CWO Ellory "Lee/Leroy" Morton Faulkner, MMM, CD2 (Ret'd)

CWO “Lee” Faulkner enjoyed a full career in the Canadian Armed Forces, serving over 38 years in the Regular Force; 33 years split between the Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (RCEME) Corps and Land Ordnance Engineering (LORE) Branch, and a further five (5) years served with the Infantry. Over his career he proudly wore three of the four iterations of the RCEME Corps cap badge; the original RCEME badge with the King’s crown, the RCEME horse with both the King and Queen’s crown), and the LORE cap badge. As well, he wore the Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR) cap badge (with both King and Queen’s crowns).

Achieving the rank of CWO within LORE, he served in a number of key senior appointments, including RSM of 2 Service Battalion (Svc Bn), School CWO (SWO) of the Canadian Forces School of Aeronautical and Ordnance Engineering (CFSAOE), and Command CWO (CCWO) of the Canadian Forces Training System (CFTS) Command. CWO Faulkner was the first in his Corps (all MOCs) to fill these types of senior leadership roles, thus opening up new and exciting non-traditional career opportunities for those that followed. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Military Merit in 1985. He retired 5 April 1988.

As a 19-year-old Corporal (Rifle Section Commander) with the 1st Battalion RCR, he fought in Korea (1952 - 53), receiving a Mentioned in Dispatches (MiD) for distinguishing himself while participating in a commando style ‘prisoner snatch patrol’ behind enemy lines. Later in Korea, having just turned 20 years of age, he received a battlefield promotion to Acting Sergeant (Sgt) and briefly commanded an Infantry Platoon (Pl). This rapid promotion and increased responsibility at such an early age were a result of his unit having sustained heavy casualties at the battle at Kowang San (Hill 355, nicknamed Little Gibraltar) from a massive Chinese attack. These traumatic experiences transformed CWO Faulkner from a 19-year-old untested teenager into an experienced and battle-hardened leader at only 20 years old.

Lee Faulkner lived his early years in his birthplace of Ostrea Lake, a fishing village on Nova Scotia’s rugged Atlantic coast. Born into a seafaring family of military naval pedigree, he was raised predominately by his Grandfather who had been a Naval Officer in both World Wars. In World War (WW) II his Father was a Petty Officer in the RCN, and all six (6) of his uncles served in either the RCN and/or RCNVR during WWII.

During the early years of WWII, Lee (ages 7-9) would often sail on his Grandfather’s tugboat while opening and closing Halifax harbour’s torpedo nets. This, along with daily sightings of spitfire dawn patrols flying low over the local beaches he frequented (dipping their wings for him as they passed low overhead), and his foraging for beach flotsam such as sea rations and bits of wreckage washed up onto the beaches of Ostra Lake from torpedoed merchantmen off Halifax, were sheer romance for the young boy growing up in a nation at war on the eastern seaboard.

Leaving school in 1947 at age 15 (before completing his full 9th year of public school), his Grandfather secured him employment as a lifeboat rescue crewman at Sable Island off the coast of Nova Scotia. However, Lee viewed this as only an interim step to achieving his ultimate goal, that being to seek adventure with Canada’s military as his Grandfather, Father and Uncles had done before him. Thus, immediately upon turning 17, he headed to Halifax to enlist.

However, his limited education would prove an impediment for enlistment in his first career choice. Armed with only a partial Grade 9 education, when he presented himself to an RCAF recruiter seeking to be a pilot, he was told he fell short of the minimum education requirement and to reapply when he had completed Grade 11. Not overly enthusiastic about returning to school for a further two years, a naval career (in keeping with his Family’s naval pedigree) seemed to be his next best option. But that was not to be either. When heading for the RCN’s recruiting center, at the gate to Halifax’s naval dockyard he encountered two sentries who regaled him with the truths of life in the RCN at that time and dissuaded him from enlisting in the RCN. Undeterred and remaining adamant on pursing military life sooner rather than later, he tried his last option and successfully enlisted in the Army at Halifax’s Army’s recruiting center, on September 21, 1949, four days after his 17th Birthday.

