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Clarkson to be given military honour
Former governor general will become colonel-in-chief of PPCLI
Jim Farrell, CanWest News Service, 4 Feb 07
Article Link
Former governor general Adrienne Clarkson is about to take on a military role as the new colonel-in-chief of the Edmonton-based Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.
Clarkson’s appointment to the honourary post will be announced today in Ottawa. It is sure to delight many of the regiment’s members. During her tenure as governor general, Clarkson visited wounded soldiers, pinned medals on uniformed chests, visited troops in Kosovo and the Persian Gulf, and spent many Christmases and New Years with troops in Afghanistan.
On one notable occasion in 2004, after enduring a day of slashing rain and mud in Kabul, she celebrated New Year’s Eve by buying the enlisted men’s mess a round of drinks before dancing with a succession of soldiers and kissing two of them at the stroke of midnight.
When Clarkson was asked last August if she wanted a more-formal role with the PPCLI she didn’t hesitate.
“I was demented with delight,” she said Sunday in a telephone interview from her Toronto home.
Clarkson will be only the third colonel-in-chief of the regiment since its formation in 1914. The PPCLI’s first, appointed in 1918, was Princess Patricia, granddaughter of Queen Victoria and daughter of the Duke of Connaught, Canada’s governor general. She remained its colonel-in-chief until her death in 1974.
Princess Patricia was succeeded by Countess Patricia Mountbatten, another descendent of Queen Victoria, cousin of Prince Philip and daughter of the late Lord Louis Mountbatten. Princess Patricia herself recommended the countess as her successor prior to her death at age 87.
Now over 80 years old, Countess Mountbatten told the military she is getting a bit too old for her duties and would like to retire. She agreed with the regiment’s suggestion that Clarkson succeed her and will come to Edmonton for the installation of her successor.
The appointment of a Canadian citizen as colonel-in-chief of a Canadian regiment is unprecedented, said Brig. Gen. Glenn Nordick, special adviser to the vice-chief of staff.
By tradition, those roles are filled by members of the Royal Family, Nordick explained. Prince Charles serves as colonel-in-chief of the Edmonton-based Lord Strathcona’s Horse, Queen Elizabeth is colonel-in-chief of 1 Combat Engineers, Princess Anne is colonel-in-chief of 1 Service Battalion and Countess Mountbatten is related to the Royals.
When the countess told the regiment it was time to retire members of the PPCLI’s guard were asked who should succeed her. One name popped up immediately.
“Madame Clarkson was almost a unanimous choice,” Nordick said. “She had done an unbelievable amount of work with the Canadian Forces, raising the profile, raising the spirits of soldiers. She was far and away the choice, so we made the decision with the current Lady Patricia’s blessing.”
That decision received final approval from the Queen.
Clarkson looks forward to continued encounters with members of “her” regiment at their various bases in Shilo, in Edmonton and overseas.
“I wold love to go back and see them in the field in Afghanistan,” she said.
It doesn’t hurt that Clarkson’s husband, philosopher and author John Ralston Saul, was an army brat who grew up on a succession of military bases.
“He is the son of a PPCLI officer,” Nordick said.
Alas, there will be no role with the PPCLI for Saul, unlike Rideau Hall where he acted as vice-regal consort and participated in all official functions.
“Unlike Rideau Hall, she is the woman-in-charge,” Saul said with a chuckle before handing the phone to his wife.
Clarkson will be officially installed as colonel-in-chief during a ceremony in Edmonton on March 17, the birthday of the original Princess Patricia and therefore the regiment’s official birthday.
Clarkson to be given military honour
Former governor general will become colonel-in-chief of PPCLI
Jim Farrell, CanWest News Service, 4 Feb 07
Article Link
Former governor general Adrienne Clarkson is about to take on a military role as the new colonel-in-chief of the Edmonton-based Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.
Clarkson’s appointment to the honourary post will be announced today in Ottawa. It is sure to delight many of the regiment’s members. During her tenure as governor general, Clarkson visited wounded soldiers, pinned medals on uniformed chests, visited troops in Kosovo and the Persian Gulf, and spent many Christmases and New Years with troops in Afghanistan.
On one notable occasion in 2004, after enduring a day of slashing rain and mud in Kabul, she celebrated New Year’s Eve by buying the enlisted men’s mess a round of drinks before dancing with a succession of soldiers and kissing two of them at the stroke of midnight.
When Clarkson was asked last August if she wanted a more-formal role with the PPCLI she didn’t hesitate.
“I was demented with delight,” she said Sunday in a telephone interview from her Toronto home.
Clarkson will be only the third colonel-in-chief of the regiment since its formation in 1914. The PPCLI’s first, appointed in 1918, was Princess Patricia, granddaughter of Queen Victoria and daughter of the Duke of Connaught, Canada’s governor general. She remained its colonel-in-chief until her death in 1974.
Princess Patricia was succeeded by Countess Patricia Mountbatten, another descendent of Queen Victoria, cousin of Prince Philip and daughter of the late Lord Louis Mountbatten. Princess Patricia herself recommended the countess as her successor prior to her death at age 87.
Now over 80 years old, Countess Mountbatten told the military she is getting a bit too old for her duties and would like to retire. She agreed with the regiment’s suggestion that Clarkson succeed her and will come to Edmonton for the installation of her successor.
The appointment of a Canadian citizen as colonel-in-chief of a Canadian regiment is unprecedented, said Brig. Gen. Glenn Nordick, special adviser to the vice-chief of staff.
By tradition, those roles are filled by members of the Royal Family, Nordick explained. Prince Charles serves as colonel-in-chief of the Edmonton-based Lord Strathcona’s Horse, Queen Elizabeth is colonel-in-chief of 1 Combat Engineers, Princess Anne is colonel-in-chief of 1 Service Battalion and Countess Mountbatten is related to the Royals.
When the countess told the regiment it was time to retire members of the PPCLI’s guard were asked who should succeed her. One name popped up immediately.
“Madame Clarkson was almost a unanimous choice,” Nordick said. “She had done an unbelievable amount of work with the Canadian Forces, raising the profile, raising the spirits of soldiers. She was far and away the choice, so we made the decision with the current Lady Patricia’s blessing.”
That decision received final approval from the Queen.
Clarkson looks forward to continued encounters with members of “her” regiment at their various bases in Shilo, in Edmonton and overseas.
“I wold love to go back and see them in the field in Afghanistan,” she said.
It doesn’t hurt that Clarkson’s husband, philosopher and author John Ralston Saul, was an army brat who grew up on a succession of military bases.
“He is the son of a PPCLI officer,” Nordick said.
Alas, there will be no role with the PPCLI for Saul, unlike Rideau Hall where he acted as vice-regal consort and participated in all official functions.
“Unlike Rideau Hall, she is the woman-in-charge,” Saul said with a chuckle before handing the phone to his wife.
Clarkson will be officially installed as colonel-in-chief during a ceremony in Edmonton on March 17, the birthday of the original Princess Patricia and therefore the regiment’s official birthday.
