The Royal Canadian Regiment

Rules for Officers' Messes; 1927

1.     Conduct.

Officers' Messes shall be conducted wholly in accordance with the provisions of The Kings' Regulations and orders for the Canadian Militia.

Officers are not permitted to bring official books or documents into the ante-room or mess-room, nor to discuss matters of professional routine therein.

2.     Membership.

(i)     The membership of the Mess shall comprise:-

(ii)     All Officers of the Regiment on the Active List shall be Permanent Members.

(iii)     Officers attached to the Regiment for duty or for instruction shall be Temporary Members during the period of such attachment.

(iv)     Gentlemen honourably retired retired from a permanent commission in the Regiment, and serving officers of the Royal Canadian Navy, of the Canadian Permanent Force and of the Royal Canadian Air Force shall be ipso facto Honorary Members and, subject to the approval of the Commanding Officer, shall be eligible for Privileged Membership.

(v)     Gentlemen not herein specified may, subject to the approval of the Commanding Officer, be elected Honorary Members by a majority vote of the Permanent Members present at a Mess Meeting.

(vi)     Temporary Members, Privileged Members and Honorary Members shall have no voice in the management of the Mess, nor shall Temporary members and Honorary Members be permitted to introduce guests.

(vii)     Subject to the approval of the Commanding Officer, the Mess Committee may extend the privileges of the Mess to visiting officers of H.M. Imperial Forces, naval, Military or Air, for the period of their stay.

3.     Subscriptions.

(i)     Every officer on joining the Regiment shall pay an entrance fee to the Mess at Regimental Headquarters equal to 30 days' pay of his rank, and on the occasion of each substantive promotion shall pay a further fee equal to thirty times the difference between the minimum daily rate of pay drawn in the rank from which he is promoted and the minimum daily rate of pay of his new rank.

(ii)     Every Permanent Member, not seconded or on command from the Regiment, shall pay in addition a monthly subscription to the Mess at his own station according to the following scale if a dining member, and at half those rates if a non-dining member:

(iii)     Subscriptions under (i) may be paid in ten equal monthly installments if the officer so desires.

(iv)     All subscriptions under (I) and (ii) shall be paid into the Capital account.

(v)     Temporary Members shall not be liable fro the payment of subscriptions under (i) and (ii) but shall be required to pay Table Money at the rate of 25 cents per day, and, in addition, to pay their share of the replacement of breakages not to exceed 50 cents per month.

4.     Management.

(i)     The affairs of the Mess shall be conducted by a Committee of not more than three officers, comprising the President, a Secretary and a Treasurer, or the President and a Secretary-Treasurer. The President shall not be below the substantive rank of Captain.

(ii)     The Committee shall be elected quarterly at a general meeting of the Mess, subject to the approval of the Commanding Officer. Should a vacancy occur in the Committee it will be filled until the next quarterly meeting by the nomination of the Commanding Officer.

(iii)     The President of the Mess Committee shall be responsible to the Commanding Officer in all matter concerning the discipline, efficiency, economy and finance of the Mess. He shall preside at all meetings, and shall direct the duties of the Secretary, the Treasurer and the employees of the Mess.

(iv)     The Secretary shall keep a Minute Book, in which he shall record the minutes of all meetings.

He shall maintain a complete list of Honorary Members.

He shall assist the president in the discipline and training of the Mess employees and shall be responsible to his for their efficiency and for the proper allotment of duties to them.

He shall be responsible for the care and maintenance of the furniture, plate and other property of the Mess.

He shall arrange for the attendance at dinner of Officers' servants, in turn, to assist the permanent employees of the Mess, and shall have a roster kept for that purpose.

(v)     The Treasurer shall be responsible for the payment monthly of all tradesmen's accounts and for ensuring their accuracy beforehand.

He shall be responsible for the preparation and accuracy of all accounts against members of the Mess and for their prompt issue to the members concerned as provided by K. R. & O., and on the eighth day of each month shall submit to the President, for transmission to the Commanding Officer, a list of those members who have failed to comply with those provisions.

He shall keep an inventory, constantly revised in accordance with all changes, of the property of the Mess; also a similar inventory of the stock on hand of wines, tobaccos, etc. On every occasion of a change of treasurers, these inventories shall be checked by and handed over to the incoming Treasurer.

He shall prepare and submit to the President, for transmission to the Commanding Officer, a monthly balance sheet of receipts and expenditures and of assets and liabilities.

He shall be responsible for the maintenance and accuracy of the Daily Charges Book, which shall be kept in the Mess office, and in which shall be entered daily all charges against the members of the Mess except those for messing.

5.     Meetings.

(i)     A general meeting shall be held quarterly on or about the fifteenth day of march, June, September and December, at which shall be held the election of the Committee for the quarter commencing on the first day of the month following, and to which shall be submitted the financial statement of the mess for the information and audit of those present.

(ii)     A general meeting may be called at any other time by the Commanding Officer, or by the Committee, with his approval.

