Byng Boys veterans club calls it quits

One of the oldest veterans groups in the country held its final meeting Tuesday night at the Union Club in Saint John.

The Byng Boys started in 1919 after the First World War, and were named after Sir Julian Byng, commander of the Canadianarmy at Vimy Ridgeand later a governor general.Club member George Pridham said thatin those days there was a special requirement for membership.

"Originally, to be a Byng Boy you had to be carried off the field of battle, and as it turned out, basically I was the only one in the Byng Boys that really qualified, because I had my leg shot off and left in the aircraft, and the Dutch carried me off the field of battle."

Pridham said after the Second World War the rules changed, onlyrequiring members to have seen active service.

"To be a Byng Boy you had to be in action. Just being in uniform didn't mean you could get into it.We always had a great esprit de corps, because we all went through the same thing."

The club is folding because they're all getting older, said Pridham,and they wanted to call it quits while they could still attend meetings, like the one Tuesday night filled with toasts and camera flashes.

Byng Boy Rex Fendick said it wasa fitting way to end 88 years as a club.

"This is our last meeting, our last party, because there are too few members left to keep the Byng Boys alive anymore. It's not practical any longer," he said.

Today most of the Byng Boys are in their 80s or older.

Club member Ron Cotterill said they knew this day was coming.

"I have a list here of Byng Boys, and it's a 1992 mailing list, and since then at least 30 of them have died."

The Byng Boys as a club may be no more, but Pridham said the bond these men share will remain.

"We're all gonna die, and when one of us dies, the rest will be there to do an honour guard, as long as there's a Byng Boy," he said. "And if anybody ever says, 'What are you proud of?' One of the first things I'd say is, 'Being a Byng Boy.' "