seasons greetings from your executive

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It is hard to imagine that another busy year has passed. The Club web page has undergone several changes, namely the Book of Remembrance has been added, a “members only” section and a photo gallery, nice work Chip & Terry. The highlight of our year is for sure the “Weekend of Memories” 21-23 Oct. The weekend was a boom- ing success and was at- tended by 175 members, wives and friends. A small profit was realized and it will go a long way to set- ting us up for the next “Weekend of Memories”. Bill Fallows and Terry Murphy were the driving forces behind the weekend and a big thank you goes out to them. Contact your executive if you feel we should attempt another weekend in 2006. Reg Warkentin assisted by Noel Coward laid our Re- membrance Day wreath at the Vimy Gate The Annual Christmas Din- ner and Bingo on 11 Dec was a lot of fun and rounded out a very busy year. The Executive sends out Seasons Greetings to one and all, and ask that we all remember those who served and those who sup- ported them in this the final moments of the “Year of the Veteran” V V V SEASONS GREETINGS FROM YOUR EXECUTIVE How to contact the Signallers Club OUR WEB SITE www.the-sigs-club.ca OUR E-MAIL AD- DRESS the-sigs-club @the sigs-club.ca OUR MAILING ADDRESS PO Box 1983 Kingston, On, K7L5J8 Special points of interest: VIMY BARRACKS ENTRANCE REMEMBRANCE DAY SERVICES OUR FALLEN COMRADES MEMBERSHIP DUES Weekend of Memories 2 TIMBUKTU 3 Founding Members 4 Maj Bruce Carruthers 5 85th Anniversary Winnipeg Sigs 6 Honorary Mbrshp– Father Savoie 7 “GOLD—DIGGER” CLAUSE 8 Inside this issue: THE SIGNALLER THE SIGNALLERS CLUB OF CANADA Per Semaphorum ad Satellites DECEMBER 2005 May the New Year bring, Peace, Health and Happiness to all. Cec,Tom,Ron,Terry, Bob & Noel TO PAGE 2

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It is hard to imagine that another busy year has passed. The Club web page has undergone several changes, namely the Book of Remembrance has been added, a “members only” section and a photo gallery, nice work Chip & Terry. The highlight of our year is for sure the “Weekend of Memories” 21-23 Oct. The weekend was a boom-ing success and was at-tended by 175 members, wives and friends. A small profit was realized and it will go a long way to set-ting us up for the next “Weekend of Memories”. Bill Fallows and Terry Murphy were the driving forces behind the weekend and a big thank you goes out to them.

Contact your executive if you feel we should attempt another weekend in 2006.

Reg Warkentin assisted by Noel Coward laid our Re-membrance Day wreath at the Vimy Gate

The Annual Christmas Din-ner and Bingo on 11 Dec was a lot of fun and rounded out a very busy year.

The Executive sends out Seasons Greetings to one and all, and ask that we all remember those who served and those who sup-ported them in this the final moments of the “Year of the Veteran”

V V V

SEASONS GREETINGS FROM YOUR EXECUTIVE

How to contact the Signallers Club OUR WEB SITE

www.the-sigs-club.ca

OUR E-MAIL AD-DRESS

the-sigs-club @the sigs-club.ca

OUR MAILING

ADDRESS

PO Box 1983

Kingston, On, K7L5J8

Special points of interest:

VIMY BARRACKS ENTRANCE REMEMBRANCE DAY SERVICES OUR FALLEN COMRADES MEMBERSHIP DUES

Weekend of Memories 2

TIMBUKTU 3

Founding Members 4

Maj Bruce Carruthers 5

85th Anniversary Winnipeg Sigs 6

Honorary Mbrshp– Father Savoie 7

“GOLD—DIGGER” CLAUSE 8

Inside this issue:

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Per Semaphorum ad Satellites

DECEMBER 2005

May the New Year bring, Peace, Health and Happiness to all.

Cec,Tom,Ron,Terry, Bob & Noel

TO PAGE 2

PER SEMAPHORUM AD SATELLITES TO PAGE 3

Weekend of Memories The Weekend of Memories 21-23 Oct 05 was a smashing success with well over 100 members and friends attending each function. The weekend opened with a Meet and Greet on Friday night that included registration followed by a Steak / Chicken BBQ. Many old memories were rehashed and some tall tales were re-counted. Members attended from as far away as British Columbia , Paddy Walshe from Maple Ridge, Denny Cyr from Summerland and FE Brown from Florida, our Korean and UN Vets from the Southern Ontario area, Ottawa and Montreal to name a few. There were some who closed the Bar in true Signals fashion.

