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THEPublished by the JOURNAL 49th Battalion, The Loyal Edmonton OF Regiment THE dissociation LOYAL EDMONTON REGIMENT Representative of Their Numbers by Catherine Jones The painting depicts a still unknown member of the 49th Battalion carrying wounded regimental comrade Private Herbert Peterson on the night of 8/9 June 1917. They were killed by a shell, and their remains not found until 2003. 2 The Forty^Nmer Issue No. 108 October 2009 First Published in 1915 THE JOURNAL OF THE LOYAL EDMONTON REGIMENT Published by the 49th Battalion^ The Loyal Edmonton Regiment Association do The Loyal Edmonton Regiment Museum #118 Prince of Wales Armouries Heritage Centre 10440 -108 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T5H 3Z9 -mail: [email protected] website: www.lermuseum.org phone^fax: (780) 421-9943 International Standard Serial Number ISS 0701-2918 Editor: Major (Retired) David Haas, CD, rmc Editorial3 Cadet Armoury Wedding40 Association Presidents Address 4 Borrowed Typewriter Found41 B.C. Branch Dissolved6 Regimental Museum Closure42 The Pipe Band7 2008 Annual General Meeting44 Pipe Major Departs10 2007 Annual General Meeting46 Regimental Roadrunners11 Regimental Museum Resurgent48 Regimental Centenarian12 Song - Panzer/led50 Where Are The Band Instruments? 14 Books of Interest - NeWest Press52 Respect For The Colours16 Poetry " The Maxim Gun53 Afghanistan Task Force20 Crossword Solution54 Regimental Centennial30 Westmount School Remembrance56 Holland Honours An Eddy36 Last Post57 Unknown Eddy Identified39 Poetry - / Thought I Hear A Drum63 Last Night 3 The Fortv-Niner EDITORIAL COMMENT A WORLD OF WARS Major (Retired) David Haas, CD, rmc Around the time I graduated from high school in 1962 Something of the sort has been happening in recent I encountered a statement in a peace publication that the years. On September 11, 2001 - now nearly eight years ago French Foreign Legion^ founded in 1831, had never - hate filled fanatics organized a series of aircraft hijackings known two consecutive years of peace. I have no idea and suicide strikes against the American populace. The whether the statement was actually true then, though it perpetrators were quickly tracked to Afghanistan, whose seemed possible. By my observation, it has certainly held Taliban government refused to surrender them* An mostly if not entirely true in the four decades which fol- American controlled coalition, including Afghan factions lowed; and indeed I have seen the statement occasionally opposed to Taliban rule, swiftly conquered the country^ repeated in that period. Foreign conquest is no new thing in Afghanistan, but the By my reckoning, the situation regarding peace has inhistorical pattern is that life quickly becomes miserable for fact worsened. Call me an incurable optimist (and Pve the occupiers. This time it took until late 2005 before co- been called a lot worse) but around the time I was gaining herent, systematic opposition developed, and it continues. my commission I operated under the comforting belief It was two after that occupation that America again that if only we could somehow get past the great power rolled the steel dice to resolve international differences. In confrontation which was dubbed the u Cold War^, it 2003 its forces invaded Iraq, with the justification that the could be a wonderful world. Instead, when the Soviet em- country had weapons of mass destruction, and was at the pire crashed in the latter days of the twentieth century, we forefront of an international terrorism campaign, Saddam entered an era of increased instability, with escalating re- Hussein^s regime was swept away, and he died on the gal- sort to arms to resolve differences* More than a few of lows, but America remains bogged down in Iraq to the these conflicts have been ethnically based, some have been point where continuation of the effort there remains a marked by barbaric resort to genocidal practices, and ter- running issue in American politics. rorism is now again a player on the world stage. We At the moment there is plenty of armed violence in would, I suppose, do well to remember that the 49th Bat- the world, and the odds look as though Canada and other talion was raised for a conflict which originated in an eth- countries will continue to need soldiers in the years to nically based act of terrorism* come, Vive la Legion. This issue of The Fortyniner is the first in which the On a personal note - this is my last Fortyniner. I took cover has incorporated a work of art not expressly de- over in April 1998, so I have been at it eleven and a half signed as a cover format. Had either of the two men de- years. I have been pleased that I accomplished a substantial picted in Catherine Joneses painting been told when the revision of the magazine, turning it into a slick product