This story is a part of Branch 25’s on-going National Legion Week campaign.

Trevor Page
Ordinary (Veteran) Member since 2022

Trevor is a native of New Zealand, and served ten years in the Royal New Zealand Engineer corps and the Royal New Zealand Infantry from 1972 to 1982. The highlight of his service was a two year posting to Singapore in 1979 as part of New Zealand Force South East Asia.  Later, in 1991 Trevor and his wife moved to Hawaii, where he had the honor of serving as the Facilities Operations Director on the Battleship Missouri [BB63] in Pearl Harbor until 2011.

Trevor has been a member of the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services Association for 42 years, and he expressed excitement to find out that the Royal Canadian Legion accepted members from all across the Commonwealth.  In particular, Trevor joined to continue his own support of veterans – especially to represent the Bay Area’s ANZAC veterans.  As a Commonwealth veteran he also expressed his support the mission of the Legion in looking after the veterans of Canada, the Commonwealth, and NATO.

Ordinary (Veteran) membership is open to any Canadian citizen or Commonwealth subject who is of federal voting age and whose service was terminated under conditions other than dishonourable or for reasons of misconduct and who served or is serving in:

• the Canadian Forces or His Majesty’s Forces, including Regular or Reserve Forces under class “C” service;
• the Forces or Underground Forces of any of His majesty’s allies in any war, conflict or police action in which Canada was involved (Provincial or Dominion Command approval is required for underground service);
• an actual theatre of war in any of the non-military services, during any war in which Canada was involved (i.e. Merchant Navy);
• His Majesty’s Reserve Forces including Cadet Instructors on Cadet Cadre, for not less than one year;
• The Royal Canadian Mounted Police or The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, for not less than one year;
• the Forces of a country while that country was a member of NATO or NORAD in alliance with Canada;
• the Forces of the United States;
• the Vietnam War in the Forces of the United States, Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea or South Vietnam and who was a Canadian citizen or Commonwealth subject at time of service;
• the Canadian Coast Guard as an officer or crew member, and who has two or more years of active service on the high seas or inland waterways; or
• a city, municipal or provincial police force, as a police officer, for not less than one year.

This story is a part of Branch 25’s on-going National Legion Week campaign.

Joan Para
Ordinary (Veteran) Member since 2000

Joan is Branch 25’s last remaining World War II veteran.  She was born in 1924 in Lowestoft, England.  Following aptitude testing in Honiton, Devon to determine to which jobs they would be best suited, Joan was assigned to Army Communications during World War II.  She then went on Bradford, near Leeds, for training and was eventually stationed in London, near Buckingham Palace.  Joan served from from 1942 to 1946.

Joan joined Branch 25 of the Royal Canadian Legion around 2000 as an Ordinary (Veteran) member.  She was originally a member of the Women’s section of the San Francisco post of the Royal British Legion (a post which was founded in spite of the fact that there was already a branch of the Royal Canadian Legion).  When that section closed due to a lack of membership, Joan joined the Royal Canadian Legion to get involved with the social aspects of the branch.  Joan will be 100 years old in January.

Ordinary (Veteran) membership is open to any Canadian citizen or Commonwealth subject who is of federal voting age and whose service was terminated under conditions other than dishonourable or for reasons of misconduct and who served or is serving in:

• the Canadian Forces or His Majesty’s Forces, including Regular or Reserve Forces under class “C” service;
• the Forces or Underground Forces of any of His majesty’s allies in any war, conflict or police action in which Canada was involved (Provincial or Dominion Command approval is required for underground service);
• an actual theatre of war in any of the non-military services, during any war in which Canada was involved (i.e. Merchant Navy);
• His Majesty’s Reserve Forces including Cadet Instructors on Cadet Cadre, for not less than one year;
• The Royal Canadian Mounted Police or The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, for not less than one year;
• the Forces of a country while that country was a member of NATO or NORAD in alliance with Canada;
• the Forces of the United States;
• the Vietnam War in the Forces of the United States, Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea or South Vietnam and who was a Canadian citizen or Commonwealth subject at time of service;
• the Canadian Coast Guard as an officer or crew member, and who has two or more years of active service on the high seas or inland waterways; or
• a city, municipal or provincial police force, as a police officer, for not less than one year.

This story is a part of Branch 25’s on-going National Legion Week campaign.

As it was noted in the National Legion Week: The Story of Branch 25 (San Francisco), there used to be a number of branches of the Royal Canadian Legion in Northern California.  One of those branches was Branch 113 (Berkeley).  According to the Tuesday, May 3, 1938 edition of the Oakland Tribune the official charter was awarded on that day, and H. C. Billings was the first official Commander of the post.

