The Anniversary Webpage for All Patricias and Interested Canadians

News Flash – Regimental Plan Published

rclbrockville — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 06:07:10 +0000

: Ray Crabbe at Work on the 100th

Colonel of the Regiment Ray Crabbe and all other regimental authorities signed off on the Regimental Plan for the 100th Anniversary in late November 2011 in Vancouver, and it is now being copied and mailed to the chain of authority within the serving and the retired components. This webspace has also been updated to be compliant with the printed Plan. Scroll over Plan at the top of this page and you will see below it a Summary page if you want a snapshot. Full copies of the plan will be made available through websites and there will be derivative summaries and guides to the plan distributed at regimental gatherings over the next year. Watch this post page for further announcements in the weeks ahead!

Remembrance Show 2011

rclbrockville — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 21:18:18 +0000

CJNU 107.9FM Winnipeg will air John Crane’s Special Remembrance show on 11 November 2011 at 10 am Winnipeg time, which gives about 8 minutes of the hour over to the coming anniversary of the start of World War I, the founding of PPCLI and our centennial and the story of Frezenberg. The show can also be heard live cast on the station website from anywhere at http://cjnu.ca.

Radio stations CHSR 97.9 Fredricton (506-453-49850 , CFCR 96.5 Saskatoon (306-664-6678) and CJTR 91.3 Regina (306-525-7274) have also picked up the show but have not yet scheduled its airing.

An Excerpt from the Colonel-in-Chief

rclbrockville — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 02:00:07 +0000

This is a reproduction of the closing thoughts from the Colonel-in-Chief in her letter to all Patricias in reference to the 97th Anniversary of PPCLI, 10 August 2011:

On the occasion of our 97th anniversary, I wish all Patricias happy birthday and thank each and every one of you for your devotion to duty and excellent service to our country. I appreciate and am deeply grateful for the incredible sacrifices you and your families are making to provide Canada’s security. I consider myself both priviledged and extremely proud to be your Colonel-in-Chief and to serve as a member of our fine Regiment.

The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, PC, CC, CCM, COM, CD, LLD

97th Birthday Wishes

rclbrockville — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 01:49:49 +0000

Somewhat late in positing this note from the Colonel of the Regiment:

As we celebrate our 97th year of service to Canada, let me take this opportunity to wish all Patricias a very happy birthday. As Patricias we can be justly proud of the role plyed by the Regiment to the defence and security of our nation. In three years we will celebrate our 100th year of service and acknowledge our founding by Hamilton Gault in Ottawa. I encourage all members of the Regimental family to plan to attend the commemorations.

All the best on our 97th anniversary, and good soldiering.

RR Crabbe, LGen (Retd), COR

Introducing the Anniversary Sergeant-Major

rclbrockville — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 19:20:56 +0000

The Regiment is fortunate to have great soldiers, and one of these is our own Anniversary Sergeant Major. Here is his bio:

Master Warrant Officer (MWO) Jim Butters was born in Hamilton Ontario
and enrolled in the Canadian Forces in 1976 as an infantryman with Princess
Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.

On completion of his Basic infantry training in Wainwright AB he was posted to the3^rd Battalion in Esquimalt BC, where he served until March of 1978
before taking a Leave of Absents from the Canadian Forces in order to pursue a career with the Minnesota Northstars of the NHL.

In September 1981 MWO Butters rejoined the Regiment in Calgary with A Coy 1 PPCLI and was promoted to Master Corporal in November 1982. He was posted to Baden Germany with the 2^nd Battalion in 1984 where he served in Recce Platoon as a detachment 2I/C before being promoted to Sergeant in 1986 and cross posted to C Coy. MWO Butters captained the 2 PPCLI Rebels to four consecutive Canadian Forces Europe hockey Championships, two National Championships, and two Army Championships between 1984 and 1988.

Posted to the PPCLI Battle School in Wainwright AB in 1988 , he
held positions as Section Commander, Course 2I/C and Standards Warrant Officer. He was promoted to Warrant Officer in 1989 and posted to the 1^st
Battalion in 1991. In 1993 Warrant Officer Butters and the 1 PPCLI Anti-Armour Platoon was attached posted to the 2^nd Battalion in the Former
Republic of Yugoslavia, as part of Op Harmony. He assumed the duties of
Anti-Armour Platoon Commander, commanding both the 1^st and 2^nd
Battalions’s Anti-Armour assets when the Battle Group was relocated into Sector
South to stop the Croatian Armies advance on the area known as the Medak
Pocket.

On his return to Canada he rejoined the 1^st Battalion until he was posted in 1995, to the French Language School in Ottawa. After completing the course he
remained in Ottawa as Career Manager for NCM’s at NDHQ. Promoted to MWO in 1997 he was once again on the move posted to the 3^rd Battalion in Edmonton. MWO Butters had the distinct honour of serving Her Majesty the Queen, as Guard Sergeant Major at Buckingham Palace, London England in 1998, and then deployed to Kandahar Afghanistan in 2002 while serving with the 3^rdBn.

Following his Afghanistan tour he was posted to the United States Army Sergeant Major Academy in El Paso Texas, USA, and then back to the 1^st Battalion as the QMSI in 2004. When the Bn deployed to Afghanistan in 2006 MWO Butters returned to Kandahar as the Task Force QMSI and Camp Sergeant Major.

In November 2006 MWO Butters retired from the Canadian Forces after 32 yrs of service with the PPCLI.

