Lieutenant (ret'd) Douglas "Barry" Agnew (1945 - 2021), joined the Calgary Highlanders as a piper with the Regimental Pipes and Drums in 1975. He ascended to the rank of Sergeant, was commissioned from the ranks and promoted to Lieutenant in1985.

Barry was proud to honour the traditions of the regiment, and a highlight during his time serving as Public Affairs Officer was when he had the opportunity to participate in the presentation of a new Queen's Colour to the Highlanders by HM Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to Calgary in 1990. Barry retired from the Highlanders in 2000.

Barry was born in Saint John, New Brunswick and was educated at Central High School in Calgary, later earning a B.A. majoring in history from the University of Calgary in 1968, followed by a B.Ed. at the University of Alberta in 1972. Most of his working career was spent in the museum profession, including twenty-seven years at the Glenbow Museum leaving there as Senior Curator, Military History in 2001. After Glenbow, Barry started his own museum consulting business, working in several museums throughout Alberta, with the primary contract at the Military Museums as Curator of the Calgary Highlanders Museum.

Following civilian retirement in 2010, Barry continued as a dedicated volunteer for the Highlanders and was active in many historical, military, and museum associations throughout his career including the Alberta Museums Association. He brought a high degree of professionalism to The Military Museums and worked tirelessly and meticulously as an archivist as well as an artifact conservationist. His knowledge of regimental history was unrivalled and his skill in writing resulted in many articles and papers that are still being utilized for research today. In 2019 he began working as part of the Calgary Highlanders regimental history book project and was instrumental in what was finally published.

A dedicated historian, soldier, husband, father, grandfather, brother, and uncle - he passed away on 12 December 2021, after battling cancer and multiple sclerosis. His humour, knowledge and friendship will be deeply missed.

Donald Munro (1919 - 2010) was born in Glasgow, Scotland and came to Canada in 1925 with his parents who settled on a farm east of Carstairs, Alberta. Don attended school in Carstairs, Shawnigan Lake, BC and in Calgary. He joined the militia in 1936 as a trooper in the 15th Alberta Light Horse and was soon commissioned in that militia cavalry regiment. On the outbreak of the Second World War, he resigned his commission to join the Calgary Highlanders as a platoon sergeant major.

In 1940 he was commissioned as an officer from the rank of Warrant Officer Third Class. In the UK he went to a holding unit in Aldershot and was posted to the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry as a Reinforcement Officer in June 1943. He joined the Patricia's on 07 August 1943, at Mount Seggior in Sicily. He served in Italy as a platoon commander, transport officer, and administration officer with the Canadian Corps Sniper School. In 1945 Don moved to NW Europe with the battalion and was SOS PPCLI on May 5, 1945. He repatriated to Canada and was released from the Canadian Army on 23 July 1945.

Following the war, he farmed for a few years and then in 1958 worked with the National Employment Service until his retirement in 1979. Don was active in the militia during these years, serving with the Calgary Highlanders from 1946 until 1967.

In 1989 Don (always known as "Donnie") took on the volunteer job of curator of the Calgary Highlanders Regimental Museum & Archives as it was forming as one of the four founding museums of the Museum of the Regiments. He was instrumental in establishing the Museum and remained with the Museum through the formative years retiring in 2003 as the Archivist. His dedication and many contributions to the Museum and to both the PPCLI and Calgary Highlanders Associations were outstanding. His kindness and helpfulness to both his colleagues and members of the public were exceptional.

Terence (Terry) John Kent (1941 - 2019) came to Canada from Surrey, England at the age of six with his mother, a war bride where they settled in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Terry enjoyed all things military and was a member of the Royal Canadian Legion 285 for many years. He also joined the Calgary Naval Veterans Association and spent many Saturday mornings at the Corvette Club visiting with his Shipmates. He was also a volunteer Watchkeeper at the Calgary Naval Museum.

He loved music, especially Celtic and folk. He had a natural talent and a beautiful singing voice. Terry was a member and soloist with the Irish Cultural Society Choir for many years, and he even learned to sing in Irish. A highlight was performing in a musical theatre tribute to Percy French, Gortnamona, which was performed several times in Calgary and Vancouver. Terry also belonged to the Men Folk Singing group which met once a month to sit around in a circle and just sing, bringing out wonderful voices and harmonies for the joy of it.

