A model of the first Royal Canadian Navy vessel to bear the name “Regina” was unveiled to much applause at a brewery in the Queen City.
“It’s very nice for my sailors who joined and served here in Regina, Saskatchewan to have a pub that is just so friendly and welcoming to members of the Royal Canadian Navy,” shared Aaron Kaytor, the commanding officer of naval reserve unit HMCS Queen.
A model of the original Flower-class corvette was displayed at Bushwakker Brewpub, capturing the details of the ship that served from 1942 to 1944 in the Battle of the Atlantic.
The ship tragically sank on Aug. 8, 1944 after being torpedoed by a German U-boat.
“The most amazing part of that story is they were lost trying to help another ship,” Kaytor said. “[They were] trying to rescue their sailors, and they were torpedoed themselves, losing 30 members of their crew. Miraculously, the ship sunk in 30 seconds.”
The second HMCS Regina was launched in 1993. Based in Esquimalt, B.C., the crew of the Halifax-class frigate helped remodel the display and picked Bushwakker Brewpub as its home, with the intention of honouring the legacy of the original HMCS Regina.
“There’s actually three different models of the original HMCS Regina, and what I’ve been told, this one is the most accurate and the most detailed,” Bushwakker’s bar and marketing manager Grant Frew explained.
“We’re very pleased to have a model of this quality in our brewpub.”
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Frew added the pub has a long-standing connection and support for the Canadian military as its late founder and president visited HMCS Regina twice, more than 30 years ago.
“The current HMCS Regina they’ve playfully called their officer’s mess Bushwakker West and consider us to be Bushwakker East here in the middle of Saskatchewan,” said Frew.
“It’s a very longstanding, a very nice tradition.”
The brewery also crafted its own beer to commemorate the special occasion.
“Because we all know that sailors like rum, [the beer] is a cracking black spiced rum and toasted oak infused Northern English brown ale,” Frew explained.
“It was amazing. The rum just pulled out all the chocolate notes of the malted barley. It was fantastic.”
Kaytor said the navy is appreciative of the pub’s continued support as it helps the naval force spread awareness.
“It makes me feel very proud to be a part of these ceremonies, to honour those who have come in the past and to remind Canadians that there are ways to serve their country, even part time in this city,” he said.
The model’s new home port will be accompanying other military memorabilia at Bushwakker, sitting on a shelf in front of a picture of the current HMCS Regina.
“It’s interesting to look at a ship that served in [the Second World War] to the current ship that’s operating today,” he said, welcoming the public to view the new display.
