Princess Pat’s turns 100
Posted Aug 9, 2014 8:25 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It’s a special birthday for a Western Canadian arm of the military this weekend.
Celebrations, including a parade, will take place Saturday morning in Edmonton as the country marks 100 years of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.
It’s a truly special occasion for one former Governor General who has a special connection to the troops.
Adrienne Clarkson is the first ever Canadian Colonel-in-Chief.
For Clarkson, the honour is very close to her heart.
“To me they epitomize something that’s really the best side of Canadian character, they’ve given of themselves,” she told 660News. “They’ve always given of themselves.’
“It’s a Western regiment and I’m very proud of that and I’m also very proud of the fact that my husband’s father was a Patricia, he was a career Patricia and a serving colonel when he died,” Clarkson added.
One of the most impressive things she’s heard was something not long after her arrival in the provincial capital.
The former Governor General was inspecting the Quarter Guard, when she asked one officer who served in Afghanistan why the mission was important to him, his response. “I made a little difference”.
She adds Westerners can be very proud of the fact that the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) is our regiment.
“From the west of Canada they have gone everyone and they can go everywhere, they’re prepared to do so and they will always be the first in the field”.
