseas deployment, or else new soldiers to the Regiment currently undergoing basic military training, the Men's Christmas Dinner had a gratifyingly large turnout.
Acting RSM Touissant, having thanked the Regiment for their support of the soldiers getting ready to deploy, proceeds to spell out his grand vision for the future. The Honourary Colonel is still pleased and even the real RSM's bemusement threatens to match that of the Colonel-in-Chief.
Still nervous, the Acting CO listens to Floyd Rourke tell the story of Christmas Dinner in 1944. Honourary Colonel R.B. Bennett - who had been Prime Minister of Canada during the 1930s - made it a practice of sending Christmas Dinner to the Calgary Highlanders every year they were overseas from 1940 to 1944; that last Christmas was spent in the line in the Nijmegen Salient, in conditions very much like that depicted in the Bastogne episodes of the recent HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers." The Calgary Highlanders were very grateful to get a real turkey dinner at that time, having spent several weeks in and out of muddy and cold slit trenches.
Corporal Sara Hein enjoys her last minutes of life as a Private, as the portrait of Lieutenant Colonel Russ Boyle looks on. Another heirloom, the portrait depicts the first Commanding Officer of the Tenth Battalion, CEF, whom the Calgary Highlanders perpetuate. Boyle was mortally wounded in action on the night of 21-22 April 1915 in the Regiment's first combat action of the First World War. Corporal Hein's hatchet also promises to become a treasured heirloom; the cosmetic alteration to her right eye is evidence that when one wants to destroy a contaminated water jerry can with an axe, there is the right way, the wrong way, and the Army way...
Cadet Instructor Cadre officer Lieutenant N. Cousins of the Chestermere Cadet Corps graciously donated luggage tags for all our soldiers going overseas, which were presented at the dinner.
And at the end of an eventful evening, Private McTavish retired to the RSM's office, to continue his silent vigil; his Mug returned to the Warrants' and Sergeant's Mess, the portraits of gallant men and brave deeds returned to their storage places, and the newly promoted - Master Corporal Cody Martin, Master Corporal Mark Nussbaumer, Corporal Sara Hein and Corporal Thompson - and newly decorated Alberta Centennial Medal holders - Warrant Officer Gerald Downey, Sergeant Dennis Russell, and Corporal Michael Dorosh - retired to their respective messes to have a last bit of holiday cheer before the Christmas Stand Down. Corporal Touissant was successfully brought down to earth from the dizzying heights of RSM, having issued only one edict during his tenure - "quiet down in the back, there!" and Lieutenant Colonel Manley got his rank back. And, it is hoped, the men and women serving in the ranks were properly thanked for the hard work, dedication, and sacrifices they had once again made during the 2005 calendar year. The Honourary Colonel said it best when he wished the soldiers deploying overseas the best of luck.