In May 2008 he returned to the Regiment in a full time Class B position as the 100^thAnniversary Sergeant Major.

MWO Butters is living in Alberta and working out of RHQ in Edmonton.

Returns Outlines Posted

rclbrockville — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 00:15:47 +0000

The draft itineraries for the Private Returns plan commercial tours to Europe in 2015, known as UK Week, Battle Week and NATO Week are now available though a link on the page under the Frezenberg plan header. That takes you to a Yahoo group site open to the public and just click on the file name. (If you are not a member of Yahoo, you would have to join – it costs nothing and you need supply only your user name and a password, and it is useful for other things like Flickr)Comments are welcome, and we hope to have the outlines posted to another host shortly. When we do this will be announced here.

UK Week is centered on seeing places and people of significance to the regiment, and leads into Battle Week, which is centered on the Frezenberg 2015 activities, as well as those associated with Ypres amd Vimy. NATO Week follows with the northern and southern bases and environs to be visited in Germany.

The Private Returns Committee works now to discuss these outlines with several commercial tour companies and to acquire quotes and detailed plans.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011!

rclbrockville — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 17:36:09 +0000

To everyone who is looking forward to the 100th Anniversary celebrations, Happy New Year for 2011 from the core planning team – the Colonel of the Regiment LGen (Retd) RR Crabbe, the Guard VP (100th) Vince Kennedy, the Regimental Secretary for the 100th Maj Sean Moran and the Anniversary Sergeant Major MWO James Butters.

Just before Christmas the Way Ahead for all planners, the detailed guidance for each of the 60-odd activities within the 100th plan, and revised financial data was given to all planners so that they can comment early in this New Year, and then the Final Regimental Plan will be able to be completed and issued widely in the late fall of 2011. There is a heightened planning and preparation peace planned for 2011, and this website will carry the updates as they are available.

The Core Team

Message From the Colonel of the Regiment

rclbrockville — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 22:25:31 +0000

On assuming the appointment of Colonel of the Regiment in May 2010, I was very impressed with the amount of work that had already gone into the planning for our 100^th Anniversary. I was also struck by how much remained to be done, especially coordinating and matching our capacity to our intended Anniversary activities and events. I am very pleased to report that the planning is well advanced and the Regiment is moving forward to ensure that we celebrate A Century of Service to Canada in the way our Founder, all Patricias and Canadians would expect. I would encourage everyone to inform all their friends and fellow Patricias to stay tuned to the developments of the plans and encourage them all to attend one of our planned Commemorations – Edmonton (7-10 Aug 14), Ottawa (18-21 Sep 14) or Frezenberg (5-8 May 15). For those no longer serving and who have not yet done so, I encourage you to join the Association (see the link on this website) and enjoy the benefits of membership, including those that will be offered for the 100^th Anniversary.

The 100^th Anniversary website will continue to be updated as the planning unfolds.

LGen Ray Crabbe, Colonel of the Regiment, PPCLI

PPCLI Foundation Founded

rclbrockville — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 21:44:44 +0000

The PPCLI Foundation was established on 27 August 2010 when the Colonel of the Regiment, LGen RR Crabbe and several Trustees executed the Deed of Trust for the Foundation. The Foundation has applied for Charitable Registration, which is expected within the next months. The Foundation is an independant organization with its own Constitution and its own Board of Trustees (11, with a mix of military/civilian, officers/NCMs, serving/non-serving) who act soley to achieve the aims of the Foundation. The Foundation has set a target of raising approximately $5 million dollars for regimental charitable purposes by 11 November 1918. In the shorter term it will raise enough money and sponsorship to enable the 100th Anniversary plan. The Foundation website is at Links to the right.

Major Motion on the 100th Scene

rclbrockville — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 04:17:54 +0000

There has been major developments concerning the 100th Anniversary. The regimental intent was clearly established in 2008 when the National Plan V8.2 was initialled by all authorities, and when the new Colonel of the Regiment MGen Ray Crabbe and the new President of the Guard MGen Dave Fraser took over their posts in summer 2010, they asked that the full plan and all projected activities be reviewed. The result was a joint meeting of the Regimental Executive Committee and the Regimental Guard, with good Association presence, in Ottawa on 16 October, with virtually the whole day devoted to a review of the 100th.

The review was based on a matrix of all events developed by Major Moran, the Regimental Secretary. It resulted in a renewed sense of ownership of the 100th by the senior leaders of the regiment, both serving and retired, and integrated the planning effort with the newly found PPCLI Foundation, which is about to start raising money to support the plan.

The results of all this work has been a re-affirmation of the triad of major activities, and a reconfirmation of the relay run to join the triad. Some of the major changes occurring:

greater emphasis has been placed on the commemorative nature of the 100th overall, and where practical events will be shaped so that these are more attractive for sponsorship and donations. This results in some minor name changes and some substantive re-focussing which will be highlighted on this website and elsewhere.
the regiment will run a Centennial Baton from Edmonton to Ottawa after the Edmonton Commemoration, rather than a torch. The Baton will be regimentally unique, and will contain the Regimental Roll of Honour as the Torch was to, but will be easier to handle and will avoid the current glut of torch runs. Kingston Branch of the Association is designing and executing the baton.
the revised matrix of activities will be used as the basis of a re-written Final Regimental Plan for the 100th which will be issued in the fall 2011.

Vince Kenendy