Member of Ceremonial Guard Wounded by Bayonet

[Old Sweat]

A member of the Ceremonial Guard was wounded by his own bayonet when he slipped and fell marching onto the hill. Here's hoping he makes a full and speedy recovery.

This story from the Ottawa Citizen is repoduced under the Fair Dealing provision of the Copyright Act.


Ceremonial guardsman impaled by bayonet in Hill mishap

By ALICJA SIEKIERSKA, The Ottawa CitizenJune 27, 2012 1:05 PM

A member of the Governor General’s Foot Guard was injured at the Changing of the Guards ceremony on Parliament Hill on Wednesday morning. Photo: Devron Gaber


OTTAWA — A member of the Governor General’s Foot Guards was seriously injured during the Changing of the Guards ceremony on Parliament Hill Wednesday morning.

A 20-year-old male suffered a severe stab wound from his rifle-mounted bayonet after falling during the parade. Medics from the Canadian Forces immediately provided first aid to the injured man, applying pressure to his wound until paramedics arrived.

In addition to his wound, paramedics treated the man for severe blood loss. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he is currently in serious, but stable condition.

“It was terrifying,” said a bystander who witnessed the moment when the man fell, at approximately 10:30 a.m. “You could a lot of blood covering the bayonet, and all over the ground where he fell.”

Devron Gaber, from Victoria, B.C., also witnessed the incident.

The man was screaming in pain for several minutes, but went silent once the medics began to treat him, said Gaber. Dozens of tourists remained on the scene, taking photos of the guard while he was wounded on the ground.

The man, who was marching in the last group of guards, had fallen as he was turning by the main gates of Parliament Hill. A few seconds before he fell, another guard had also slipped in the same spot, but managed to recover and continue marching, said Gaber.

Gaber believes both men had slipped on the manhole cover, located in the spot where the guards turn.

“There is a flaw in the ceremony,” said Gaber. “It’s the fact that the guards have to turn on that manhole. With the shoes they wear, several of them were slipping and losing their footing as they turned. It’s dangerous.”

This was only the second Changing of the Guard ceremony of the year. The parade started on June 26, and will be performed daily until Aug. 23.

© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

 

[acen]

Hope he's alright and has a speedy recovery. No matter the context, one never wants to be on the wrong end of a bayonet.

 

[exgunnertdo]

Speedy recovery to him!

I was in CG Band in '91 when they got C7s, and the bayonets were sharp (they were used to the FN)!  I remember in the rehearsals how many nicks they were getting fixing and unfixing bayonets.  One day on parade, one of the guards got the bayonet of the guy next to him in the thigh when he stood at ease (shoulder dressing).  That must have hurt.

 

[eliminator]

Unbelievable! Hope he'll have a speedy recovery. Over the years a few RMC cadets been impaled as they passed out, but this particular incident seems to be pretty serious.

 

[Eye In The Sky]

Speedy recovery to the Guardsman.


*nice of people to stand there and take pictures.  :

 

[eliminator]

Speedy recovery to the Guardsman.


*nice of people to stand there and take pictures.  :

Well, it is a major tourist spectacle and I'm sure there was even a few people who thought is was "part of the act." Just a thought.

 

[Snaketnk]

Also, any military parade I've been on has medics standing by at all times, and they're usually really fast to respond to anything. I'd stand, watch, and take photos too if there were medics there in a few seconds.

 

[medicineman]

Sewed up a guy a few years ago that was stabbed in the back by the dude behind him during a present arms...myself I tore a pocket on a old work dress shirt (didn't iron or starch it well enough - take a lesson here) doing a shoulder arms - better the pocket though than me.

Hope dude is doing better.

MM

 

[Strike]

Also, any military parade I've been on has medics standing by at all times, and they're usually really fast to respond to anything. I'd stand, watch, and take photos too if there were medics there in a few seconds.

Speedy recovery to the soldier.

As to those who would take pictures of another person's suffering, why?  So you could show your friends and get a couple more notches up on the cool factor?  Or maybe try to sell it to the papers for a few bucks?

Maybe it's an age or generation gap.  I didn't think I was THAT old though.

 

[Remius]

It's the herd mentality.  Someone else will take action.  I had to help a blind guy out of the street once.  At least 50 people at the bus stop saw him wander out there.  Not one even bothered to yell out. 

But yes, the medics are always nearby so no doubt they reacted faster than anyone behind the barriers could.

 

[exgunnertdo]

Also, any military parade I've been on has medics standing by at all times, and they're usually really fast to respond to anything.

Yes, always medics on the CG parades.

Well, it is a major tourist spectacle and I'm sure there was even a few people who thought is was "part of the act." Just a thought.

No doubt.  : When I did that gig, there was always great excitement from the crowd when someone thundered in and lots of picture snapping.  This was adults, over 20 years ago, so not the "current" generation. 

