The special connection between HMCS Calgary and the city that gave it its name was celebrated on the 30th anniversary of the ship’s commissioning by the raising of the ship’s flag at Calgary city hall.

The ceremony on May 12 came just days after a pair of other landmark anniversaries were celebrated in the city, with the 80th anniversary of the end of the Battle of the Atlantic and Victory in Europe Day.

The pride and the tradition of the modern Halifax Class Frigate that has borne the name HMCS Calgary, carrying on from the corvette of the same name that sank a U-Boat in the Azores during WW2.

Matthew Goodwin, Coxswain of HMCS Calgary, said that there was a lot of pride in the Royal Canadian Navy and in the special connection that the ship has with Calgary.

“Sometimes you hear in the news or in the media just the bad stuff that happens, but it’s events like this that demonstrate that there is still a love for the Navy,” Goodwin said.

“For our Battle of the Atlantic mess dinner that we just had on the first of May, we had a 100-year-old veteran there, Mr. John Watts. He served during the Battle of the Atlantic, and we had a full, sold-out house. We could not fit any more people into the mess dinner. So to me, that demonstrates that there is that love for the Navy.”

During that dinner, CPO1 Goodwin presented Watts, whom had been missing his medal for service during the Battle for the Atlantic, with an Atlantic Star after being authorized to provide a replacement medal.

Going above and beyond to recognize extends throughout the ship, said CPO1 Goodwin.

“We are the only ship in the Canadian Armed Forces, or in the Royal Canadian Navy, that has an address exemption to wear in our uniforms, and that is the Smithbilt hats for the crew. So, no other ship has that ability. That’s just one piece of how that relationship has been built over the years,” he said.

“It is not something that happens all the time, or very little, for the RCN, that our Ensign is flown into a city. There had to be special permission from the CRCN, which is the Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy, to fly the flag here today.”

Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee, the Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy, himself served as a navigating officer and a combat officer on HMCS Calgary in 1999 and 2004.

Connection between HMCS Calgary and city runs deep

Ward 9 Councillor Gian-Carlo Carra said that the crew itself was an incredible cross-section of what Canada is today, but the connections to the city run deep.

“The ship itself was packed with Calgary memorabilia: street signs and old maps and artifacts from the Olympics. The Captain’s chair is a giant piece of leather, rawhide, and it’s got the Calgary Stampede brand in it. The Calgary Stampeders galloping horse is also the symbol of the ship.”

The ship even has its own chuckwagon, said CP01 Goodwin.

“When we do hands fall in, which is a parade style, we bring our chuckwagon out. The connection that we have between the city and us is second to none, and every day I get an email from somebody from the City of Calgary,” he said.

Coun. Carra said that one of his missions as a member of council was to make that relationship a permanent one, which resulted in the Friends of HMCS Calgary becoming an official committee within the City of Calgary.

“Friends of HMCS Calgary became an official committee of the City of Calgary in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the commissioning of the ship. We, of course, couldn’t do anything during the 25th because we were all locked down with Covid,” he said.

“My involvement with the ship began years before that, in 2016. I consider it one of the feathers of my professional cap.”

He said the importance of the 30th anniversary celebration came at a weighty time in Canadian history.

“In times of conflict and in times when Canada’s sovereignty is threatened, Calgarians step up and they punch well above their weight,” Carra said.

“The legacy of that service is coming back to Calgary and engaging in community building to make those that serve and those sacrifices worthwhile.”

Calgarians are being invited to the 30th anniversary HMCS Calgary celebrations in Victoria from June 13 to June 16, and to attend the Calgary Salutes event on July 2.