Already a ham radio enthusiast, he had an abiding interest in electrical circuitry, and thought he might like to become an electrician. As such, he applied for and was accepted into the Army’s RCEME Corps (relatively new having been formed only five years earlier in 1944). His first three months (September – December 1949) were spent completing basic training at the RCEME school in Barryfield, Kingston, Ontario, followed by basic driver’s course training in the new year.

Now he could finally commence RCEME trades training as an electrician, or so he thought. His initial ambition to become an electrician in the Electro-Mechanical (ELM) trade was soon dashed. Although meeting the Army’s minimum educational requirement for entry into RCEME, the ELM trade was not in the cards. The RCEME Corps, believing his lack of formal schooling would prove inadequate for the ELM trade, enrolled him as a Vehicle Technician instead. Craftsman (untrained) Faulkner in turn balked and resisted this career path. In an effort to entice him to change his mind and accept a career as a RCEME mechanic, he was placed in the Personnel Awaiting Training (PAT) platoon and given mind-numbing general duties such as whitewashing the rocks lining the walkways.

However, Lee did not break. He viewed his limited formal education, not as an insurmountable obstacle, but as a challenge to be overcome in his own way. From the start his purpose for enlisting had not been to simply be a tradesman in uniform. Instead, he wanted to experience a full military life; to be a soldier first and foremost, but with a special trade skill as well. This was to be the guiding principle of his career, which later would make him a trailblazer in his Corps. Hence, if he was to be barred from the RCEME trade of first choice, he thought that maybe he could find satisfaction as a solider in the Combat Arms, and perhaps seek trades training at a later juncture. Consequently, Craftsman (untrained) Faulkner’s request for transfer to the infantry was granted, and in June 1950 (still only 17) he became Pte Faulkner in the 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR), and was shipped off to Camp Petawawa, Ontario.

At that time, the Infantry Corps consisted of only three regiments of one battalion each, collectively comprising the Mobile Strike Force (MSF), its mission being to defend Canada’s Arctic against Soviet aggression. To that end, the RCR and the other two regiments had converted from conventional infantry to airborne units. At Camp Petawawa, the RCR, its paratroopers wearing the coveted ‘marron beret’, was known throughout the Canadian Army as the epitome of spit and polish discipline. This exciting and vibrant environment immediately resonated with Pte Faulkner, proving to be the structured and disciplined environment the 17-year-old needed.

Shortly after his arrival, on 3 November 1950, Pte Faulkner qualified as a paratrooper at the Canadian Joint Air Training Centre (CJATC), Rivers, Manitoba, thus earning the right to proudly wear the maroon beret. He was promoted Lance Corporal (L/Cpl) on 20 December 1950, A/Cpl on 12 May 1951, and upon completion of the Junior Combat Leader’s course was promoted to substantive Cpl later that year on 10 August 1951 (at 18 years of age). Thus, dawned the beginning a long successful career of outstanding military leadership and exemplary soldiering.

In April 1952, 1 RCR with Cpl Faulkner (now 19) commanding a rifle section, shipped off to the Korean War, relieving 2 RCR in their positions on an exposed promontory called Little Gibraltar. That year would prove a hard test of the young 19-year-old’s mettle in combat.