Almost one year later, the Sunday, March 5, 1939 edition of the Oakland Tribune reported that the second election of officers was scheduled to take place the following month and that Maurice Drucquer was slated to succeed Billings as the post’s Commander.

While there are numerous other newspaper references to Branch 113 (Berkeley), almost all of them are either noticed of monthly business meetings or reminders that the Canadian Legion was available to provide assistance to veterans in the area (like these examples from the Oakland Tribune in 1939 or the Berkeley Daily Gazette in 1940).

Interestingly, Branch 113 (Berkeley) is one of the only closed branches in Northern California that we have physical artifacts from.  One of our late members passed on this old wooden Walford Marquise Invincible Tobacco box.

Inside of the box were these printing press pieces.

One of the more detailed sources of information that we have about Branch 113 (Berkeley) comes from the Northern California Pipe Bands That Have Faded Into History, which wrote:

BERKELEY POST NO. 113 CANADIAN LEGION PIPE BAND
Tartan: 1) Royal Stewart

2) Hunting MacPherson

Pipe Majors: Schwan

No idea when this was formed. It was operating in the early 50’s though as the dates on the photos show. The band met in the basement of the Berkeley Veteran’s Memorial Building on Center Street and was loosely sponsored by the Legion. No (or little) funds but the occasional job or recommendation for a job. They were poor – so was the band. Old, Royal Stewart kilts, ancient drums and that was about it for equipment. Everything else you bought yourself. The main source of income was a dinner that the band put on once a year in the dining room of the Vet’s Building. Perhaps two or three performances.

The band was, as the photos show, tiny. It never got any bigger as I recall. It neither played or drilled well but no one seemed to care about that much at the time. Eventually enough money was on hand to buy new “Hunting” MacPherson kilts which were the flimsiest material ever seen on the face of the earth. Grey and ugly too.

John Short and Don Fiddes quit the band in 1956 or so to join the Caledonian Band in San Francisco and I followed them about six months later when it became clear that the Berkeley band was soon to collapse and there would be a chance to continue playing at a higher level.

The first drum instructor was an old WWI Scottish vet named Gordon Muir, who may well have played with the MacFarlane Band along with “Brick” Johnson and Archie MacLennon (both eventually at Piedmont High) who later became the organizer/promoter and piping instructor (respectively) there. [by Rick Coffee]

Below was a picture that we found for sale on eBay.  Note the writing on the drum in the background.

There are additional images of the Berkeley pipe band on the Northern California Pipe Bands That Have Faded Into History website.  Later this week our own Pipe Major, Charles Martin, will have a piece on the role of pipe bands in the Canadian Legion in California.

At some point in the 1950s or 1960s, Branch 113 (Berkeley) began to meet and drill with Branch 15 (Oakland), and at some point later it gave up its charter altogether.  We don’t know exactly when this occurred, but members of Branch 113 (Berkeley) eventually became part of Branch 25 (San Francisco).  Interestingly, the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley has a collection that is entitled “Canadian Legion of the British Empire Service League records : San Francisco, Calif., 1939-1943.”  It is described as:

Contains mostly correspondence sent to the adjutant generals of the San Francisco chapter (Post No. 25) of the Canadian Legion of the British Empire Service League from various other dignitaries and civic, government, military, and service organizations dedicated to supporting military personnel. Correspondence includes invitations to events, recognition of services performed, awards, etc. Includes one folder of correspondence sent from other Canadian Legion posts in California including: Contra Costa (Post No. 138), Marin County (Post No. 30), Oakland (Post No. 15), Peninsula (Post No. 52), San Jose (Post No. 35), Petaluma (Post No. 57), Hayward (Post No. 114), and Stockton (Post No. 34). Also includes some correspondence from the Legion’s main office, Dominion Command in Ottawa Canada. Also includes receipts for subscriptions to British Empire Digest, a monthly publication of the Canadian Legion, B.E.S.L., articles, and a printed leaflet, prepared by Dr. Graham Stuart of Stanford University, summarizing the third report of the “Commission to study the organization of peace” and the potential for a United Nations organization.

Even though the collection covers the period 1939 to 1943, as you can see there is no reference Branch 113 (Berkeley).

This story is a part of Branch 25’s on-going National Legion Week campaign.

Branch 25 (San Francisco) received its charter on 12 August 1931.  When it was first established, Branch 25 was a part of the Northern Zone of the Western Command of the Royal Canadian Legion (and 13 of those branches are listed on the flag below, which dates to sometime between 1951 and 1953).

While most of the records from that early period have been lost (likely in the garages and attics of former leaders when they moved away or passed on), an article in the Sacramento Bee from 1931 referenced 16 posts and 3500 members in California at the time.

