Mississauga, Ontario
Mr. Budden is a Canadian Armed Forces Veteran. He is past president of the Toronto Branch of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada Association, currently serving as the 1st Vice-President and Health & Welfare Chairman. Following his first tour of Normandy and northwest Europe in 1974, Mr. Budden began organizing tours to Normandy, Belgium and the Netherlands for First and Second World War Veterans. He arranged for the Westlake Brothers Souvenir Association in Normandy, France, to visit and participate in commemorative activities in Toronto. Mr. Budden is also involved in a wide range of other Veteran-related activities, including assisting Veterans with benefit entitlements and driving them to ceremonies. He helps to prepare those being interviewed by the History Channel or Memory Project. He regularly visits residents at Sunnybrook Hospital and other long-term care facilities. As a member of the Royal Canadian Legion, Mr. Budden participates in ‘The Living History’ at Branch 258, which helps to initiate new Canadian citizens, and he is actively involved in the annual Poppy Fund drive. Mr. Budden serves as one of the Parade Marshalls at the Annual Warrior’s Day Parade at the Canadian National Exhibition. As an amputee himself, he has been very supportive to other amputees at St. John’s Rehabilitation Hospital and, on occasion, to those injured in Afghanistan. Mr. Budden is a recipient of the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medals.