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Obituary for RSM WO1 Stan Reading
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20041110/OBREADING10/TPObituaries/?query=stan+reading
WEEK OF REMEMBRANCE: STANLEY READING, REGIMENTAL SERGEANT-MAJOR: 1922-2004
Stalking the parade square at Vimy Barracks in Kingston, Ont., he cajoled, goaded and encouraged generations of soldiers.
By BUZZ BOURDON
Special to The Globe and Mail
Wednesday, November 10, 2004 - Page S9
OTTAWA -- In his prime and in his time, Stan Reading was the picture of a regimental sergeant-major, from his gleaming cap badge to drill boots spit-shined like diamonds.
For more than 20 years, he was perhaps the best known soldier in the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals. Serving at Edmonton, Borden, Ont., and at home base in Kingston, Mr. Reading was particularly known for his love of parade-square drill.
During the 1950s and 1960s, now considered the regular army's golden era, high command still thought drill was necessary to develop those timeless soldierly qualities of teamwork, leadership, physical fitness and esprit-de-corps.
Stalking the parade square of Kingston's Vimy Barracks, his drill cane tucked firmly under his left arm, Mr. Reading spent years cajoling, goading, motivating and encouraging RCCS soldiers. Most never forgot the experience; many dreamed of being just like him.
Walter Smith of London, Ont., was one of the hundreds of young men who observed Mr. Reading in action. Their paths first crossed in 1957 after Mr. Smith, then 18, finished his recruit training at Kingston's Royal Canadian School of Signals. Mr. Reading was RSM there from 1965 to 1969.
"He was born to be a parade-square soldier," said Mr. Smith. "He was the proverbial sergeant-major [and] I was always pleased to be out on the square when he was."
Famous for his fierce square-bashing persona, which requires a lot of shouting, Mr. Reading occasionally allowed subordinates to glimpse his human side. For Mr. Smith, that singular experience occurred during a sports day when he ran a half-mile. After crossing the finish line, dead last, he saw Mr. Reading waiting for him.
"Even though I didn't do well, I got No. 2 Squadron some points and he was elated. 'You did really, really well and I'm proud of you,' he told me. I was really happy to be with him that afternoon."
Soldiering was in Stan Reading's blood. His father, Warrant Officer Louis Reading, spent eight years in the British army before emigrating to Canada in 1913. After serving 28 years in the RCCS, a building at Vimy Barracks was named after him.
For his part, young Stanley joined the Royal Canadian Artillery just after Canada declared war on Nazi Germany in 1939. He was soon transferred to the RCCS, a decision he never regretted.
During the war, Mr. Reading served overseas in Britain and The Netherlands. When peace returned, he decided to stay in the army and make it his career. That turned out to be a good move, because he was at centre stage during the huge postwar expansion of Canada's military.
In 1948, the Soviets flexed their muscles in Czechoslovakia and blockaded Berlin. The Cold War turned hot and in 1949 the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed. A year later, the Korean War erupted. In response, Canada built a strong and credible military.
Mr. Reading, who served as RSM of the 1st Canadian Division Signals Regiment in the early 1960s -- with the rank of warrant officer class one -- was also known for keeping an eagle eye on officers to make sure they followed protocol.
"Around 1966, he came in to complain that the junior officers were not properly returning the salutes given to them by the troops," recalled retired lieutenant-colonel Jack Thomson. "I asked him what we should do about this. He said, 'Give me two hours with them in Drill Hall Bravo.'
"[After that], the deportment of these junior officers improved drastically."
Retired brigadier-general George Simpson of Dunrobin, Ont., who arrived in Kingston in 1951 as a newly minted second lieutenant, recalled Mr. Reading as a hard case.
"The first time I met him he called me 'sir' and saluted me, but I knew by the look in his eye and his tone of voice that I hadn't really earned it yet. When I earned it, I knew it," Mr. Simpson recalled. "The wait was worth it, the journey inspirational."
Even though officers outranked Mr. Reading, there was no doubt about who was in charge.
"You would know [him] from 200 yards away because of his bearing. When he marched on Vimy Barracks' parade square, he held his head high and commanded attention from everybody, from the C.O. to the privates."
In 1969, Mr. Reading retired as a chief warrant officer. Last year, he was chosen to stand on the podium to represent the troops during a parade celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Forces Communications and Electronics Branch. The branch's colonel-in-chief, Princess Anne, officiated.
Mr. Simpson plans to petition the Canadian Forces to name one of the buildings at Vimy Barracks after Mr. Reading. "He was an icon, a dedicated military leader that served the branch and his country with distinction."
Stanley Reading was born in Kingston, Ont., on Feb. 19, 1922. He died there Sept. 20
when struck by a car while walking home after a doctor's appointment. He was 82.