• In June 1952 he served with B Company (Coy) 1 RCR on Koji Do Island Japan during the time of the Prisoner of War riots and general unrest on the island.
• On 6-7 September he participated on a daring six (6) man ‘commando style’ patrol action behind the Chinese Army’s front line, the purpose of which was to capture a prisoner for interrogation. The patrol was split into two 3-man groups. The first was the snatch team (comprising a Lieutenant, Cpl, Pte), while the second was the fire support base (comprising a Cpl, 2 x Ptes, and a light machine gun). Cpl Faulkner was patrol 2i/c and commanded the fire support base. When the snatch team, with a captured prisoner in hand, started back to the 1 RCR main position it was being closely pursued by several Chinese infantry. As the snatch team passed, its Pte peeled off and joined Cpl Faulkner. Cpl Faulkner’s fire team (now comprising himself and 3 x Ptes) successfully engaged and dispersed seven pursuing Chinese soldiers (credited with killing one and wounding or killing two others). A firefight ensued, and once the snatch team reported that they had safely reached 1 RCR lines, Cpl Faulkner ordered his team to withdraw. He himself brought up the rear and was the last to withdraw, and although receiving covering fire from 1 RCR’s forward positions, he had to negotiate 800 yards while under enemy small arms fire in daylight. Cpl Faulkner’s distinguished actions were recognized as being an important contributing factor to the patrol’s success and earned him a ‘mention in dispatches’ (MiD).
• On 22-23 October Cpl Faulkner survived a Chinese mass attack at Kowang San (Hill 355, nicknamed ‘Little Gibraltar). The battalion sustained heavy losses, especially in Cpl Faulkner’s Coy (B Coy) which took the brunt of the attack and was completely overrun. Cpl Faulkner, out of ammunition and unable to escape, survived the attack by playing dead until the Canadian counterattack drove the Chinese off the hill. Casualties (predominantly in B Coy) comprised 18 killed, 43 wounded and 14 taken prisoner; many of these were friends of Cpl Faulkner. Consequently, due to such heavy losses with much of it in B Coy’s leadership cadre, including his own Pl Comd and Pl Sgt who were both badly wounded and needed to be evacuated, Cpl Faulkner was appointed Acting Pl Comd.
• In November – December 1952 he was appointed the Guard Commander of the First Commonwealth Infantry Division Commander’s residence in Kure, Japan.
• He received a battlefield promotion to Sgt on 01 March 1953 and continued as Acting Pl Comd until his Battalion’s return to Canada in May 1953.

The year in Korea had completely transformed Cpl Faulkner from a raw inexperienced 19-year-old teenager, into a battle-tested and confident leader at only 20 years of age. He would draw upon these early traumatic experiences to forge his strong leadership style for the rest of his career. He fully understood the responsibility that accompanies command and from that moment on he made it his priority as a soldier to always ensure the welfare of the soldiers under him and to lead by example. His earlier experiences of overcoming career setbacks taught him to persevere over adversity and above all else, never give up. He would thereafter constantly encourage others to challenge themselves to their maximum capabilities and never give up on their career aspirations, especially if it entailed challenges outside their comfort zones.

In the spring of 1953 when 1 RCR returned to Canada and resumed its MSF role, Sgt Faulkner became a Pl Sgt in reputedly the Army’s most combat-ready airborne company, B Coy 1RCR. In January of 1954, 1 RCR relocated from Camp Petawawa to Wolseley Barracks, London, Ontario. Here, he met and married his bride Alma in December 1954, and soon thereafter would begin a family.

Yet professionally he still yearned for a career not only as a combat arms soldier, but as a soldier technical tradesman as well. Now a proven soldier and leader with combat experience, he felt he had valuable skills and experience to offer the RCEME Corps. He hoped that they might mitigate the negative impact that his lack of formal education had previously in prohibiting him from pursuing a career as an ELM Tech. As such, he decided to try a career in RCEME for the second time.

Thus, in June 1955, at the price of reverting to the rank of Corporal, Sgt Faulkner (now 22 years old) re-mustered back into the Corps he had first joined only five short years earlier as a 17-year-old and was posted to the RCEME School at Vimy Barracks, Kingston as Cpl Faulkner. When he first arrived, he would often smile when looking at the gleaming whitewashed boulders lining the walkways, wondering who the unlucky young defiant soldier was this time.

