Royal Canadian Naval Reserve celebrates 100th birthday

Members of the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve gather at the Saskatchewan Legislature to be presented a certificate of recognition on the 100th anniversary of the Reserve. (Gareth Dillistone / CTV News)

The Royal Canadian Naval Reserve celebrated its 100th birthday on Tuesday. The Government of Saskatchewan recognized the reserve at a special ceremony.

A certificate of recognition was presented to Cmdr. Matthew Dalzell, a Saskatchewan naval reservist.

Back in 1923, the Royal Canadian Navy established a presence across the country, even in landlocked provinces such as Saskatchewan.

Twelve naval reserve units were formed, including HMC’s Unicorn in Saskatoon, and HMCS Queen in Regina. Since then, thousands of Saskatchewan sailors have served with distinction, including in World War II, as well as NATO and UN missions.

Dalzell said the Naval Reserve includes citizen sailors, some of whom do work on full-time service.

“[Their] mission [is] to augment the regular force, as well as also support recruiting efforts, outreach efforts like we are doing today, as well as train and be ready to assist to either augment the fleet, or to assist in other areas such as domestic emergencies,” Dalzell said.

Members of the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve are trained to the same standard as regular force sailors. Every Navy ship that sails has some reservists on board.