Serb assassins were shooting the Austrian Archduke Ferdi- with a lot of photographs and much use of colour. I have nand and his wife in Sarajevo in 1914 that in consequence been less pleased that I did not manage to get issues out on they would die three years later and nearly a thousand time or often enough. Despite this shortcoming, looking miles away on shell blasted landscape, they might well haveback I am proud of what I did achieve, questioned the sanity of whomever was talking to them. In any event, over a decade is a long time on the job. It But such came to pass - wars get out of control and out- has always been my belief that turnover is good for an in- strip their original causes, stitution, so I depart in accordance with that precept, 4 The Forty-Niner ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT INAUGURAL MESSAGE Sergeant Brendan Yuill I am sure that by now most of the readers of thisdoubt this will continue. magazine are aware that I am the new president of the I cannot help feeling somewhat reflective. In many 49th Battalion f The Loyal Edmonton Regiment Associa- ways, the future of the reserve force and our reginieiit in tion. Previously, I served for the last few years as a board particular is very bright. Due to manning shormlls across member for the association but long time readers of The the Canadian Forces and the current operational, tempo, Fortyniner will remember me as the cover model who re- there is a significant need for reservists. As I write this mes- moved a door from a Griffin helicopter. Rest assured that sage, a large portion of our serving association iiiieiiaber- incident has not jeopardized any inter-service relation- ship has been involved in Afghanistan where tiley serve m ships. a variety of roles from riflemen and drivers to more sTpe- Before I get onto the main part of the presidents cialized roles such as liaison with local Afghan i]iiiili-Eaur-@,, po- message for this issue of The Fortyniner^ there are a few lice, and civilians. Access to advance courses, prwicMisly people I would like to single out for some fine work? past very difficult to get, has opened up oppo.rtuunitees; that association president Bruce Zawalsky for seven years of would have been unheard of a few years ago. outstanding service, the rest of the executive for their con- This is a lot different from what was going on ten tinuing outstanding work both before and during the tran- years ago. Due to budgetary reasons and lack of vision a sition, and finally the members of our association who sat program known as Land Force Reserve Iles.ttmirtiiriiig on the Commanding Officers centennial committee in (LFRR) - cleverly dubbed Operation Emasculate Ariiiv by 2008. The centennial was an unqualified success, someone who would prefer to remain nameless., was iiitro- I am very glad to take the reins of such a dynamicduced. Anyone working in the corporate world -wtno has and healthy organization, I have been privileged to be in- ever been through a round of layoffs would liave recog- volved with the executive over the last few years, and am nized the LFRR^s edicts for what they were, and it lljecanie glad to see the realization of one of my initial goals for be- painfully obvious to anyone participating in Ae evAnrio'si coming involved in the first place in that the current gen- exercises at the time that our regiment was on Ae dtiop- eration of soldiers are getting to know our old guard of ping block. Thankfully over time better minds prevailed Second World War veterans. Not too long after becoming and by the year 2000 we seemed to be deemed "viaJble" - president, I witnessed a serving member with Afghanistan and not a moment too soon it would seem.. As. prwioiisly experience and a Second World War veteran sharing eerily stated, operational tempo and world events tend to miti- similar experiences with roadside bombs. More recently, gate careerism and bureaucratic short-sightedness.. one of our meetings of the association executive was able I was dismayed to read in a national newspaper Aat to adjourn upstairs to the Jefferson Armory Junior Ranks due to some apparent recruiting shortfalls and Ae latest Mess for a going away party for the Loyal Eddies who, as I^tactical grouping^ initiative, my grandfathers re-giTiient, write this article, are deploying to Afghanistan, It was in- The Queen ^ Own Cameron Highlanders of spiring to see the interaction of several generations of might be disbanded. There are other factors do' not Loyal Eddies, from the Second World War veterans on- apply to our regiment, highest on the list being tliat we do ward through the Cold War, peacekeeping through the not share an armoury with another infantry regMieiit, but late 1970's to pre-9/11 and now to Afghanistan, I have no we should not grow complacent either.

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