The History of 583 Coronation Squadron
583 Coronation Squadron’s Official Charter is dated 6th November 1953 and the first parade was held on the 26th November 1953, Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation year. 583 Coronation Squadron was named after the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
The first Commanding Officer of the Squadron was Frank Wright and approximately 30 boys attended the first parade. The first boy signed up was Bob Edmundsen of Maple Ridge. Within a very short time the strength of the Squadron rose to well over 100.
The Squadron has had several Sponsors since its inaugural parade, starting with the Youth Centre, followed by RCL Branch 88, RCL Branch 88 Ladies Auxiliary, and then the Kiwanis Club. The Royal Canadian Legion Branch #88- Maple Ridge has been our sponsor since 1980.
The Squadron has paraded in many different locations before moving to their current accommodation at the Maple Ridge Fair Grounds Commercial building, including Hammond Hall, Maple Ridge High School, the old Fire Hall, the Community Services Building and the Centennial Centre and the McLean Centre.
Former Commanding Officers include Frank Wright, Charlie Baltzer, Laurie Meggait, Steve Hamilton, Jack Craig, Austin Pelton, Dale Peterson, Dan Teal, Lloyd Unaru, Bob Lewis, Roger Sutcliffe, Floyd Monaghan, Amelia Lee, Bryan Holgate, Sven Raun, Joanne MacDonald, Rob Schnider, John Harrop, Mike Palmer, Ken Wilcox. The current Commanding Officer is Maj Lee Taylor, CD.
The Squadron has sent several Cadets on exchange visits: Doug Tingey – France, Germany and England in 1974; Nelson May – Austria 1976; Roger Sutcliffe – Turkey 1983; Dustin Bittroff – Japan 2001; Jennifer Mitchell – Australia 2004 and Duane Kirkpatrick – Turkey 2006.
