# Lady Patricia



## duffrey (16 Mar 2007)

Hello all: With heavy heart I will be attending a ceremony in Vancouver tomorrow to mark the passing of the torch from the capable and loved hands of Lady Patricia, Colonel in Chief of the Princess Patricia's. I look forward to meeting with Lady Patricia again, and it is a great honour for our Regimental Association that she is making a trip out to the westcoast to say goodbye. Every ex Patricia in the area should be there if they can be!

I believe we are losing an important connection to the Crown with the change. I haven't any comments I would share, on the appointment of Adrienne Clarkson as the new Colonel in Chief.

regards, duff sigurdson


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## Yrys (16 Mar 2007)

see also :

http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/58777.0.html


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## ArmyRick (16 Mar 2007)

I got my first medal when I was in 2VP from the Outgoing Lady Patricia.


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## Donut (16 Mar 2007)

Not to clutter the thread, but could you post the time and place for the Vancouver ceremony, please?


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## Yrys (16 Mar 2007)

Yrys said:
			
		

> see also :
> 
> http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/58777.0.html





> The parade itself is on Saturday.


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## Donut (16 Mar 2007)

Thanks for that, but that thread doesn't have the time or place for her Vancouver visit, either.   ???


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## duffrey (16 Mar 2007)

I think I jumped the gun on that, it may be that you need to be confimed already with the Regimental Assoc. for the address of the Association in Vancouver you can go to the PPCLI website and then look in the association pages. Contact thelma and tell her you want to come but just heard about it here.

regards, duff


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## reccecrewman (17 Mar 2007)

93 years of the PPCLI......... only two Honourary Colonels, Princess Patricia of Connaught and the outgoing Lady Patricia Mountbatten.....

There's some mighty big shoes for Adrienne Clarkson to try and fill........... Good luck to her.


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## PPCLI Guy (18 Mar 2007)

reccecrewman said:
			
		

> There's some mighty big shoes for Adrienne Clarkson to try and fill........... Good luck to her.



I was lucky enough to be seated between Lady P and Mme C at dinner this weekend - two extraordinary ladies indeed. Lady P presented me with 2 of my 4 tour medals, and I have met her on a number of occasions.  Mme C is well aware of the size of the shoes she has to fill - and she is full of energy and ideas about how to serve the regiment.  Lady P asked to retire "at the top of her game" and assisted in selecting her replacement.  I am very confident that Mme C will forge her own path, and that the regiment will be well served.


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## Bartok5 (18 Mar 2007)

PPCLI Guy said:
			
		

> I was lucky enough to be seated between Lady P and Mme C at dinner this weekend - two extraordinary ladies indeed. Lady P presented me with 2 of my 4 tour medals, and I have met her on a number of occasions.  Mme C is well aware of the size of the shoes she has to fill - and she is full of energy and ideas about how to serve the regiment.  Lady P asked to retire "at the top of her game" and assisted in selecting her replacement.  I am very confident that Mme C will forge her own path, and that the regiment will be well served.



Ditto.  With 20+ years in the PPCLI, I have had the pleasure of meeting Lady Patricia on numerous occasions throughout my career to date.  The most recent of which being her attendance at the Succession Ceremony and associated breakfasts, luncheons, dinners, etc.  The Countess Mountbatten of Burma is a tremendous lady who has given the regiment her all for the past 33 years.  Having said that, she is evidently tired - particularly in the wake of Lord Braeborne's passing in 2005.  She asked to leave at the "top of her game", and it was only fitting that after such dedicated regimental service we allow her to do so.  Her service will never be forgotten, and she continues as the Patron of the Regimental Association.  Indeed, she will be visiting the 60th Anniversary gathering of the PPCLI Association next year.  As the A/CO of 3VP, I had the opportunity to spend some personal time with her this weekend, and was honoured to receive her "CO's necktie".  An unexpected pleasure, to say the least.  I was truly humbled.  And those who know me, know that "humble" is not a term often associated with my demeanor....   

We have also had an extended opportuntiy this weekend to take the measure of our new Colonel-in-Chief.  My wife ran into her in the washroom at the Officers' Mixed Dining-In on Fri evening.  Mme Clarkson immediately insisted on meeting me.  She was incredibly gracious and accommodating - genuinely interested in meeing as many members of the regiment as possible.  I then had the pleasure of breakfast with her and the senior retired and serving officers of the regiment on Saturday morning.  What struck me was her grasp of PPCLI history and traditions.  Truth be told, our new CinC has a better grasp of our regimental heritage than most serving Patricias.  And no, I am not exaggerating.  I next had the pleasure of accompanying Mme Clarkson on her inspection of the 3 PPCLI Guard during the succession parade.  She was again, extremely gracious and cognizant of the protocols associated with her new role.  Her acceptance speech was nothing short of amazing.  She hit all of the right themes and was "bang on" throughout.  Today, we attended the PPCLI Family Day hosted by 1st Bn.  Mme Clarkson spotted my family at the kiddie suspension traverse stand, and made an immediate bee-line.  We introduced her to my two children, who were suitably awestruck by her sheer charm and charisma.  In an hour's time I will have the pleasure of dining with our new CinC at a "War Cabinent" supper, where I fully anticipate further positive interaction.  That will be followed by a two-hour visit to 3 PPCLI tommorrow morning, where I will have a chance to introduce Mme Clarkson to the soldiers of 3 PPCLI in a more informal setting.

