Cover Photo

The C8 carbine, carried by Private Sagastume, was at one time considered a weapon for vehicle crews but is now becoming more popular in militaries around the world as the main service rifle of infantry on combat deployments. US soldiers (whose version is called the M4) swear by it in Iraq, and the PPCLI preferred it to the C7 while conducting air assault operations in Afghanistan.   The Canadian Forces continue to provide the Regiment and the Army with the tools it needs to fight on the modern day battlefield.

Photograph by Corporal Shawn McDonald, 41 Canadian Brigade Group

Warrant Officer Brian S. King, CD, in an image taken from a promotional photo of the Regimental Pipes and Drums done in 1988. Warrant Officer King served in the Regiment as an infantryman and piper after his enlistment in the early 1970s.  Extra-regimental employment included service in Germany for NATO exercises as well as a tour with the UN Observer Force in the Golan Heights.  As a Warrant Officer, he served as both Pipe Sergeant and Drum Major of the Regimental Pipes and Drums before commissioning as a Lieutenant and assuming the duties of Curator of the Regimental Museum and Archives.  Lieutenant King was the Regiment's first webmaster and original creator of this site.  He is currently serving at 41 Canadian Brigade Group Headquarters.

Private Brendan O'Shea, photographed in Wainwright in August 2004, participating in Exercise ACTIVE EDGE.   The dramatic changes the Regiment has seen in clothing and equipment in recent years are evident in the photo.  Behind O'Shea is a Leopard C2 main battle tank.   Annual summer exercises have been a tradition of the Militia for over a century; in recent decades they have provided Reservists with the chance to train with equipment not normally available during regular unit training in the course of the year.

ACTIVE EDGE is an annual exercise conducted by Land Force Western Area (LFWA), replacing the older MILCONS (Militia Concentrations); the aim of this exercise is officially to increase the collective training capabilities of the Reserves. Calgary Highlanders participating in this year's exercise underwent much interesting training, and exposure to heavy equipment such as the Leopard and the LAV III.

Photo courtesy Private Brendan O'Shea

Corporal Steven Kormendy, a member of the Calgary Highlanders Scout and Sniper Platoon, photographed near Kapellen, Belgium, by Army Film and Photo Unit photographer Ken Bell on 6 October 1944.  The Scout and Sniper Platoon were the forerunners of the modern day Reconnaissance ("Recce") Detachments.  Their job was to scout the battlefield, and when circumstances permitted, engage the enemy with specialized sniper equipment such as the Lee Enfield No. 4 Mk I (T) rifle shown here.

The 2004-2005 training year will see the Regiment concentrating on small unit taskings, including patrolling, and a 14 man team will be picked to represent the Regiment in the Cambrian Patrol, an annual contest dating back to 1959 that has evolved into an international competition that in recent years has tested the patrolling and recce skills of soldiers from the United Kingdom, Canada, Italy, Belgium, The Netherlands, and the United States.

Public Archives of Canada photo 131245 (Ken Bell)

Captain Jeffery Williams, photographed in the autumn of 1944.  Jeffery Williams joined the Calgary Highlanders as a Private in 1937, commissioned as an officer in 1939, and went overseas with the initial contingent of Calgary Highlanders aboard SS Pasteur in the Autumn of 1940.  He moved on to staff duties with the headquarters of both the 5th Canadian Infantry Brigade and 2nd Canadian Division.  Remaining badged as a Calgary Highlander, he served with other Calgary Highlanders at 2nd Division headquarters such as Captain "Ted" Insinger (killed at Dieppe) and H.T.R. "Funny" Gregg (who later commanded the Calgary Highlanders in the 1950s).  Williams ended the war as a Major, and in 1951 went to Korea as a company commander with the PPCLI.  He served as an officer in the Canadian Forces until 1971.

Jeffery Williams has since became a prolific and well recognized author of military history; in 2003 he released his autobiography Far From Home: A Memoir of a 20th Century Soldier.  Full details can be found on the Regimental Historians and Authors and Books pages.