He immediately attended a Senior Leader’s Course (SLC), and upon graduating was assigned to RCEME’s Regimental Trade as an instructor in General Military Training (GMT) such as drill, driver training and weapons training. He excelled in this role, not surprising having just come from the ‘spit and polish’ environment of 1 RCR and having combat experience. And although steadfastly committed to the principle that every military technician/tradesman had to be first and foremost a solider, his goal remained to become a RCEME tradesman. He was at least now sporting the RCEME cap badge (although not yet in the capacity as a technician), and if teaching GMT was what he had to do in order to achieve his ambition, he would do it to the best of his soldierly abilities, always however, looking to switch over to the ELM trade at the first opportunity.

Thus, having earned his chance in so many ways, he was soon re-assigned to the ELM Tech trade. He would spend the next ten (10) years alternately as a student and technician at 202 RCEME Workshop (Wksp) in Montreal, and eventually as an instructor on vehicle electrical courses at the RCEME School’s Regimental Training Company. He regained his sergeant’s stripes in 1958 and would instruct at the RCEME School until attaining his Group 4A qualification and being promoted to Staff Sgt (S/Sgt) in 1965. Achieving Group 4A in the ELM trade (Electrical Artificer, fondly referred to as ‘Tiffy’) for someone with only grade 9 was not an easy task, and it took Sgt Faulkner three attempts at the Group 4A exam before being successful. Again, Lee’s stubbornness and strong will to succeed and never give up had persevered.

His time as a S/Sgt (and later Warrant Officer (WO)) was served primarily as the senior Electrical Artificer in field units (1st and 2nd line), with the exception of less than a year (1971-72) where he served as part of a laser research team at CFB Valcartier’s Defence Research establishment. S/Sgt and/or WO postings included:

• 1965-66. 56 Infantry Wksp (RCEME) Egypt, UN Emergency Force (UNEF);
• 1966-68. Royal Canadian Dragoons (RCD), CFB Gagetown, NB;
• 1968-70. Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians), Fort Beausejour, Iserlohn, W. Germany;
• 1970-71. RCD, CFB Lahr, W. Germany; and
• 1971-72. Canadian Defence Research Establishment at CFB Valcartier (CDREV). Here he served as part of a 26-person research team comprising 20 civilian scientists, five military officers, and one FCS technician (WO Faulkner). The team conducted the Defence Department’s early research into chemical laser technology. WO Faulkner was the first of his Corps (RCEME or LORE) to work in the field of laser research.

After less than a year at CDREV he was promoted to Master Warrant Officer (MWO) and in 1972 posted again to CFB Lahr, West Germany (1972-76), splitting his time between 4 Svc Bn, Base Maintenance (B Maint) and Canadian Forces Europe (CFE) Headquarters. Over these four years he filled a number of positions, to include: CFE’s senior Fire Control Systems (FCS) technical authority at CFE HQ, B Maint Control Officer and Company Sergeant Major (CSM), and 4 Svc Bn Rear Party CSM.

In 1976 he was posted back to Canada, this time to 1 Canadian Field Hospital (MUST Hospital – Canada’s first) at CFB Petawawa as the Unit’s first Maintenance Officer (Maint O). The position called for an FCS MWO due to the essential requirement to keep several large generators operational, without which the hospital’s balloon type modules could not function. Initially filling the position as an MWO, he was unexpectedly promoted to CWO that fall (Sep 1976), and when requested by the CO he agreed to remain in the Maint O’s position over-ranked for the remainder of the two-year posting (1976-78).

