Our spacious banquet hall is ready for your special occasion no matter what it might be. Our fully equipped kitchen is waiting to cater your event too. Our chef will be happy to discuss menu options with you.

For more information, including rates and bookings please call our office Mon-Fri. from 9am to 12 Noon at (519) 396-2372
 

Our mission is to serve Veterans, including serving military and RCMP members and their families, to promote Remembrance, and to serve our communities and our country.

The Legion serves all Veterans.

The Legion exists so that Canada never forgets.

The Legion serves our communities and our country.

Current Branch Officers and Executive - June 1st, 2024 to May 31st, 2025

Branch Officers
Jim McDonald President / House / Bar/ Memorabilia	Teri Leslie 1st Vice President / Ways & Means	Mary Farrell 2nd Vice President / Finance / Catering	Robert Fletcher Past President / Poppy
Robert Grey Secretary / Nevada / Bursary	Carolyn Hamilton Treasurer	Kirk Rutledge Sgt.-At-Arms / Canada Day / Air Cadet Liaison	Rev. Eric Williams  Chaplain
Executive Committees
Sheila McGhee Leadership Development	Kim McElroy Membership / Honours & Awards	Allan Bowers  Property	Glenn Booker Public Relations / Web & Facebook
Cathy Alcombrack Sports	Mark Ozorio Youth Education / Track & Field	David Carson Veteran Services	Russell Crook Seniors / Charity / Sunshine
Martyn Furnivall Bingo

Joining the Royal Canadian Legion

• History of Legion Membership
• Membership Eligibility
  • Ordinary Membership
  • Associate Membership
  • Affiliate Voting Membership
  • Affiliate Non-Voting Membership
• Declarations & Initiation
• Purposes and Objectives of the Legion

Membership Renewal

The early bird period for paying 2025 dues will soon start on of September 1st, 2024 and run until November 30th, 2024. Please take advantage of the program which saves you $5 off your regular dues. Membership dues for 2025 are payable by cash or cheque at the local branch. On-line renewal is now possible at portal.legion.ca, using your membership number and following the instructions. A new e-transfer option is also now available by e-transferring your dues to kinlegion@bmts.com. (please note that you must include the words "dues for year ????" or "membership" in the comment box before submitting it electronically through your bank.) This will allow our admin assistant to properly record your payment.

Joining Branch 183 Kincardine

• Why I should join the legion?

1. Obtain an application at the branch, request an application via email or follow the LINK below with your email and/or phone number to allows us to contact you.
2. Submit application to the branch including a copy of supporting documentation for Ordinary and Associate membership. New applications are reviewed monthly by the Legion Executive. You will receive confirmation of that approval.
3. New members must then be formally inducted into Branch 183 at a general membership meeting, usually on the 3rd Sunday of each month.

Membership Dues for 2025

• Ordinary membership for military vets & active service-$50
• All other Ordinary, Associate or Associate Voting Members-$60, during the early bird only $55 from 1Sep22 to 30Nov22.

Branch 183 Membership office & Contact Info

Joining the Legion at Branch 183

Check sports board in clubhouse hallway for upcoming sports events and sign up sheets.

The Royal Canadian Legion District C Crystal Taylor Memorial Track Meet is Saturday, June 15th. Ages 12-17.
Registration is here - https://t.ly/HikIP













 

Poster and Literary Contest
Remembrance Contestants are challenged to exercise their creativity and submit a poster on the theme of Remembrance in either colour or black and white. This is a contest to select the most suitable posters submitted by students in the Canadian school system. The posters will be judged at the local Branch and then at Zone, District and the Provincial level. The Provincial winners in the Primary, Junior, Intermediate and Senior categories will then be submitted to Ottawa for judging at the National level. A plaque will be awarded to the 1st place winner in each category, and to the 1st place winners’ schools. Prizes will be awarded on the recommendation of the judges, whose decision will be final.
Contestants are challenged to exercise their creativity and write an essay and/or poem on the theme of Remembrance. This is a contest to select the most suitable essays and poems submitted by students in the Canadian school system. The essays and poems will be judged at the local Legion Branch, Zone, District and then at the Provincial level. The Provincial winners in the Junior, Intermediate and Senior categories will then be submitted to Ottawa for judging at the National level. A plaque will be awarded to the 1st place winner in each category, and to the 1st place winners’ schools. Prizes will be awarded on the recommendation of the judges, whose decision will be final.

Public Speaking
Ontario Command Public Speaking Contest, part of the Legion's Youth and Education program, is meant to give young people an opportunity to speak in public. The individual chooses their own subject matter for the address. When is the contest held? The contest date is set by each Branch, and is normally in early January or February of the year. The contest progresses through Zone, District and Area levels, concluding at the Provincial level in May of each year. Dates for the contests at Branch, Zone, and District level should be established by the respective chairmen in September of each year, with careful selection being given to ensure that the contests at the various levels are not held on holiday weekends, school breaks, etc. The deadline date for the area contests will be at least two weeks prior to the Provincial Contest which is held on the 1st Saturday in May.

Track and Field
The Royal Canadian Legion’s Track and Field Program allows athletes, ages 17 and under (Youth & Midget) to compete in Track & Field events at little or no cost. The Track Meets consist of Zone, District, Provincial and at National Levels. Some Zone’s and Districts request meet entry fee’s to assist in the expense of the event. However, if selected to attend the Provincial or National meet the Legion covers all cost including travel and accommodation. With the National Meet, athletes spend a week with the selected team learning from experts and each other, building teamwork skills and making new friends, as well as getting to compete in their chosen events.

