1923: The Winnipeg Company is Established..."It was not difficult for Lieutenant James Hibbard to convince Eustace Brock to be the driving force that would establish the largest unit west of Toronto. The decision for Eustace Brock to be the Commanding Officer was completed, and the details were hammered out. The “Winnipeg Company” was to be a unit of an initial strength of 100, the same size as similar units that were also being established in Toronto and Montreal. In other smaller Canadian cities, such as Calgary, Charlottetown, Vancouver and Saskatoon, the Navy was establishing a “Half Company”, or a unit with an initial strength of 50. Naval headquarters could not have picked a better person to start a naval division in Winnipeg. Eustace Brock was well connected in the Winnipeg community and he knew of many of the naval veterans that were in the city. As it turned out, Eustace Brock did an excellent job in creating a strong naval division in Winnipeg. Eustace was appointed the rank of Lieutenant and on 22 March 1923, the day that the Winnipeg Company was established. After this, things started to roll along."

1937: A New Chief Instructor Joins the Winnipeg Division..."Chief Petty Officer John Pegg had extensive experience with the Royal Navy and it was hoped that he could impart some of his vast knowledge on the Winnipeg sailors. It was probably the existence of the 'Winnipeg RCNVR Girls Social Club', which brought Chief Pegg to Winnipeg. John Pegg hints in his autobiography, which was written in 1978, that he was sent to Winnipeg for a reason. Originally, he was supposed to be posted to Vancouver, but while Pegg was in Ottawa, Lieutenant-Commander Rollo Mainguy had placed a 'great deal of emphasis on requirements in Winnipeg.' So off to Winnipeg went John Pegg. When Chief Pegg came to Winnipeg, clearly, his role was to help to straighten things out. This is exactly what John Pegg did."

1941: About RCNVR Recruiting..."Once past the 'rigid' screening at the front door, potential sailors were given a strict physical, checking general health and eyesight. Ralph Kennedy can attest to how 'stringent' the requirements were. He had gone to the effort of faking a birth certificate, and tried to get into the air force as a pilot at the age of 17. The Air Force recruiter figured out his game and would not let him join. Then he went down to the Navy and the recruiter did not even check his birthday. The recruiting officer just told Ralph and another fellow who had shown up that day, Lorne Cartwright, to go into a separate room for a medical. Ralph went in, stripped down to the waist and had his check-up with the doctor. Everything went normally. After it was over he was putting his clothes on and he overheard a conversation between the doctor and the recruiting officer. 'These guys are just barely breathing', the doctor said. The Recruiting Officer replied, 'Well, they are the best to show up this week, so they’re in.' With that, Ralph Kennedy and Lorne Cartwright were members of the RCNVR."

1944: Wartime Acvtivity in the Winter Club... "During the fall of 1944, there was good evidence of high morale at the Smith Street barracks. At the time, the south end of Smith Street was a tree-lined and mainly a quiet residential neighbourhood. However, the presence of the Navy seemed to spice things up a little. The CHIPPAWA sailors enjoyed a robust round of parties, dances and general good times, which must surely rivalled any other naval unit in the country. Hardly a day went by that there is not at least one invitation to a party staged by some company or girl’s club or auxiliary. In addition, on the parade deck, a continuous array of shows and dances was on the slate."

1950: The 1950 Flood..."The DUKWs started out from a makeshift dock on Oakwood Avenue. From there the amphibious crafts traveled east, down the street lined with neat rows of houses, to the hospital located at the foot of Morley Street. Near the starting point of the journey, the water lapped at basement windows. Further down, only the rooftops of the houses were showing. At the hospital, an empty oil drum marked the location of a sunken car and a pole with a handkerchief marked another underwater vehicle. A seven-foot tall bus stop sign was just visible above the water. Gulls also circled overhead, the same birds that followed the DUKWs wake wherever they traveled. At the hospital, the manager, John McIntyre, met the crews. The first floor of the hospital was flooded, with scraps of paper and a barrel floating down the hallway. At the top of a staircase, on the second floor, was an operating table with two barn lanterns lighting the space. In that room, there was a plethora of medical supplies, as well as an outboard motor, which must have seemed out of place. Upstairs, the crews would meet nine Inuit children who were dressed in parkas and mittens. The children were all polio victims from Chesterfield Inlet, and they were anxious to leave the hospital."