To this juncture in CWO Faulkner’s career (spanning both RCEME and LORE), the range of senior appointments available to the RCEME/LORE CWO seemed to him to be needlessly limited to technical settings. Traditional roles included roles such as: Equipment Technical Sergeant Major (ETSM) of Second Line workshops; senior trade authorities at 202 Workshop; Career Manager; Land Equipment Test Establishment (LETE) Senior tradesman; and Life Cycle Maintenance Manager (LCMM) for various land equipment fleets/projects in NDHQ. All these positions were extremely important jobs that required the technical trades experience and knowledge that only RCEME/LORE CWOs could bring to the table. None the less, they were remained focused on and limited to the technical trades environment and did not demand the same degree of regimental type leadership required of someone appointed to senior leadership positions outside the RCEME Corp, such as the Senior NCO/NCM of a 500+ person strong field unit, a base or even a CF Command. CWO Faulkner knew he possessed the requisite leadership qualities, soldiering experience and self-confidence vital to successfully assume these command type appointments. And furthermore, he knew that many of his CWO peers in RCEME/LORE did as well and would excel in such environments, given the chance.

From his early life in the RCR, Lee developed a reverence for the Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) appointment in a field unit. He admired the rich military traditions it embodied and had always aspired to becoming an RSM himself. And he was frustrated that the CF did not thus far offer these ‘non-traditional’ career paths to he and his fellow RCEME/LORE CWOs. Accordingly, in order to fulfil his desire to experience a full military career, comprising both the technical RCEME/LORE environment as well as the challenge of senior leadership appointments outside his Corps such as RSM, CWO Faulkner committed to breaking down pre-conceived career barriers. He knew that if he sought out and achieved success in these demanding leadership appointments, he would not only have fulfilled his own personal aspirations to have experienced a full military career, but also would have opened the door to other RCEME/LORE CWOs that followed him to do the same.

Thus motivated, 1978 saw CWO Faulkner commence a sequence of senior ‘trail blazing’ leadership appointments, each lasting three years. With each appointment he broke new ground for his Corps, being the first RCEME/LORE CWO to ever fill them.

• First was his appointment as RSM of 2 Service Battalion (2 Svc Bn) in Petawawa (a position previously reserved for Transportation CWOs), thereby becoming the first ever RCEME/LORE member to be appointed RSM of a Svc Bn. As RSM he served two Commanding Officers, one LORE and the other Transportation, successfully adapting his own leadership style to accommodate the desires and leadership styles of these two vastly different personalities. Also, with 2 Svc Bn being part of the Canadian Forces Special Service Force (SSF) brigade which had an airborne/parachute capability mandate, he seized the opportunity to re-acquaint himself with his airborne past. For the first time since 1955 when he transferred from the Infantry back into RCEME, he renewed his jump qualification at 46 years old, and subsequently jumped at every opportunity he got with the 2 Svc Bn soldiers. Additionally, when temporarily serving as the Acting SSF Force Sergeant Major (Force SM) for a six-month period, he accepted all SSF unit offers (including from Combat Arms units) to jump with their soldiers. Interacting with the young soldiers of 2 Svc Bn and the SSF was what he enjoyed the most. His outlook was that by doing so he could demonstrate leadership and maybe encourage others to aspire to senior NCO/NCM leadership positions as well. His re-envigored jumping career would however end abruptly in 1981 (at 49 years old) when he and the SSF Commander were badly injured while jumping together; they missed the drop zone and were instead dropped into the woods. As a consequence, he was not allowed to jump for the rest of his career.
• Second was his appointment as the School CWO (SWO) for the Canadian Forces School of Aerospace and Ordnance Engineering (CFSAOE) at CFB Borden (1981-84). Again, a first for his Corps, with the position previously having been filled by the Combat Arms. He would serve as SWO for two CFSAOE Commandants (LORE and AERE), again having to adapt to two contrasting leadership styles; one Army and the other Air Force. Note that in 1970 the CF Aircraft Trade School (CFATS) and the RCEME School from Barryfield in Kingston, were joined together to form CFSAOE at CFB Borden. So, although there had been many RCEME WO1 who had served as RSM of the RCEME School in Kingston, CWO Faulkner was the first of the Corps to fill the role post amalgamation of the two trades schools. Having been a tradesman himself, he was able to easily relate to all Air Force and LORE tradesmen. Recognizing the importance to the young tradesmen (both Air Force and LORE) of having the SWO position of their trades school filled by one of ‘their own’, he lobbied the School’s Sr NCOs (both LORE and Air Force) to expand their career aspirations beyond the trades environment to include senior leadership positions such as the SWO position if given the chance. To this end, he was successful in having himself replaced by an Air Force CWO.
• Finally, he ended his career leading with another Corps first, when in 1984 he became the first RCEME/LORE CWO to ever be appointed to a Command CWO (CCWO) position. He served three years (1984-87) as CCWO of the Canadian Forces (CF) Training System (CFTS) Command, one that comprised personnel from all the environmental elements’ (Army, Navy and Air Force) training establishments from coast to coast. This included the Airborne Centre in Edmonton, where, when asked by the Centre, he gladly accepted the honour of pinning on the new jump wings on the CF’s new crop of soldiers completing parachute training.