Ian Christie (1925 - 2020) was born in Westchester County New York State on Aug 10th 1925. In June 1943 Ian went from the USA to Toronto and joined the Royal Canadian Navy. He was enrolled as a Leading Seamen because he had a great deal of experience with small craft. He was a Bos’n.

Ian joined the HMCS Prince David, an Armed Merchant Cruiser, in 1943 and stayed with her throughout the war.

His favourite port was Norfolk Virginia. He and some crew members were sent to the US Supply depot for 1000 feet of 4 inch hemp rope. Somehow the rope and the US jeep they carried it in made it onboard the ship and over to England.

On D-Day Ian was driving one of the landing craft from the Prince David. He made two trips to Juno Beach with personnel from the Winnipeg Rifles and one trip with supplies. On VE Day in May 1945 he was in London, England to celebrate the end of the war.

In April 1947 Ian retired from the RCN in Halifax. He was entitled to subsidized education so he went to the New York Phoenix Art School and worked for NBC for several years before working for the Associated Press as a correspondent.

In 1952 he moved to Calgary and became the Public Relations Officer for Caterpillar a year, and then moved to the Calgary Herald as a Photo Journalist for the next 23 years. In 1975 he worked briefly as PR for HMCS Tecumseh. Then later in 1975 he went into business for himself - running the Crowchild Photo shop for 28 years until 2003. He retired completely in 2006.

Ian married his wife Jean in May 1954. He has been involved with the Naval Museum for over 20 years and has been part of the Corvette club for over 10 years. Sadly Ian passed away in February 2020.

Allan J. Hudak (1939 - 2020) was born in Lethbridge, Alberta, on March 25, 1939. He died peacefully at his home in Calgary on January 26, 2020. He was predeceased by his wife Lydia and sister Sharon.

At the age of 15, Al became a Soldier Apprentice and was trained for a career in the Ordinance Corps. After serving 28 years of service, he retired in the rank of Master Warrant Officer. After retiring from the Armed Forces, Al spent most of his remaining years as a Rehabilitation Consultant for insurance companies.

Allan was very active in veterans associations including the Calgary Naval Veterans Association, the Royal Alberta United Services Institute, The Naval Museum of Alberta and Branch 264 The Royal Canadian Legion. Allan lived a fulfilling life as a husband, father, step-father, brother, uncle, grandfather and great-grandfather and will be sorely missed by all.

Robert (Bob) James Bryden (1925 – 2020) of Calgary went to be with his Lord at the Colonel Belcher Veteran’s Care Center on May 18, 2020 at the age of 94.

Bob was born on July 25, 1925, to John and Margaret Bryden of Mannville Alberta. It was there where he developed his love for horses and his hard work ethic.

Bob served in the Canadian Navy during World War II off the coast of Newfoundland. On discharge, he worked for the Alberta Forestry Service and later attended SAIT studying electronics. He was a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for 30 years, retiring in 1982. After retirement he started a communications company that he ran until 2002.

Over the years, Bob filled his time by volunteering at the Naval Museum, Rotary Club, and the Corvette Club. He was also a member of First Baptist Church in Calgary, The RCMP Veteran’s Association and the Royal Canadian Legion. He enjoyed ‘tapping’ and listening to Morse Code as well as reciting poetry. Bob was an excellent public speaker and was often asked to speak or say grace at events. Some of his many interests included history, cars, opera, the bagpipes, dogs, ships and airplanes. Bob had a way of making people feel at ease upon meeting him. He had an excellent sense of humour and a strong handshake.

On April 16, 1949 Bob married the love of his life, Edna Wilde. They were married 53 years before her passing on November 17, 2002.

Bob is survived by two sons, Dr. John Bryden, Robert G. Bryden and daughter-in-law Heidi Bryden, grandchildren Jordan Bryden and Heather Frede and her husband James Frede. Bob is also survived by his sister, Betty Cornish of Surrey B.C. and special friend Helen Duholke. He was predeceased by his parents and 3 brothers, John (Jack) Bryden, William (Bill) Bryden and James (Jim) Bryden of Mannville, Alberta.

Tom Conrick (1927 – 2022) was born in Montreal on 28 Nov 1927. Of Irish descent he grew up in the neighbourhood of Point St. Charles.

In the Fall of 1944 Tom joined the Merchant Navy as a stoker. His first ship was the Philip P. Dodge, an old British Tramp Steamer. He said it was a leaky old tub which would always take on water between the deck plates in the sleeping quarters. It was a coal burner and the work was hard. The ship had a top speed of about 6 knots and he was proud to have survived that ship.