Based on our own research through newspaper clippings and the Canadian Legion of the British Empire Service League records from 1939-1943 held by the Bancroft Library Collection, we know that the 16 branches included:

15 Oakland
19 Sacramento
25 San Francisco
30 Marin County
31 Fresno (“Vimy”)
34 Stockton
35 San Jose
48 Alameda
52 Peninsula (“Maple Leaf”) / Redwood City
57 Petaluma
113 Berkeley
114 Hayward
126 Santa Cruz
138 Contra Costa
161 San Mateo
171 Unknown

Today, the only remaining branch in Northern California is Branch 25, which is one of four branches in the Western US International Zone (and all four branches are based in California).  According to this letter from the Branch President at the time, Howard Cavill, on the occasion of the branch’s 70th anniversary, at one point in time Branch 25 had over 600 members.

As noted above, the membership of Branch 25 was about 60 individuals 22 years ago.  Today we are pleased to report that the branch has 44 members located in the Bay Area, throughout Northern California, and all over the state – as well as members in Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, Texas, British Columbia, Ontario, and even Mexico.

In the coming days you’ll have an opportunity to read more about over activities in the Bay Area from our annual Poppy Campaign to our services of remembrance to sponsoring a cadet corps to the maintenance of several cemeteries where Canadian and Commonwealth servicemen and women are laid to rest.

Note that our PHOTOS/VIDEOS page above has a number of historic photos, videos, and programs from years past.  Some of the pre-1950s ones that include a variety of branches that were eventually folded into Branch 25 include:

• 7th Annual Convention – Santa Monica, CA (1937)
• Armistice Day Parade – Sacramento (11 November 1938)
• Canadian Legion Ladies Auxiliary Float (1938)
• 9th Annual Convention – Stockton, CA (July 1939)
• Memorial Day or Veterans Day Parade (circa 1939)
• 10th Annual Convention – Ventura, CA (1940)
• Canadian Legion War Services – A Year of Service (1940)
• 11th Annual Convention – San Jose, CA (02-06 July 1941)
• Member Highlight: Joan Para (1942)
• 12th Annual Convention – Riverside, CA (1942)
• Northern Area & State Command Meeting – San Francisco, CA (04 July 1943)
• Northern Area Rally & Meeting – San Francisco, CA (01-02 July 1944)
• Canadian Cemetery – Dieppe (February 1945)
• 17th Annual Convention – Sacramento, CA (03-06 July 1947)
• 19th Annual Convention – Oakland, CA (1949)
• Unknown Convention (1940s)
• Unknown Convention – Possibly in Sacramento, CA (1940s)
• Canadian Legion Pipers – San Jose (1940-1949)

This story is a part of Branch 25’s on-going National Legion Week campaign.

Christine Philipson
Ordinary (Veteran) Member since 2009

Christine’s service began at the age of 15 as a volunteer musician with the Lincoln & Welland Regiment Band.  She would later become a paid musician with the band until she was 20, when she transitioned to regular forces.  Christine would serve the Canadian Forces from 1986 to 2004 in a variety of roles over multiple postings.  Upon retirement from the regular forces, Christine continued her involvement with the Lincoln & Welland Regiment Band – something that she continues to do to this day.

Christine originally joined the Legion to have like-minded people who speak the same language as me.  As she got involved in her branch, Christine was drawn to organizing the annual poppy campaign and supporting the poster and poetry contests because she felt it was most important to ensure that all never forgot the supreme sacrifice that so many made – particularly the children.

Ordinary (Veteran) membership is open to any Canadian citizen or Commonwealth subject who is of federal voting age and whose service was terminated under conditions other than dishonourable or for reasons of misconduct and who served or is serving in:

• the Canadian Forces or His Majesty’s Forces, including Regular or Reserve Forces under class “C” service;
• the Forces or Underground Forces of any of His majesty’s allies in any war, conflict or police action in which Canada was involved (Provincial or Dominion Command approval is required for underground service);
• an actual theatre of war in any of the non-military services, during any war in which Canada was involved (i.e. Merchant Navy);
• His Majesty’s Reserve Forces including Cadet Instructors on Cadet Cadre, for not less than one year;
• The Royal Canadian Mounted Police or The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, for not less than one year;
• the Forces of a country while that country was a member of NATO or NORAD in alliance with Canada;
• the Forces of the United States;
• the Vietnam War in the Forces of the United States, Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea or South Vietnam and who was a Canadian citizen or Commonwealth subject at time of service;
• the Canadian Coast Guard as an officer or crew member, and who has two or more years of active service on the high seas or inland waterways; or
• a city, municipal or provincial police force, as a police officer, for not less than one year.