By achieving such senior leadership appointments, CWO Faulkner set the seal on his reputation as a trailblazer within the RCEME/LORE Corps. He successfully brought his soldierly character and leadership qualities to bear in appointments never before held by a RCEME/LORE CWOs. And in doing so, he set an example of leadership, aspiration, and opportunity for those in the Corps who followed. He had demonstrated that through determination, perseverance, and strong leadership focused on the well-being of your soldiers, you could make a lasting difference in the lives of so many military personnel, while at the same time pushing your own career to its fullest. In 1985 CWO Faulkner was appointed as a ‘Member’ of the Order of Military Merit (MMM). He retired on 5 April 1988.

In retirement, he continued to lead in his community and remain connected to his military brethren. Activities in retirement included:

• Supplementary Ready Reserve (SRR).
  Was a member of the SRR for 5 years following retirement (55-60), with his mobilization role being to serve in the recruiting center in Victoria.
• Represented RCEME on a formal visit to Korea.
  Visited KOREA as part of the Canadian Contingent, on Col Murry Johnson’s request to represent RCEME, although his Korean War service was with the infantry.
• Represented the RCR on a formal visit to Korea.
  Was invited to KOREA again by the ROK Army and Government of South Korea as part of another Canadian Contingent, but on this occasion, he represented the RCR (the unit with whom he served in Korea).
• Korean Veterans Association (KVA).
  He founded the KVA for Nanaimo and surrounding area. He served as its first President, laying the KVA wreath each Remembrance parade. He paraded with the KVA until it shut down due to the advanced age of all its members.
• Royal Canadian Legion, RCEME Association, RCR Association.
  He was an active member of each throughout his career and into retirement.
• Masonic Lodge.
  He was an active member of the Masonic Lodge throughout his entire life – having joined while posted to Iserlohn Germany in 1968.
• Helped Korean Veterans (and other veterans) with disability claims.
  He took it upon himself in retirement to help veterans (vets) from all Regiments/Corps (some WWII, but predominately KOREAN War Vets), attain disability pensions through Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC). Through the KVA and Legion he had met numerous veterans who were not aware of their entitlements, several suffering from PTSD later in life as he himself was from his traumatic experience in Korea. So, true to character, Lee wanted to continue helping his fellow soldiers. He had also had experience dealing with VAC helping soldiers with claims while serving in his senior CF appointments. He himself qualified for 110% disability pension and thus knew the system intimately and how it worked. He was able to convince some who had become recluses to start socializing at the Legion and to join the KVA. He made it his unofficial past time to sit down with all who wanted to, and help them submit applications to VAC, and subsequently follow up with helping them challenge decisions where needed. Everyone who Lee helped ended up receiving something in the end, with the tax-free disability benefit making a meaningful financial difference for many veterans.

Throughout his 38 years of distinguished service in war and peace, CWO Ellory Morton Faulkner exemplified his Corps’ motto, Arte et Marte, the waging of war by skill and by fighting, whether a service support skill or a combat arms fighting skill, each a skill together comprising the profession of arms.