Association

Purpose

The purpose of the Association is to foster and promote the spirit of comradeship and to continue and maintain the traditions that was and is an essential part of the Regiment’s history. The Association will provide support to the PWOR both within the unit’s activities and in the community.

Organization

Our Association is part of the “Regimental Family” and receives its mandate under the authority of the Commanding Officer. The President meets with the Commanding Officer on a continuing basis. The Senate is the Senior Advisory Body of “The Family” and as such guides, reviews and approves issues and projects of member organizations of the Regiment concerning all non-operational matters. The usual protocol line is from the Association to the Commanding Officer and then to the Senate. In this way, there is a co-operative and coordinated direction in “The Family”.

A Brief History

In 1986 Colonel Arthur Twigg, a former Commanding Officer and at the time Honorary Colonel, began to look at the possibility of consolidation of the different organizations that were operating but rapidly shrinking in membership into a single, unified body. The Commanding Officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Tom Lodge encouraged the movement, and Captain Pic Albertson and MWO Dominic Pritchard along with others assisted in this endeavour.

At the time there were five groups at various levels of membership in existence. They were the 21st Battalion Association from World War I; the Stormont Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders Association from World War II; the Ex-Senior Non-Commissioned Officers’ Association; Ex-Officers’ Association; and the Rocking Chair Rangers (an appointed group of long service, older members).

It was obvious that membership was declining in the groups representing World War I and World War II veterans and is was clear that separating the Ex-Officers and Senior Non-Commissioned Officers was no longer practical and wise.

A series of meetings were held and a Steering Committee was established to discuss and prepare a “Constitution” for the new organization to be known as “The Princess of Wales’ Own Regiment Association”. The new Constitution received approval at a General Meeting on October 27, 1986.

Some years later, on May 30, 1994, the original Constitution received its first amendments and has been amended on three occasions since, the last time being at the Annual General Meeting held May 11, 2011.