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MOUNTAIN LEGION REMEMBERS QUEEN ELIZABETH II

'WE GIVE THANKS FOR HER LONG REIGN,' SAYS BRANCH 163 PADRE

MARK NEWMAN mnewman@ hamiltonnews.com

Rev. Francis Chisholm has fond memories of Queen Elizabeth II.

The padre of the Mountain legion recalled he and his wife Connie having lunch with the late Queen and Prince Philip at the Palace of Holyroodhouse (the official residence of the monarchy in Scotland) as part of the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977.

He was in Scotland as a United Church of Canada delegate to the general assembly of the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh.

"She knew Hamilton was a railway centre," Chisholm recalled after speaking at a brief memorial service for the Queen at the Mountain legion on Sept. 19. "She was very gracious and interested in everything."

Chisholm said he met the Queen on a number of occasions. In his remarks

during the memorial, Chisholm noted the Queen and himself were both born in 1926 and both served in uniform during the Second World War.

"I saw Princess Elizabeth when we were age 13 in August 1939, when she was travelling with her family from Balmoral Castle to Perth Station," he said. "On the first Sunday of September 1939, war was declared, it was a very serious time in Britain."

Chisholm noted Princess Elizabeth and himself were in uniform a few years later. She was in the Auxiliary Territorial Service and he joined the Seaforth Highlanders.

He concluded his remarks with a prayer for the Queen. "We give thanks for her long reign, for her steadfast faith, for her life of service and devotion to duty, for her love of country and Commonwealth and her love for Canada," Chisholm said.

Sandy McElroy, president of Mount Hamilton branch 163 of the Royal Canadian Legion, said Queen Elizabeth II was loved and respected wherever she went. "She stood straight and stalwart in all that she did," said McElroy, whose remarks were prepared by Jeannie Hayward, the branch's public relations officer.

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2022-09-29T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-09-29T07:00:00.0000000Z

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