Oak Bay retired Brigadier General Brigadier General J. E. L. Gollner, pores over books in preparation for his stint as guest of honour this weekend. Gollner speaks and mingles during the Bay Street Armoury’s April 9 open house to mark the 100th anniversary of the Battle for Vimy Ridge in France.
It was a military victory that came at a great price and is regarded as a turning point in the formation of Canadian national identity.
After high school, Gollner wasn’t keen on his dad’s Vancouver construction.
“I had different ideas so I joined the PPCLI, which I thought was a good thing because they jumped out of planes and did other things that would attract 18-year-olds,” he said with a chuckle. “I liked the amy and surprising to me, the army liked me too.”
He joined the 2nd Battalion of the Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry as a private soldier in 1956. He became a non-commissioned officer in 1957 and was commissioned as an officer in 1959. Gollner served in a number of regimental appointments. They included an exchange tour with the British Army Rifle Brigade and two tours in Germany with NATO. He attended the Canadian Army Command and Staff College in 1968/69 and served as the deputy commanding officer of the 2 PPCLI before being appointed CO of the regiment in 1976. As CO 2 PPCLI he also commanded the United Nations Sector 4 in Nicosia, Cyprus, as part of the Canadian Contingent of the United Nations Force in Cyprus.
Gollner was posted to the Directorate of Land Requirements in National Defence Headquarters and elected chair of the NATO Infantry Panel. On promotion in 1981, he was appointed deputy chief of staff operations at Army HQ. During his time in Montreal, Gollner was active in planning Canada’s contribution to the UN mission to Namibia. In 1983, after graduating from the National Defence College, he was appointed Director of Infantry / Director of Land Operations at NDHQ and Canadian Army Secretary to the Canada -United States Military Cooperation Committee and Permanent Joint Board of Defence. In 1985 he became Chief of Staff Pacific Area and Commanding Officer Regular Support Staff, Pacific. In 1987 he was appointed Director General of Reserves and Cadets. In 1989 he became Commander Northern Region. Gollner was made an Officer of the Order of Military Merit in 1980.
After retiring from the Canadian Forces, Gollner settled in Victoria and went into business serving as president of the Victoria branch of the Alzheimer Society of British Columbia for several years. In 2003 he chaired the Veterans Affairs / Health Canada Falls Prevention Programme for Vancouver Island. The same year he became active in veterans’ care issues which lead to his being recruited into the Canadian Peacekeeping Veterans Association.
Gollner was on hand, and received one of the books he relied on to refreshes his mind before appearing this weekend, for the official rededication of the Vimy Ridge monument in 2007. During that visit the hoopla of guests including Canada’s prime minister an the queen made for an encumbered look. He went back with a pal in 2010 for a longer linger at the site.
“Vimy is 100 hectares, it’s a big piece of turf,” Gollner said. “We did a battlefield tour and went to Vimy and spent the whole day there.”
Particularly interested in those who came before him in the PPCLI, he spent some time finding where they and been, finding the names scratched into the chalk walls of Vimy.
He ran into the director at the time and was told about 125,000 French citizens visit a year, likely because the monument of “gleaming white marble can bee seen for miles.”
On Sunday, Gollner is the guest of honour as other honourary colonels and commanding officers of The Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary’s) and the 5th (British Columbia) Field Artillery Regiment, RCA commemorate Canada’s success at the Battle of Vimy Ridge, the importance of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial and the continuing significance the site and memorial has for Canadians. The open house runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and features more than 30 military and civilian displays including an extensive look at locals through the Oak Bay Archives display.
The Canadian Scottish Regiment Women’s Auxiliary hosts two sittings of a traditional tea party in the Currie dining room featuring costumes, food, music and skits from the Great War era. Musical interludes will take place throughout the day. A one-hour commemorative program will feature stories, bands, songs and slides that take us on an historic tour of the First World War, the Battle of Vimy Ridge and on to the 100th anniversary and the continuing relevance of the site and monument.