Saturday morning saw many out of town members visiting “old haunts” downtown, the C & E Museum, the Forde Building and Drill Hall Al-pha. The afternoon was reserved for groups to gather in different messes on the Base to renew old acquaintances. Those groups included Linemen, the Airborne, Foreman of Signals,DR Display Team and Ko-rean Vets to name a few. Saturday night saw everyone dressed in their finest and ready to party. The evening was filled with fun and games namely a joke telling con-test, an old fashioned Orders Parade yes, Jim Gratto was guilty as charged, and a Drill practice. A Smorgasbord Dinner (roast beef, ham, chicken and all the trimmings) topped off by a dance to the tunes of the 50’s and 60’s

Sgt Jim Gratto— “guilty as charged” is offered a last drink by the CO ,Noel Coward; Jim refused!

THE STAGE FERGIE GUARDING THE BAR

AIRBORNE TROOPS THE NICHOLSONS THE MARSHALLS

WEEKEND OF MEMORIES Sunday morning saw everyone gathered at the C & E Military Museum for a brief Memorial Service lead by Father George Savoie. The Signal Spirit was read by Willie Marshall, the laying of a wreath by Iris Rauliuk and Ken Nicholson and the Last Post and Reveille was played by Bob Murray. The ceremony was held in the Museum due to inclement weather and the wreath was laid in the Memorial Room next to our Book of Remembrance. After the service the large group moved to the junior Ranks Club for a superb brunch prepared by Harvest Catering. Many tearful farewells took place with prom-ises to do this all again in the following years. All in all a very enjoyable weekend and hopefully the start of many more to come.

TIMBUKTU

A Canadian National Poetry contest had come down to 2 semi-finalists, a University gradu-ate and a Signaller. They were given a single word, then allowed two minutes to come up with a poem that contained the word. The word was “TIMBUKTU”. First to recite his poem was the University graduate. He stepped up to the mike and spoke:

“Slowly across the desert sand Trecked a lonely caravan. Men on camels,two by two

Destination—TIMBUKTU”

The crowd went crazy, no way could the Signaller top that. The Signaller calmly made his way to the mike and recited:

“Me and Tim a huntin’ went, Spied three maidens in a pop-up tent.

They were three, and we was two, So I bucked one, and TIMBUKTU.

Our Wreath Bob Murray Breakfast

PER SEMAPHORUM AD SATELLITES TO PAGE 4

PER SEMAPHORUM AD SATELLITES TO PAGE 5

THE SIGNALLERS

CLUB OF

CANADA

FOUNDING MEMBERS

AE (ART) ANGEL* F (FRANK) BARBER WA (WALLY) BROOKS* JE (JACK) BURMAN KA (KEN) CLARKE* JA (JACK) CLIFFE* LW (ROY) COCHRANE TV (TED) DAOUST* RG (RALPH) EMENY* HE (HOWIE) FURNELL* RB (BOB) GIFFORD EO (ED) GOUDIE* LD (LYLE) GRAHAM LF (LLOYD) HANNA* G (GEORGE) HAYNES* EH (ED) HOWARD*

KR (KEN) LAMB AJ (AL) LAWRENCE* RJ (DICK) LIBBY G (GORD) LOWE* WJ (WILLIE) MARSHALL HJ (HUGH) MCINNIS GO (GEORGE) MCMILLAN* FJ (FRED) MCQUILLAN* AH (ALF) POLLARD* D (DAVE) RUSSELL JF (SANDY) SANDERSON* HA (ZEKE) SHANNON* WV (VIC) SLACK* EC (AL) VEALE* CH (CLAY) WALKER* * DECEASED

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PER SEMAPHORUM AD SATELLITES

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Major Bruce Carruthers

Memorial Gravesite Ceremony

The Canadian Forces Joint Signal Regiment conducted a Memorial Gravesite Ceremony for Major Bruce Carruthers on 21 October 2005 at the Cataraqui Cemetery, Kingston. This Ceremony is performed annually on the Corps Birth-day. Members of the Signallers Club were in attendance and a wreath was laid on behalf of the Club. Shown in photo below is Cpl (Ret’d) Chappy Chapman laying the wreath and Capt (Ret’d) Noel Coward assisting.