All of the above is simply intended to give those who were not fortunate enough to attend the ceremonial events this weekend in Edmonton a feel for our new PPCLI CinC.  Mme Clarkson is a 100% class act in every single regard.  She truly loves her Regiment, and if initial indications are anything to go by, the feeling is already fully reciprocated.  She is completely approachable, genuinely interested in the soldiers and families of the regiment, exteremely well-versed in our history and traditions, and quite evidently genuinely honoured by her appointment.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again with absolute conviction - she was an inspired choice for CinC.  She was the right choice.  Indeed, she was the best possible choice.

Just my $.02.....


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## Bartok5 (19 Mar 2007)

So, I've just returned from a stellar evening with Mme Clarkson and the "War Cabinet" of the Edmonton-based PPCLI.  It was a terrific event designed to bring the new CinC into the currently-serving fold, so to speak.  In attendance were the COs, RSMs, OCs and CSMs of the 1st and 3rd Battalions.  It was a very close and informal affair designed to give Mme Clarkson a chance to interact with the current leadership of the Regiment.  Suffice it to say that she did not disappoint.

PPCLI Guy and I agreed at the outset that this should be an opportunity for our bn leadership to interact with the new CinC in a relaxed setting.  As a result, we decided that she ought to be sandwiched between the DCOs and then the RSMs, rather than ourselves.   Big mistake.  Being somewhat dim, both PPCLI Guy and myself failed to realize that we had set ourselves up for disaster by allowing unfettered access to a still impressionable CinC.  And yes, chaos ensued......

Following desert where one would expect Mme Clarkson to rise and speak a few words, she did so.  Unfortunately, those words were not what PPCLI Guy and I were expecting/hoping to hear.  Instead of providing the expected platitudes, Mme Clarkson (urged on by our horrifically disloyal DCOs) insisted that the two COs rise and speak for 3 to 5 minutes on the Regimental significance of Frezenburg and Kapyong.  Needless to say, a stunned silence ensued for all of 10 seconds before PPCLI Guy got up and spoke at length about something I cannot recall, and that had zero bearing on the assigned task.  In other words, par for the course.  I must admit that He did sound good.  i'm just not sure what he talked about - other than slagging his DCO - our most recent SMV recipient....

When my turn came, I simply spoke from the heart extemporaneously.  I told Mme Clarkson that I'd known of her selection some six months prior, and had thought she was an inspired choice.  i mentioned that her selection had been debated on "an internet web-site featuring Ptes to MGens, Reg F and Res F", and that 80% were in favour.  Right or wrong, I further noted that the 20% doubters were soon swayed by the majority.  Last but not least, I once again welcomed her to the family.  And i'm here to tell you that she genuinely appreciated the sentiment.  I thought that I was going to get out of that dinner at 2000 hrs.  Wrong.  Mme Clarkson stuck around after the dinner for a full hour and a half chatting with the current leadership of the Edmonton-based battalions.  She was genuinely interested in our current activities and challenges.  She is a class act, full-stop.

Tomorrow morning, 3 PPCLI has the pleasure of hosting our new CinC for two hours.  The plan is to give her a quick info brief, and then expose her to as many soldiers within the unit lines as is humanly possible.  This will be the natural extension of her dinner with the current regimental leadership this evening.  I must say that the troops are going to be simply awestruck.   Mme Clarkson is amazing.   Not to take anything away from our beloved Lady Patricia, but if ever there was a more deserving successor?  We have found her.  The Right Honourable Adrien Clarkson is a Patricia through and through.  She has  taken it upon herself to learn aspects of our regimental history that most serving Patricia's don't get to hear until they've been around a good number of years.  She is seriously gripped when it comes to the PPCLI..   Impressively so.

All of the above to say that the PPCLI have secured an exceedingly worthy CinC successor.  In Mme Clarkson we have a CinC who is genuinely interested in the Regt, knows what we're all about, and is committed to spending time with us both at home and abroad.  She is engaged, energetic, determined, and committed.  Mme Clarkson and John Raulston Saul aren't afraid of hardship - as evidenced by their tours to Kabul.   You can bet that they will remain engaged with the PPCLI  both at home and overseas.  She has already said as much.

Fellow Patricia's?  We have scored.  Heavily scored.  We have a big-time winner in Mme Clarkson.


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## PPCLI Guy (19 Mar 2007)

Mark, as always, has got right to the heart of the matter (no, not the disloyalty of our repsective DOCs - that was a given).  Mme C is is a winner.  She is exactly what this regiment needs, right now.  She truly will bowl over the troops, once given a chance - and for all the right reasons.  I am a happy Patricia tonight - our regiment is in safe hands.

Dave


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## 3rd Herd (20 Mar 2007)

MarkC, PPCLIGuy,
Thank you for your very in depth report on the new CinC. If you need a brushing up on Regimental History there are several cadets here in Calgary that would be happy to oblige. It seems the regimental history test put together by a couple of "old breed" Patricias has a first time fail rate of eighty percent. The twenty percent that do pass wear their PPCLI cap badges proudly.


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## 3rd Herd (23 Mar 2007)

Coverage of her Victoria visit:

"In the centre of the cake was a portrait of herself, when she was younger, and tucked under her arm was a small dog. "That's Rica, a miniature long-haired dachshund who was given to me by the regiment to replace my dog who was blown up with me on the boat," she said, with a trace of emotion creeping into her voice...................The dachshund was named Rica after the Ric-a-Dam-Doo, the regiment's first colours, carried into battle during the First World War. "I had another little black dog I called Doo, but I didn't have a third one because I didn't want to call it Dam," she said, as she looked at the cake.

Full Story: Lady Patricia bids farewell Judith Lavoie, Times Colonist Published: Tuesday, March 20, 2007
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=6f1c2700-6e7b-4aff-8d8e-c5042181283d&k=65710


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