Comrades

I am sure that you are aware that the year 2001 is the 110th Anniversary of the founding of our Regiment.

A Reunion Committee has been struck, a plan is in place to mark this historic occasion, and all that is required is your attendance.

The 110th Reunion will be celebrated Friday evening May 11 through Saturday evening, May 12. The schedule is as follows:

Date/Location/Event

Friday May 11 / Moss Park Armoury / Registration - 12:00 hrs
Open House - 18:00 hrs

Saturday May 12 Nathan Phillips Square Freedom of the City Parade
Exact Times - TBA

St.Andrews Church / Refreshments - Provided by IODE, L.Aux. in the Great Hall following the parade.

St.Andrews Church / Tour the Regimental Museum until 15:00 hrs.

Moss Park Armoury / Regimental Ball -
Cocktails - 18:30 hrs
Dinner - 19:30 hrs

The overall subscription cost for the Reunion will be $25.00 per person. The active serving members of the Regiment are exempt from the Registration fee as they are required to parade for the Reunion.

The 110th reunion Committee has worked very hard to put together this program. The Freedom of the City ceremony promises to have large numbers of �Torontonians� in attendance due to the heavy publicity, which will be generated by both the Regiment and the City. The Museum is also opening its doors to show the tremendous amount of work the Museum Committee has put into its new premises.

Please plan on attending this important Regimental occasion. The Regiment needs and deserves your support.

The Warrant Officers and Sergeants mess is hosting the Regimental Ball on behalf of the Reunion Committee and have promised an evening to remember. Good food, good friends. good music, and a few �drams� will be featured. Attendance at the Ball will cost an additional $48.00 p/p to cover the cost of the dinner, live orchestra and of course our own Pipes and Drums.

Pre-registration can be made by contacting the Orderly Room at 416-973-2181.

Visit the Regimental web site at : http://www.48highlanders.com/

Highlanders' sense of duty is unreserved
Ceremonies to mark 110 years of proud service
Paul Irish
STAFF REPORTER

PAUL IRISH/TORONTO STAR
Three members of the 48th Highlanders Master Cpl. Sean Westrop, left, Highlander Ashley Doyle and Master Cpl. Peter Stibbard.
They've been serving our country with pride through three centuries.

From the Boer War in South Africa to peacekeeping duties in Yugoslavia, the 48th Highlanders have participated in every Canadian military campaign with exception of the Gulf War.

And tomorrow, in recognition of the reserve unit's 110th anniversary, 400 current and former members will celebrate with full Scottish Highland pageantry, including the skirl of bagpipes.

``It should be a wonderful day,'' said Capt. Steve Tibbetts, of the Highlanders. ``The unit has a definite spot in Toronto and Canadian history.''

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`The unit has a spot in Toronto and Canadian history'
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The public will be treated to a short parade that starts at 10 a.m. at the Moss Park Armoury and proceeds west along Queen St. to Nathan Phillips Square where, at 11 a.m., the unit will be given the freedom of the city by Councillor Chris Korwin-Kuczynski and other dignitaries.

At noon, the parade will return to the armoury along the same route. Members of the regiment past and present and friends will gather for a reception at the St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, where they will meet a delegation from Apeldoorn, Holland.

``The Highlanders helped liberate the town in the Second World War,'' said Tibbetts.

``It's a very significant point in the regiment's history.''

Capt. John Hill, 33, a Toronto businessman, said he's proud to be a Highlander and he's looking forward to the celebration.

``We're part of the past, the present and we'll be busy in the future,'' he said. ``We're an important fixture in the city.''

Master Cpl. Sean Westrop said the regiment has proven itself in battle as well as peacetime.

The Highlanders' men and women were happy to help dig the city out of the snow three winters ago, he said.

Master Cpl. Peter Stibbard said there aren't many jobs that allow you to rappel out of helicopters, so the Highlanders is the ``right spot'' to be.

Highlander Ashley Doyle said the regiment will travel anywhere in Canada where it's needed and said he's proud the unit was able to help during the Manitoba floods a few years back.

Formed in Toronto in 1891, the regiment adopted the Davidson tartan and the falcon head as its crest.

The first action for the 48th Highlanders, whose home station is at Moss Park, took place in South Africa during the Boer War when the regiment sent more than 116 soldiers to augment the Royal Canadian Regiment in 1899.

They were mobilized again for World War I, and departed for England in September, 1914, as the 15th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. During the war, the regiment was involved in every major action including Ypres, the Somme, Vimy and Passchendaele, but paid heavily with the death of 1,473 men.

During World War II, the regiment was mobilized again and sent to England as part of the first contingent that left Canada in 1939. It later won battle honours in Italy and liberated Apeldoorn in its last action of the war.

The Highlanders were on active duty in Korea and also served on peacekeeping missions in Cyprus, the Middle East, Somalia and the former Yugoslavia.

Closer to home, the regiment is known for its pipe and drum marching band, which has played all over Canada and in international competitions.

The band is a regular feature of Toronto's annual Santa Claus parade and for years christened every hockey season by marching out on the ice at Maple Leaf Gardens, a tradition that has continued at the Air Canada Centre.