He is survived by his wife Alma, and by daughters Sheila Conroy and Virginia Fontyn.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20041110/OBREADING10/TPObituaries/?query=stan+reading
WEEK OF REMEMBRANCE: STANLEY READING, REGIMENTAL SERGEANT-MAJOR: 1922-2004
Stalking the parade square at Vimy Barracks in Kingston, Ont., he cajoled, goaded and encouraged generations of soldiers.
By BUZZ BOURDON
Special to The Globe and Mail
Wednesday, November 10, 2004 - Page S9
OTTAWA -- In his prime and in his time, Stan Reading was the picture of a regimental sergeant-major, from his gleaming cap badge to drill boots spit-shined like diamonds.
For more than 20 years, he was perhaps the best known soldier in the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals. Serving at Edmonton, Borden, Ont., and at home base in Kingston, Mr. Reading was particularly known for his love of parade-square drill.
During the 1950s and 1960s, now considered the regular army's golden era, high command still thought drill was necessary to develop those timeless soldierly qualities of teamwork, leadership, physical fitness and esprit-de-corps.
Stalking the parade square of Kingston's Vimy Barracks, his drill cane tucked firmly under his left arm, Mr. Reading spent years cajoling, goading, motivating and encouraging RCCS soldiers. Most never forgot the experience; many dreamed of being just like him.
Walter Smith of London, Ont., was one of the hundreds of young men who observed Mr. Reading in action. Their paths first crossed in 1957 after Mr. Smith, then 18, finished his recruit training at Kingston's Royal Canadian School of Signals. Mr. Reading was RSM there from 1965 to 1969.
"He was born to be a parade-square soldier," said Mr. Smith. "He was the proverbial sergeant-major [and] I was always pleased to be out on the square when he was."
Famous for his fierce square-bashing persona, which requires a lot of shouting, Mr. Reading occasionally allowed subordinates to glimpse his human side. For Mr. Smith, that singular experience occurred during a sports day when he ran a half-mile. After crossing the finish line, dead last, he saw Mr. Reading waiting for him.
"Even though I didn't do well, I got No. 2 Squadron some points and he was elated. 'You did really, really well and I'm proud of you,' he told me. I was really happy to be with him that afternoon."
Soldiering was in Stan Reading's blood. His father, Warrant Officer Louis Reading, spent eight years in the British army before emigrating to Canada in 1913. After serving 28 years in the RCCS, a building at Vimy Barracks was named after him.
For his part, young Stanley joined the Royal Canadian Artillery just after Canada declared war on Nazi Germany in 1939. He was soon transferred to the RCCS, a decision he never regretted.
During the war, Mr. Reading served overseas in Britain and The Netherlands. When peace returned, he decided to stay in the army and make it his career. That turned out to be a good move, because he was at centre stage during the huge postwar expansion of Canada's military.
In 1948, the Soviets flexed their muscles in Czechoslovakia and blockaded Berlin. The Cold War turned hot and in 1949 the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed. A year later, the Korean War erupted. In response, Canada built a strong and credible military.
Mr. Reading, who served as RSM of the 1st Canadian Division Signals Regiment in the early 1960s -- with the rank of warrant officer class one -- was also known for keeping an eagle eye on officers to make sure they followed protocol.
"Around 1966, he came in to complain that the junior officers were not properly returning the salutes given to them by the troops," recalled retired lieutenant-colonel Jack Thomson. "I asked him what we should do about this. He said, 'Give me two hours with them in Drill Hall Bravo.'
"[After that], the deportment of these junior officers improved drastically."
Retired brigadier-general George Simpson of Dunrobin, Ont., who arrived in Kingston in 1951 as a newly minted second lieutenant, recalled Mr. Reading as a hard case.
"The first time I met him he called me 'sir' and saluted me, but I knew by the look in his eye and his tone of voice that I hadn't really earned it yet. When I earned it, I knew it," Mr. Simpson recalled. "The wait was worth it, the journey inspirational."
Even though officers outranked Mr. Reading, there was no doubt about who was in charge.
"You would know [him] from 200 yards away because of his bearing. When he marched on Vimy Barracks' parade square, he held his head high and commanded attention from everybody, from the C.O. to the privates."
In 1969, Mr. Reading retired as a chief warrant officer. Last year, he was chosen to stand on the podium to represent the troops during a parade celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Forces Communications and Electronics Branch. The branch's colonel-in-chief, Princess Anne, officiated.
Mr. Simpson plans to petition the Canadian Forces to name one of the buildings at Vimy Barracks after Mr. Reading. "He was an icon, a dedicated military leader that served the branch and his country with distinction."
Stanley Reading was born in Kingston, Ont., on Feb. 19, 1922. He died there Sept. 20
when struck by a car while walking home after a doctor's appointment. He was 82.
He is survived by his wife Alma, and by daughters Sheila Conroy and Virginia Fontyn.