PER SEMAPHORUM AD SATELLITES

TO PAGE 7

735 (Winnipeg) Communications Regiment Signals Association

Unit 85th Anniversary Next Year will be the 85th anniversary of the formation of the first Militia Signals unit in Manitoba. In 1918, Winnipeg's first reserve Signal Unit was organized, (on paper only), as the 10th District Signals Battalion. Never for-mally activated for service, this unit was reorganized in 1920 and placed under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel J.C. Franklin, MC (Bar) in December 1921. It is from this date that the Regiment of today traces its origin. We have a wonderful opportunity to celebrate this event. To do it properly will require a lot of planning, volunteer time and ef-fort. Our first steps will be to determine the level of interest before going forward to the planning stage. If you are interested in supporting this event please contact Secretary: Sgt Ann Brown Tel: 832-3267, Email: [email protected] or address correspondence to:

735 (Winnipeg) Communications Regiment Signals Association c/o 735 (Winnipeg) Communications Regiment

969 St Matthews Ave Winnipeg MB R3G 0J7

Joke: Lemon Squeezer: In Ottawa, a local bar was so sure its bartender was the strongest man around that it offered a standing $1000.00 bet. The bartender would squeeze a lemon until all the juice ran into a glass and hand the lemon to a patron. Anyone who could squeeze one more drop of juice out would win the money. Many people had tried over time (lumberjacks, truck drivers, miners etc.) but nobody could do it. Then one day this scrawny little man came into the bar, wearing thick glasses and a polyester suit, and said in a tiny squeaky voice,” I’d like to try the bet." After the laughter had died down, the bartender said okay, grabbed a lemon, and squeezed away. Then he handed the wrinkled remains of the rind to the little man. But the crowd's laughter turned to total silence as the man clenched his fist around the lemon and six drops fell into the glass. As the crowd cheered, the bartender paid the $1000.00 and asked the little man, "What do you do for a living? Are you a lumberjack, a weight-lifter, or what?" "Nope", the man replied, "I work for Revenue Canada.

PER SEMAPHORUM AD SATELLITES TO PAGE 8

Bill Fallows nominated Father George Savoie for honourary membership in the Club on 10 Oct 05. Father Savoie served the Communications Branch as the Priest with the 1st Canadian Signal Regiment during the period 1991 thru 1993 where he assisted many a Signaller through troubled waters. He has worked with the Communications School as a back up priest when others were not available. Father Savoie has attended the last three Communications Reunions as an invited guest. He dedicated the Signaller's Club Memorial when it was dedicated at the C & E Museum. When approached to attend the Weekend of Memories and offer prayers at the memorial service on the 23 October he was extremely proud to be asked. While it is normal to nominate individuals to be a honourary member of our club at our annual meeting, it was felt that it would be a good opportunity for the club executive to make the decision to make him an Honorary Member on Saturday night at the dinner/dance on 22 October 2005. The Executive agreed electronically with the nomination on 06 Oct 05 and Father Savoie was inducted into the Sigs Club on the 22 Oct 2005. This will be introduced at the AGM 23Apr 06. Notices: Christmas cards from the Signallers Club of Canada were sent to peacekeepers in Af-ghanistan, Sinai Egypt, Golan Heights Syria/ Israel, Jerusalem and Bosnia – Herzegovina.

Nomination Honourary Member of the Signaller’s Club of Canada.

The Sigs Club has now obtained club decals for the outside of car windows, cost $3.00 and can be obtained by contacting the Club.

CHARLES CLARENCE (CLARE) LAKING, VETERAN 1899-2005 I'm sure you have heard this already but, just in case: Canada's oldest

signaller (and a tough old lineman at that) died on November 27. Clarence LAKING was a signals lineman in France in World War One (and one of

Canada's few surviving WWI vets) , he died at the ripe old age of 106

MEMBERSHIP DUES

Members are reminded that “yearly” membership dues ($15) are due on 31 Dec of each year, please remit by cheque or Money Order

To The Signallers Club of Canada

PO Box 1983 Kingston, On, K7L 5J8

PER SEMAPHORUM AD SATELLITES TO PAGE 9

Members of the Armed Forces pay into a pension plan their whole careers to ensure some finan-cial stability for themselves and their spouses in retirement. But as one of our members found out, if you marry /remarry over the age of sixty your spouse doesn’t get to keep collecting your pen-sion or medical dental benefits after you die. Reg Warkentin of Kingston is one of those veterans who happily announced that at age 62 in 1994, he married one of those younger women (now close to 60) and it's the best thing that ever happened to him. But to suggest Hilde Warkentin, his wife of 11 years, had money on her mind, is an insult. When a pensioner turns 60, Canadian law deems him too stupid to handle his own affairs. To protect him from gold diggers, his military pen-sion is locked down. He also makes the point MPs' pensions don't have the same catch. They're considered smart enough to know a gold digger when they see one, can marry after age 60, and should they die, the spouse would receive 60 per cent of the pension. They also continue to get medical and dental benefits. He has written a succession of Canadian Defence ministers to try to have the rule changed. He has fired off letters to prime ministers Paul Martin and Jean Chretien, and to members of the op-position. All he has gotten in response to his decade long crusade is silence, assurances that the government is following the rules as they are now written. British Columbia MP Werner Schmidt also sees the gold digger rule as ridiculous, and has a private member's bill (C-362) on the table, but chances of it getting to a vote are slim now that an election has been called. He is now in the process of starting a legal suit, with a Trust Fund to cover any legal costs, and putting together a website to rally support. The Sigs Club has agreed to support and advertise Reg’s cause on our website and any dona-tions to the Trust Fund annotated (Marriage Over 60 Fund) established at the Kingston Commu-nity Credit Union to handle legal costs can be sent to the Sigs Club address which will be depos-ited into the Trust. Reg is soliciting funds and has agreed that because of our support any funds remaining after the court case would be donated to the C&E Museum Education Fund. Reg Warkentin entered the military as a private soldier and worked his way up the ranks to major. He says he is finding growing support for his cause and has many retired military members and politicians onside.