 

[Strike]

No doubt.  : When I did that gig, there was always great excitement from the crowd when someone thundered in and lots of picture snapping.  This was adults, over 20 years ago, so not the "current" generation.

That's fine to those ignorant of the CF and anything military, but when there's lots of blood OR we have serving members here saying THEY would ALSO take pictures, I find that just plain ignorant and without tact.  I hope the initial responders made a point of shielding the member's face from the cameras.  Talk about possible issues regarding the privacy act to anyone stupid enough to post any identifying pics on FB, Twitter, etc.

 

[Eye In The Sky]

IMO, not to mention just plain ol common decency too.

My camera wouldn't have been going while some young troop was bleeding and wounded. 

:2c:

 

[Remius]

That's fine to those ignorant of the CF and anything military, but when there's lots of blood OR we have serving members here saying THEY would ALSO take pictures, I find that just plain ignorant and without tact.  I hope the initial responders made a point of shielding the member's face from the cameras.  Talk about possible issues regarding the privacy act to anyone stupid enough to post any identifying pics on FB, Twitter, etc.

Over the years the papers and interweb is littered with photos of guards going down.  It isn't new.  CG while traditional and all that is still a major tourist draw for Ottawa.  There are postcards and photos all over the place (I'm in a few  ;D).  People bring cameras to take pics of the parade.  So there are thousands of cameras on Parliament Hill everyday.  Not saying it's right, just with this digital age it's becoming the norm.

As for the privacy act I don't think anything that happened there violated any privacy issues.

 

[Strike]

Over the years the papers and interweb is littered with photos of guards going down.  It isn't new.  CG while traditional and all that is still a major tourist draw for Ottawa.  There are postcards and photos all over the place (I'm in a few  ;D).  People bring cameras to take pics of the parade.  So there are thousands of cameras on Parliament Hill everyday.  Not saying it's right, just with this digital age it's becoming the norm.

As for the privacy act I don't think anything that happened there violated any privacy issues.

If the member is identified, as are the injuries, then it becomes a privacy issue.

The CF, IAW the Privcay Act, does not release the names of those injured OR the extent of their injuries.  That is up to the member to do.  Obviously, we aren't going to argue that the member was stabbed, but you'll notice that they didn't say how badly he was injured (arteries, soft-tissue damage, etc) and stuck to "serious but stable," all IAW the Privacy Act.

Photos in the papers and online all make a point of NOT showing the member's face, thankfully.  All we need is one yahoo to post their own pics on an open source without the member's approval and they can find themselves in a heap of trouble.

Just a warning to those out there who might find it cool to capture these moments in the future and post online for everyone to see.

 

[bridges]

It's a very unusual situation - people tend to want to take pictures of those, often before common decency and restraint kick in.  A bit boorish, yes, but hardly a surprising element of human nature.  I'm just glad the guy's apparently going to be ok, and hopefully his family doesn't have to see those pictures on the internet somewhere.   

My last year in CG rank-and-file was '90; the rest of the CF had switched to the C7s but we stuck with the FNs for one more season, and I have to say, it was a relief at the time.  Plus, the wooden forestocks occasionally broke with the force of hitting them during drill, which was much-lauded whenever it happened. 

Kudos to the medics in this sit.

 

[Remius]

Except that the member was performing a duty that actually has him in the public eye.  Guardsmen going down have had their pics and faces in papers before and are easily recognisable.  And the people on twitter and facebook talking about it are likely going to be the members of CG.

Taking pics of people in public on public land doing public things is not a violation of the privacy act.

If the CF release details they shouldn't then yes.  But that didn't happen.

 

[Snaketnk]

That's fine to those ignorant of the CF and anything military, but when there's lots of blood OR we have serving members here saying THEY would ALSO take pictures, I find that just plain ignorant and without tact.  I hope the initial responders made a point of shielding the member's face from the cameras.  Talk about possible issues regarding the privacy act to anyone stupid enough to post any identifying pics on FB, Twitter, etc.

If were a bystander behind the barriers and something like this happened; and it was obvious that medical attention was being provided and my interference wouldn't help at all, you're right, I probably would snap couple photos, because it's something notable and in my world, news-worthy at least. I don't see a lack of tact in documenting things I see, as long as I'm causing no harm in any way. I never said anything about publishing the photos, I would never do that. It's in a public place, and what's basically a show. Would you blame people at the Nova Scotia Tattoo if they took pictures of an accident that happened during a performance? It's not so much a "ooh cool" it's a "this is noteable, I want to remember this as it happened." Memory is a fickle thing.

 

[bridges]

I tore a pocket on a old work dress shirt (didn't iron or starch it well enough - take a lesson here) doing a shoulder arms - better the pocket though than me.

Heh heh... ironing/starch as a safety measure...you can never be too careful!  :nod:

 

[Colin Parkinson]

When I was a cadet, apparently one of the kids stuck themselves with a spike bayonet while shouldering arms, ouch...