1960: On Changes to the Navy..."Nearing the end of his long tenure as Commanding Officer, Captain McIlhagga must have sensed a difference in the way that the Naval Reserve was being regarded. The men and women of the Naval Reserve were once the mainstay of the Navy; during the war, the RCNVR made up nearly ninety percent of the Navy. Nevertheless, as the days of war became a distant memory the Reserve was becoming the Regular Navy’s ugly stepsister. Perhaps it was because the Navy’s job was becoming more technical. Training courses for Regular Force trades were becoming much longer, and naturally the average Reservist did not have the time to attend a long training course on the coast. There was a significant training gap forming, between the two elements. In addition, the Reserve did not have the type of equipment that was needed to train in the home units, a problem that was related to funding. To many veterans this must have been familiar ground, as it resembled the state of the Naval Reserve force prior to World War II. Of course, though, the cold war was a time that people began to talk about a 'come as you are' war. It was widely thought that the next war would be fought without sufficient time to mobilize reserve forces. The navy did not place as much importance on the Reserve force as it once did. In 1960, changes were evident, but with unification on the horizon, there were even further drastic changes in the offing. However, the blood of the navy ran deep at Naval Reserve Divisions such as CHIPPAWA, and her Ship’s Company would remain strong throughout."

1980: Recruit Training in CHIPPAWA... "In the summer of 1980, the students would march outside CHIPPAWA every morning, and fall-in at 0745 for colours. As the morning rush-hour traffic spilled into downtown, off the Midtown Bridge, there were some great glances from the commuters, as 80 youngsters in green stood at attention on the sidewalk in front of CHIPPAWA. After colours, the students would march back inside where they would spend the day in classes.
The drill instructor, Chief Petty Officer Les Williams, was a gentle fatherly figure, but on the parade square, he was always respected. His voice of command was booming and his orders were always understood. One of the memories from that summer is how Chief Williams use to teach the recruits little marching ditties such as “The Admiral rides in a car…your right… the Chief he rides on a bike, your right”. At the end of many drill classes, he also made it a habit to march the platoon out the back door and across the street to Bonnycastle Park, or to a shady spot near the banks of the Assiniboine River, to have a short stand-easy, smoke, and relax. Les Williams was a treasure that made the CHIPPAWA recruit experience worthwhile."

1982: The CHIPPAWA Gun Crew... " The CHIPPAWA Gun Crew was a popular draw for the young male sailors of the division. In addition, for visitors to the unit, to see eighteen brawny sailors doubling around the deck, toting a 2000-pound gun and limber, was a sight that many people did not soon forget. The gun crew would march with a telltale stomp on every fourth pace. However, they would only be marching when the crew was entering the deck or marching past. The remainder of the time they would be at the double-march. At a high speed, the cannon and limber were flung around the deck and fired in different directions, simulating the action on a ship. The Gun Crew Captain would order “ACTION STARBOARD”, “ACTION FORWARD” and “ACTION REVERSE”. On each order, the crew would disconnect the gun from the limber, and then they would ready the gun for firing and simultaneously strip the limber of wheels and ropes. The firing party would load a 7.62 mm blank round into a fitted shell casing, and insert it into the breech of the gun. When all members were steady, the firer would indicate “READY GUNNER”, which would be instantly followed by the order “FIRE”. Then,the firer would drop his arm, and fire the gun. The gun crew would also demonstrate the ability to change one gun wheel, by leaning the 12-pounder gun over to one side and exchanging the gun wheel with a wheel from the limber. The more difficult manoeuvre would occur when the Gun Crew Captain would order “CHANGE BOTH GUN WHEELS”. This meant that all members of the Gun Crew would be required to hoist the entire gun in the air, taking the full weight of the gun, while four members exchanged both gun wheels with those from the limber. It could be done, easy enough, but it required teamwork and trust."

1997: The Flood of the Century..."On Friday 2 May 1997, the City of Winnipeg raised the floodway gates, which was compounded by an apparent breach in the road from Ste. Agathe to St. Adolphe. This caused the water to rise very quickly in the areas of Grande Pointe and South St. Mary’s Road. Houses that should have been safe behind their protective sand-bagged dikes now had only one foot of free board left and the water was still rising. A call came into the MCC early in the afternoon of the 2nd, and soon crews, trucks and RHIBS were convoying down St. Mary’s Road. They continued down to the dike near the floodway gates to launch their boats and immediately started to ferry sand bags out to the stricken homes."