Bursary Program
The Bursary Program is designed to assist students entering or pursuing their post-secondary education, including courses and programs of a technical and vocational nature, outside of and beyond secondary school. Approved bursary assistance is not based upon scholastic standing but rather on the successful completion of the current year of study and recommendation by the District Bursary Committee.

Assistance
Students applying for assistance may be granted a Bursary based on documented need in the amount of $750.00 per scholastic year (September to August) as determined by the District Bursary Committee. Students entering a diploma or certificate course, usually of a shorter duration with reduced tuition, may be granted assistance at a rate to be determined by the District Bursary Chairman. Indentured apprentices may apply for assistance for the purchase of tools and instruments.

Eligibility
(1) Ex-Service personnel or currently serving members of The Canadian Forces (Regular, Reserve, and Merchant Navy) and their children and grandchildren. Commonwealth war veterans and their children and grandchildren.
(2) Ordinary and Life members of The Royal Canadian Legion and their children and grandchildren.
(3) Associate members of The Royal Canadian Legion and their children only.
(4) Ladies’ Auxiliary members and their children and grandchildren.
(5) Step children and step grandchildren may be considered where applicable.
 

History of the Poppy

Each November, Poppies bloom on the lapels and collars of millions of Canadians. The significance of the Poppy can be traced back to the Napoleonic Wars in the 19th century, over 110 years before being adopted in Canada. Records from that time indicate how thick Poppies grew over the graves of soldiers in the area of Flanders, France. Fields that had been barren before battle exploded with the blood-red flowers after the fighting ended. During the tremendous bombardments of the war, the chalk soils became rich in lime from rubble, allowing the “popaver rhoeas” to thrive. When the war ended, the lime was quickly absorbed and the Poppy began to disappear again.

The person who first introduced the Poppy to Canada and the Commonwealth was Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae of Guelph, Ontario, a Canadian Medical Officer during the First World War. John McCrae penned the Poem “In Flanders Fields” on a scrap of paper in May, 1915 on the day following the death of a fellow soldier. Little did he know then that those 13 lines would become enshrined in the hearts and minds of all who would wear them. McCrae’s poem was published in Punch Magazine in December of that same year, and the poem later served as inspiration three years later for Moina Michael, an American teacher. Moina Michael made a pledge to always wear a Poppy as a sign of Remembrance.

During a visit to the United States in 1920, a French woman named Madame Guerin learned of the custom. Madame Guerin decided to make and sell poppies to raise money for children in war-torn areas of France. The Great War Veteran’s Association in Canada (our predecessor) officially adopted the poppy as its Flower of Remembrance on July 5, 1921.

Today, the Poppy is worn each year during the Remembrance period to honour Canada's Fallen. The Legion also encourages the wearing of a Poppy for the funeral of a Veteran and for any commemorative event honouring Fallen Veterans. It is not inappropriate to wear a Poppy during other times to commemorate Fallen Veterans and it is an individual choice to do so, as long as it’s worn appropriately.

Thanks to the millions of Canadians who wear the Legion’s lapel Poppy each November, the little red flower has never died, and the memories of those who fell in battle remain strong.

How to Wear a Poppy

Poppies may be worn throughout the Remembrance period, including in the evening after Remembrance Day Ceremony. Some choose to remove their Poppy at the end of the day on November 11. Some choose to remove their Poppy at the conclusion of the ceremony and place their Poppy on the cenotaph or on a wreath as a sign of respect. This has become a poignant tradition each year at the National Remembrance Day Ceremony in Ottawa as thousands of Poppies are placed on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

When a Poppy is removed, it should be stored appropriately or it may be disposed of respectfully. We encourage anyone who finds a Poppy that has fallen to the ground to pick it up and brush it off so that it can be kept or disposed of respectfully. 

While Poppies are always free, The Royal Canadian Legion gratefully accepts donations to the Poppy Fund, which directly supports Canada’s Veterans and their families in need. 

Canadians outside of the country can get a Poppy from Royal Canadian Legion Branches in the U.S., Mexico, Germany and the Netherlands, or through their Canadian Embassy or Consulate.

We invite everyone across the country to honour and remember Canada’s Veterans by proudly wearing this symbol of Remembrance and taking a moment to reflect.

On December 2, 1916, Lt. Col. Adam Weir, former commander of the 32nd Bruce Regiment, was instructed to form a Battalion made up entirely of Bruce County citizens. Four companies were mobilized: A Company from Walkerton, Cargill, Paisley, Port Elgin and Southampton; B Company from Chesley, Tara, Hepworth and Teeswater; C Company from Wiarton, Lion’s Head, Tobermory, Cape Chin and the First Nations; and D Company from Kincardine, Lucknow, Ripley and Tiverton. The Military Band was mobilized mostly of men from the Chesley Citizen’s Band. Men from each of the districts were relied upon to encourage others to join and recruitment rallies were held across the County.

The 160th (Bruce) Battalion, CEF was a unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War.

Based in Walkerton, Ontario, the unit began recruiting in late 1915 in Bruce County. After sailing to England in October 1916, the battalion was absorbed into the 4th Reserve Battalion on February 15, 1918.

The 160th (Bruce) Battalion, CEF had three Officers Commanding: Lieut-Col. A. Weir (October 17, 1916—May 6, 1917), Lieut-Col. D. M. Sutherland (May 6, 1917—December 1, 1917), and Major A. M. Moffatt (December 1, 1917—February 23, 1918).

Key Leaders

• 160th Batallion - Bruce Remembers
• 160th Bruce Batallion on Facebook
• Bruce County Historical Society

Volunteers - The Legion's lifeblood

Volunteering at Branch 183