Chris Ahern – Canadian Bugler

History at College 

Chris attended Maritzburg College, starting in 2nd Form in 1986 and matriculated in 1990, with Mr.  Dudley Forde as Headmaster. During that time, Chris was very involved in the cadet band, starting on the bugle and then moving on to the trumpet. The cadet band, run by Mr. Hugh Tarboton, represented the school at various events and participated in an annual Natal Cadet Band competition as well as the annual College Cadet Review.  

Cadet band players were called upon to play at Flag Raising, a ceremony held every Tuesday morning before school in front of Clark House. We played in assemblies, churches, funerals, Remembrance Days and even on the hill of Isandlawana as part of a production commemorating the Battle of Isandlawana. 

In 1989, Chris was promoted to drum major and led the College Band in a parade through the streets of  Pietermaritzburg. As drum major, during the annual Cadet Review, he had the responsibility of leading the band and calling parade commands for B and C companies. In addition to the full band competing in the Natal Cadet Band competition, Chris competed individually in 1989 as a trumpeter and was awarded first place, earning the certificate of “Best Trumpeter in Natal”, for which he received Honours for representing College on a provincial level. 

Chris went on to play as a volunteer in the Natal Carbineers Band under the direction of Mr. George  Jefferson, while attending university.

British Columbia Regiment Battlefield Tour 2023 

Chris moved to Vancouver in 2002. He joined the British Columbia Regiment Band that year as a volunteer and has played trumpet with the band continuously since then. In 2017, he was appointed as the Bugle Major for the BC Regiment, with the responsibility of sounding the Last Post, Reveille and other bugle calls at the various functions of the Regiment. 

In 2023, he was asked to join the Regiment on a Battlefield Tour of prominent WWI and WWII Canadian  battlefields in Europe. This was a tremendous honour and privilege, sounding the Last Post at several  sites in Belgium and France, including Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele, Beaumont-Hamel (Battle of the  Somme) and Juno Beach.

 

FROM THE DESK OF THE REGIMENTAL SECRETARY

KING CHARLES III CORONATION MEDAL PRESENTATION

TERRY BEECH, MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT &

MINISTER OF CITIZENS’ SERVICES OF CANADA

BURNABY, B.C.

7 FEBRUARY 2025

The Regimental Family is pleased to announce that Bugle Major Chris Ahern, of The British Columbia Regiment Band Society, has been presented with the King Charles III Coronation Medal by Terry Beech, Member of Parliament, Burnaby North-Seymour, in a brief ceremony held on Friday afternoon in the Minister’s Constituency Office on Hastings Street in Burnaby.  Also in attendance were the Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regiment and Band Governor, Bill Diamond, and the Regimental Secretary, former Honorary Colonel Ted Hawthorne.  

On behalf of the Regimental Family, congratulations Bugle Major Ahern on receiving this well-deserved recognition.  Thank you for your service and dedication to the community and to the Regimental Family!

Up the Dukes!