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L'Association des anciens
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S/M Harold B.H. Armstrong -
RCMP Retired
Passed away 15 April 2011 - Ottawa ON Canada
Harry Armstrong, a retired RCMP officer, who led the procession for Queen Elizabeth II coronation in 1953, has died in Ottawa following several strokes. He was 83 years old.
Mr. Armstrong met Queen Elizabeth II several times during a career that spanned more than four decades. However, it was his first meeting on June 2, 1953 that was the most memorable. It was on that day that Mr. Armstrong led the procession through the streets of London, England, at Queen Elizabeth’s coronation.
"It was the chance of a lifetime," Mr. Armstrong recalled during an interview last autumn with The Ottawa Citizen. “Over the years, I had exciting times. The coronation was more like the ultimate."
Mr. Armstrong met Queen Elizabeth II for the final time last October during a garden reception held at Rideau Hall as part of her 2010 Royal Tour of Canada. Mr. Armstrong was a retired Sergeant-Major and ride master who worked with the famed RCMP musical ride for many years.
Born in Cornwall, England, Mr. Armstrong grew up on a farm in Alberta after his parents immigrated to Canada. He worked as a logger in British Columbia after high school until he joined the RCMP in 1947 at the age of 20. He was first stationed in Regina, Saskatchewan.
Later in his career, Mr. Armstrong traveled extensively with the RCMP musical ride – taking the horses as far away as Japan, and on tours across the U.S., and to every province and territory of Canada. However, despite all his adventures, Mr. Armstrong often cited the Queen’s coronation as being his fondest memory of an assignment with the RCMP.
In bright red tunics, the RCMP contingent led a parade of hundreds of officers from various Canadian military outfits. They left from Hyde Park in London, travelled more than an hour over cobblestone streets to Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen's state coach, and then led the procession to Westminster Abbey for the coronation.
“It went off without a hitch,” Mr. Armstrong told The Citizen last fall when recalling the coronation.
After retiring from the RCMP, Mr. Armstrong remained actively involved with the Force through his work with the RCMP Veterans’ Association, where he sat on the executive committee.
Harry Armstrong holds a photo of himself, at attention facing the Queen,
as he presents Her Majesty with a horse to celebrate the 100th birthday
of the RCMP in 1973.
A garden party this week will give one retired Mountie
a chance to renew his acquaintance with the Queen,
writes Jennifer Pagliaro.
Photograph by: Jean Levac, The Ottawa Citizen
Harry Armstrong recalls that on June 2, 1953, it rained in London -- not heavily, but a steady downpour.
Armstrong, 83, remembers that day clearly -- how at 25 he rode in full dress uniform through the streets of London,
carrying a heavy rifle and flanked by fellow RCMP officers.
Their task? To lead the procession for Elizabeth II on the way to her coronation. "It was the chance of a lifetime,"
Armstrong says. Now, 57 years later, he is among those on the guest list for a garden reception at Rideau Hall
Wednesday as part of the Queen's 2010 Royal Tour.
For the retired sergeant-major and ride master who moved from Cornwall, England, as a tot, the journey to London all those years ago jump-started his globe-trotting service at the height of the RCMP's Musical Ride glory days. As a boy, Armstrong grew up riding bareback on his family's Alberta farm. He moved to Vancouver to finish high school after his mother died. There, he became a logger until, at 20, he joined the force in 1947 and was stationed in Regina.
In January 1953, Armstrong -- newly married to an RCMP depot store employee, Connie -- was among the chosen few to represent the force at the coronation. "I was very proud to be in the coronation parade," said Armstrong, who has three children and two grandchildren. "Over the years, I had exciting times. The coronation was more like the ultimate." After they were selected, the Mounties were sent to Ottawa for months of grueling training. From there, they made the five-day freighter ride out of Montreal across the Atlantic. In their newly issued red tunics, the RCMP contingent led the parade made up of hundreds of officers from various Canadian military outfits. They left from Hyde Park, travelling more than an hour over cobblestone streets to Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen's state coach, and on to Westminster Abbey.
In a pristine photo album with ash-gray pages, Armstrong has a collection of beautiful black-and-white photographs documenting his journey. In one, the troops march around a stone fountain, past an endless sea of smiling faces. Reports suggest an estimated three million people came out to watch that day, while more than 30 million watched and listened to the broadcast. In "those times, people weren't unruly," he said. "I think it went off without a hitch." He does remember, with a chuckle, that during the long ride their black steeds, naturally, dropped their "calling cards" and the foot soldiers behind them trudged on, unable to break formation.
Today, Armstrong, still a man of stature, albeit with legs stiffer than in 1953, is one of the last of the contingent.
After London, Armstrong became a bit of a world traveler. He took the horses to Expo in Japan, on tours
through the U.S., and across the country, from Newfoundland to Victoria for the centennial celebrations in
1973.
That year, Armstrong presented the Queen with her second of four Musical Ride gift horses -- Centenial,
complete with the odd spelling -- in Regina. He has the photo framed.
In 1977, Armstrong and his wife had the rare opportunity to shake hands with the Queen and were introduced
to her during a royal visit to Ottawa. Armstrong has that image framed too.
His last met the Queen in 2002 when she visited the RCMP Musical Ride Centre in Rockcliffe Park during her
Golden Jubilee tour.
Now, Armstrong will be one of eight Ottawa area coronation parade veterans invited to Rideau Hall next
week. And his enthusiasm hasn't waned.
"I would like to see her again," he said.
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen
You can watch the CTV interview with Harry regarding his meeting with the Queen at
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20100704/queen-visit-100704/