Archaic Pension Rule “Gold – Digger Clause”.

CQ CQ CQ _._. _ _._ _._. _ _ ._

(SENT AT LINEMAN SPEED,WITH LEFT FOOT)

LISTEN FOR VE3RCS & VA3SIG EACH THURSDAY 1000-1100 EST

ON 7.055 Mhz, AS NET CONTROLLER OF THE TRANS-PROVINCIAL NET

NOTE: WILL GLADLY SET UP A SKED. SEND REQUEST TO: [email protected]

PER SEMAPHORUM AD SATELLITES TO PAGE 10

I pass on an interesting article sent to me by Frank Pratt, it sort of gives one a much clearer view of our "beloved' Vimy Barracks entrance. So many young and brave servicemen and women continue to pass through this entrance to receive the training that will enable them to take their place in a much troubled World, and they will no doubt serve our Country and Branch with great dignity and honour. To those who train and to those who learn I pass on the thanks of all mem-bers of The Signallers Club of Canada. (Terry Murphy, Secretary/Treasurer) AS WRITTEN BY FRANK PRATT: We all know where you mean by "Vimy Gate", we should not, however, forget that the whole en-trance to Vimy Barracks, including the curved stone walls on either side, was officially designated by HE Governor General Georges Vanier as "The National War Memorial of the Royal Cana-dian Corps of Signals" and a three-member body was established to keep an eye on its mainte-nance and continued place of respect, namely Maj-Gen A.E.Wrinch, LCol FJ .McCauley and me. I am the only surviving (and teetering) member of this august group, and would have no difficulty in seeing "and the Communications and Electronics Branch of the Canadian Forces" added to the official designation. I was included in that august body (called The Signals War Memorial Trust" because of being (a) the designer of the memorial and (b) in charge of the fund-raising campaign (we raised $32,000. nation-wide, partly by all serving members at the time (1962) being asked to give one day's pa y). Frank Note: The Base Comd, CFB Kingston through the Comdt CFSCE has assumed the responsibility

for the Memorial. A note was received from member Bill Dyke, “Each year I attend the 11 Nov ceremonies at the Perth memorial. For a small town, the turnout is large. The ceremony is made more meaningful in that the names of the fallen are read aloud. As I was watching the numerous wreathes being laid at the cenotaph (mostly from civilian organizations), I thought that The Signallers Club should also be represented by a wreath. Hence, this message seeking your permission to repre-sent the Club. I propose that in future years I purchase (my funds) a small wreath suitably identified as The Signallers Club of Canada and place it at the Perth cenotaph. For your consideration “ The executive looked at Bill’s request and proposed that if any other members or Signals Organi-zations who wish to do the same they would be more than welcome and the Sigs Club would pay for the ribbon (not the wreath) with “The Signallers Club of Canada” suitably inscribed. Lets hear from the membership. Thanks Bill.

The Vimy Barracks Entrance

Remembrance Day Services

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1

DECEASED MEMBERS,

WIVES, & OLD COMRADES

MEMBERS

E. Carter EUSTACE (LM 269)- on 8 Oct 2005,in Oakville, On

WIVES NONE REPORTED

Gordon Nash-23 Apr 2005 Robert LEIPER-9 July 2005

Neil Bulyea EBBETT– 24 Sep 2005 Lorne Robert WEIR-27 Sep 2005 JM Ernest WITHERS-5 Oct 2005 Alan Robert BARKER-6 Oct 2005 Joseph B CORMIER-9 Oct 2005 George MILLIKEN-27 Oct 2005

Donald Joseph CROUSE-27 Oct 2005 William Henry WOODFIELD-3 Nov 2005 Howard Bruce HENDERSON-12 Nov 2005

John David BELL-20 Nov 2005 William KETCHESON– 9 Nov 2005

Robert SCOTT– 26 Nov 2005 Vernon Wesley CAMPBELL-4 Dec 2005

J Robert SLOMER– 11 Dec 2005

OLD COMRADES

V V V

R E S T I N

P E A C E

F O R E V E R