Memorial Display Case

Forty years ago an Infantry Reserve Lieutenant and Sergeant of The Royal Westminster Regiment gave a half hour recruitment presentation to my class of grade eleven boys at Centennial High School in Coquitlam. The rifle, submachine gun, grenade and bazooka all looked interesting enough and the Lieutenant seemed a nice fellow though the Sergeant gave an impression that he would have preferred to shoot us with the weapon he was holding. But it was 1967 after all and nobody but nobody was interested in joining the military. The teacher even apologized afterwards for the unwanted intrusion. Peace and love and an end to the war in Vietnam was the mantra of the day. 1967 - The Summer of Love.

Yet a strange something was calling me that week and Saturday morning found me bright and early outside the A Company Orderly Room at the Armouries on Queens Ave in New Westminster. Nobody else from my class or school was there and the recruitment program had only attracted 4 or 5 others from the schools in the area. And from there started the two most interesting years of my young life.

I hadn't been in the Armouries for over 35 years until 2006 when I visited the Regimental Museum. A credible effort has been put into a small room of the Armoury by a volunteer group of retired reservists detailing the history of The Royal Westminster Regiment. And it's long history from the European Colonization of this area through both World Wars to today's involvement n Afghanistan. Their latest project has been putting together a Memorial Book to honour the 650 members who gave their life in the First World War and the 150 men who died in the Second World War. I've taken on the task of building the display case for this book.

For the three years I've been helping a good buddy restore an abandoned log cabin on 3/4 of an acre on Vancouver Island. Part of the project was clearing the land. We fell and then milled into lumber about forty very large threes, mostly Douglas Fir and five Maples that we estimate were some 75 years old. It's the Maple that the Display Case is built from.

As an amateur woodworker this has been my finest project. To select, fall and then mill the actual lumber from magnificent tress adds a new dimension to the experience. To design and build from such lumber for such a worthwhile case is indeed gratifying. It has been a honour to be involved in this project.

Wayne McCallum

Coquitlam BC

 

 

Thanks from the Museum

The Regimental Family would like to take this opportunity to express how grateful we are with the effort and kind donation Wayne has given to the Museum with the construction of the display case. His fine craftsmanship has given us a case to display the Memorial Book in a manner that does our honoured soldiers proud as well as protecting the book from any damage. We thank you Wayne.

 

Below area group of photographs showing the evolution of the display case. The next time you are by the Armoury, please drop into the Museum and see the new Memorial Display Case.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wayne McCallum at work.

 

 

Museum Curator, Herb Hamm examines pages of the Memorial Book that will go into the display case.

 

 

 

 

The finished product.