His next ship was the Mount Maxwell Park – a tanker in which he served from early 1945 until 1946 when he was released from the Merchant Navy and returned to Montreal. He was awarded the Atlantic Star for spending more than 6 months at sea in the North Atlantic.

His favourite port was New York as the ship was anchored in the harbour there on VE Day in May 1945. It was waiting to form a convoy for overseas when the war in Europe ended. Shortly thereafter they sailed to the Panama Canal for the Pacific theater of war. While anchored in the port of Colon Panama, the end of the war in Japan was declared on Aug 14, 1945. It was a very exciting time, and that is an easy day for him to remember as it is now his wife’s birthday too.

After leaving the Merchant Navy Tom worked in Montreal for Northern Electric (NORTEL) for 35 years until he retired in 1980. He worked for the installation department and travelled all over North America. He was retired for one year before moving to Edmonton and going to work for the Bank of Montreal. BMO had some of the first ATM’s and Tom worked for 9 years servicing those machines until retiring again in 1990.

He moved to Calgary in 1996 and became part of the CNVA. He has been a long time Director and was Master At Arms for several years.

Tom also got involved with the Naval Museum of Alberta Society and worked for a period as Director of Marketing for the Museum. He and his colleagues used to promote the Naval Museum at the Calgary Stampede and Spruce Meadows. He had been a watch keeper since 1996.

Douglas Wayne Bedford (1940 - 2021) was born on 18 Feb 1940. Doug joined the Canadian Forces in 1958 and served with the Queens Own Rifles of Canada and the PPCLI. He also served with NATO forces on three missions with UN peacekeeping operations. Doug also served as a drummer in the military band.

Doug was involved in many organizations, including the Shriners and the Royal Canadian Legion and volunteered at The Military Museums for many years

Originally from Ontario, Gail Duffy started volunteering for TMM in 1999. He obtained a degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Alberta in 1956, followed by an MBA from the University of Western Ontario. Retiring in 1990 from the oil and gas industry, he volunteered with the Stampede and then went on to TMM where he served as a greeter, host, gallery guide, educator and researcher.

His primary interest was WW1 and he rapidly became one of TMM's resident experts in WW1. He delivered many school programs, with an emphasis on the battle of Vimy Ridge, as well as WW1 lectures. It's not surprising that he was a major part of the developing team behind TMM's 2007 exhibit "Victory at Vimy: Forge of Nationhood".

He then became the primary developing volunteer for Army Museum of Alberta exhibits. Both of the 1885 North West Rebellion and WW1 powerpoint displays in the Army Museum of Alberta are entirely Gail's work, and a lovely legacy for us to remember him by. Gail then undertook redevelopment of all of the cases for The Founders' Gallery, which were originally lined in UN Blue for the 2004 Peacekeeping exhibit.

He changed all the cases (and several mounts) to a much more versatile burgundy lining, which works very well with the brass artifacts in our collection (ie. badges, shell casings, trench art, etc.). Gail's last major project was working on TMM's traveling exhibit "Ring of Fire: Canadians in the Pacific in the Second World War" in 2012.

He created a number of packing mounts for the artifacts to allow them to travel safely to venues in the US and Canada, and filled out condition reports for the artifacts so we could track their condition throughout the exhibit's travel.

Outside of TMM, Gail enjoyed golfing, skiing and being on the water, as well as sailing model boats. Gail passed away in 2014, but his contributions to TMM will be with us for many years to come.

Ken Bache was born in Condover, Shropshire, England on 7 May 1932. Ken immigrated to Canada at 17 as a farmworker, joining the Royal Canadian Navy in 1953 as an able seaman in the submarine service. Ken is on the far-left in the photo.

While serving in the Navy, he met his wife Marjorie, and they married in Glasgow, Scotland in 1958. They came to Canada, to live in Calgary, AB, where Ken worked in Corrections for the Alberta government until his retirement.

Ken volunteered with the Naval Museums of Alberta at The Military Museums for many years and contributed a great deal of volunteer time as a Watchkeeper. Ken was also a member of the Calgary Naval Veterans Association.

We thank Ken for all he has contributed to The Military Museums. Ken passed away peacefully on Friday, February 24, 2023 in Calgary, Alberta at the age of 90 years.