6.     Expenditure.

The Committee is authorized to carry out all current expenditure for general maintenance and minor repairs. Extensive repairs, alterations and new purchases, and all charges against Capitol account, considered necessary or desirable by the Committee, must be submitted to a general meeting for its approval of the necessary expenditure. In any case of doubt the matter will be submitted to a general meeting.

7.     Complaints and Suggestions.

(i)     All complaints and suggestions regarding the messing, the management of the Mess of the conduct of ts employees must be made to a member of the Committee.

(ii)     An officer, not a member of the Committee, must in no circumstances reprimand an employee of the Mess in respect of his duties as such.

(iii)     A "Suggestion Book," so marked, will be kept in the Mess, in a place accessible to all officers, wherein officers may enter any suggestions or complaints they may wish to make.

8.     Entertainment.

(i)     "Guest Nights" may be held at any time with the approval of the Commanding Officer and the concurrence of a majority of the Permanent Members. On those occasions each officer will bear the whole cost of entertaining his private guest or guests, and the cost of entertaining guests invited regimentally shall be divided among all Permanent Members, except those absent on duty, proportionately to their respective rates of pay.

(ii)     Other entertainments may be held with the approval of the Commanding Officer and the concurrence of a majority of the Permanent Members. The cost of such entertainments shall be divided among those officers only who signify their wish to participate, in shares proportionate to their respective rates of pay.

(iii)     Tickets covering the cost of entertaining strangers calling on the Mess, or invited on behalf of the Mess, will be marked "Mess Guests" by the senior officer present. The cost of such entertainment shall be equally divided among all Permanent Members.

(iv)     "Treating" among or between officers in the Mess is prohibited.

9.     Mess Property.

(i)     No article of Mess property is to be removed from the Mess premises without the consent of a member of the Committee.

(ii)     Any article of Mess property willfully or carelessly destroyed or damaged by an officer shall be replaced or repaired wholly at his expense.

(iii)     If in the opinion of the Committee, any article of Mess property is destroyed or damaged by the neglect or carelessness of an employee of the Mess, an amount not exceeding one-half the cost of its replacement may be deducted from his wages.

10.     Meeting.

(i)     Permanent dining Members shall be charged a monthly rate of messing which, for any full month, shall be an equal share of the total cost of messing for the month, and for any less period, a proportionate share thereof.

(ii)     Temporary Members shall be charged a fixed daily rate of messing based on the average daily cost thereof per individual during the preceding three months.

(iii)     Individual meals shall be charged to Members at rates to be fixed from time to time by the Committee.

(iv)     Officers on the sick-list may have meals taken to their rooms by their owns servants. In no other circumstances are meals to or afternoon tea to be taken or sent to officers' rooms.

(v)     An officer absent from the Mess on leave or duty for one full day or longer shall be exempt from payment of messing during that period, provided he has given notice of his absence to the Mess Steward before noon of the day previous to its commencement. Neglect of such notice shall render him liable to the payment of messing for the first day of his absence.

11.     Closing Hour.

Except on guest nights, the Mess shall ordinarily be closed and lights extinguished at 11.00 p.m. An officer who, by the presence of himself or of his guests, keeps the Mess open beyond that hour shall be charged a fee of One Dollar for every hour or fraction thereof, and the amount so collected shall be added to the wages of the employee or employees thus detained. The Mess shall in no circumstances be re-opened once it has been closed.

12.     General Rules.

(i)     Officers are not permitted to bring official books or documents into the ante-room or mess-room, nor to discuss matters of professional routine therein.

(ii)     Caps, sticks, greatcoats, etc., are not to be brought into the ante-room or mess-room, but will be left in the halls.

(iii)     Dogs are not allowed in the ante-room or mess-room. An officer whose dog causes any damage in any part of the Mess premises shall be liable for any cost of replacement or repair.

13.     Cards.

(i)     Bridge shall not be played in the Mess for a higher stake than 25 cents a hundred and a limit of bets in poker shall be 25 cents.

(ii)     Scores shall be entered in the Card Book and shall be credited or charged through the Mess accounts for the same month.

Wolseley Barracks
London, Ontario
1st June, 1927.

 

Appendix

Livery.

The livery of Officers' mess servants is as follows:

Coatee:

Blue coatee cut after the manner of a gentleman's dress coat, the bottom of the skirt to be about three inches above the knee.

A long side edge is down the side pleat at the back. On this three buttons are placed, and, in addition to this, there is a sword flap on the centre of the skirt, the size of this being 11 inches long by 2 inches wide. The outline is shewn on diagram on file at Regimental Headquarters.

The front may be fastened across with a pair of links, which are made by fastening two buttons together with a split ring.

The number of buttons required, including the two with split rings are 29 large, 4 small for the cuffs, all Regimental, the cuffs 3 inches deep of same material as the coatee, i.e., blue.

The top collar of coatee to be scarlet, the cloth coat to be made of blue material.

Waistcoat:

The waistcoat to be of scarlet cloth (the same as collar of the coatee) and cut with long roll collar with four buttons and two pockets.

Pro Patria

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