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A Mighty Oak...

Winnipeg's Naval Reserve Division, presently called HMCS CHIPPAWA, can proudly claim many significant achievements over the course of its history. The division's greatest achievement, though, was in 1923, at the very moment that the unit was established.

The idea of establishing a Naval Reserve Division in Manitoba was the brainstorm of Commodore Walter Hose, and the job of setting up the Winnipeg Company rested on the Assistant Secretary of the Great West Life Assurance Company, a naval veteran by the name of Eustace Alexander Brock.

On 19 March 1923, the division was established, and the little acorn first called "The Winnipeg Company RCNVR" began to grow into a mighty oak, later renamed "The Winnipeg Division RCNVR" and then even later commissioned as "HMCS CHIPPAWA".

This mighty oak set strong naval roots in Winnipeg. These roots have provided the navy a presence in Winnipeg to this very day. It also has grown branches that spread out across the city, the province, Canada and the world.

On many of these branches were Manitobans who started out in Winnipeg's Navy and then went on to serve their country and society well, especially when the world was in crisis.

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