Major Russell Lambert Boyle of the 15th Light Horse, photographed in 1912.  Major Boyle would become the first Commanding Officer of the Tenth Battalion, CEF, and be mortally wounded at Kitcheners' Wood on the night of 22-23 April 1915.  In 1939, history would repeat itself when another officer of the recently amalgamated 15th Alberta Light Horse - Lieutenant Colonel J. Fred Scott - became the first wartime Commanding Officer of The Calgary Highlanders, who jointly perpetuated the Tenth Battalion along with the Winnipeg Light Infantry.

Lieutenant Colonel Boyle had seen combat in South Africa prior to his service in World War One; likewise Lieutenant Colonel Scott had seen action in the First World War prior to commanding the Highlanders in the Second World War.  The bell tent (such as the one behind Major Boyle) would be a common sight on Militia exercises up until the 1970s.

Photograph courtesy South Alberta Light Horse Archives, via Donald Graves

Unidentified Non-Commissioned Officer of the Calgary Highlanders, CASF photographed at Mewata Stadium in December 1939.   The Regiment mobilized a battalion for the Canadian Active Service Force on 1 September, and by the time war was declared against Germany on 10 September, there were more recruits than uniforms.  The Regiment would wait many months for modern Battle Dress uniforms, equipment and weapons.  This Highlander still proudly wears the Service Dress uniform in which the previous generation had served in the trenches of France and Flanders.  Mewata Stadium has been torn down and in its place today is Millenium Park.  Where soldiers once trained for war, young girls and boys now practice their skateboard skills.

Beginning in July of this year, the Regiment will be marking the 60th Anniversary of its contribution to the Victory Campaign in Northwest Europe.  The Calgary Highlanders landed in Normandy one month after D-Day, and saw extensive combat beginning with Hill 67, and continuing on through August.   By September, the Regiment had advanced into Belgium, leading the way across the Albert Canal, and then fighting to open the approaches to Antwerp in October.  After wintering near Nijmegen, the Regiment again saw vicious combat during the fighting on both sides of the River Rhine from February to March 1945, and ended the war with street fighting in Doetinchem and Groningen.  Over 400 Calgary Highlanders lost their lives between 6 July 1944 and Victory in Europe Day in May 1945.

Fine character study of Sergeant Chris Tucker, on exercise at Fort Lewis, Washington in March 2004.  Sergeant Tucker was presented the J.Fred Scott Memorial Cup at the St. Julien's Dinner in April 2004 as Top Athlete in the Regiment, having captained the Oak Leafs in the 2003-2004 season.  The team's penalty minute statistics stand in mute tribute to his competitiveness.   Off the ice, Sergeant Tucker commanded an infantry section of the Regiment's CRIC (Composite Reserve Infantry Company) Platoon that served in the former Yugoslavia as part of Roto 11 in the winter of 2002-2003.

Sergeant Tucker epitomizes the idea that an Infantry Regiment lives or dies by the toughness, experience, and professionalism of its senior non-commissioned officers.

Photograph by Corporal Shawn McDonald, 41 Canadian Brigade Group

(Top) Hollywood's depiction of the Tenth Battalion at war - Brad Pitt and Henry Thomas in a scene from the film Legends of the Fall.

(Bottom) The reality - the Brooding Soldier memorial near St. Julien commemorates the 18000 Canadians who withstood the first poison gas attacks of the war on the Western Front, 2000 of whom are buried nearby.

The Calgary Highlanders held their annual commemoration of the Battle of St. Julien on 24 April 2004.  The Tenth Battalion - forerunners of the Calgary Highlanders - went into action 816 men strong on 21 April 1915 and by 5 May some 718 men had been killed or wounded.  These losses, suffered in under half a month, made up some 20% of the Battalion's total casualties during 45 months of active service from February 1915 to November 1918.

Legends of the Fall is the copyrighted property of TriStar Entertainment.

Private Shawn McDermott of "A" Company, photographed in May 2003 during a joint exercise involving The Calgary Highlanders and the Canadian Pacific Railway Police.  Private McDermott carries the tool of the Infantry trade - a C7A1 service rifle - and wears the new camouflage uniform known as CADPAT (for Canadian Disruptive Pattern).  The Tam O'Shanter is a traditional headdress worn by Highland infantry units and is just one of the distinctive traditional uniform components worn by the Regiment.

Photograph by Corporal Michael Dorosh, "A" Company