The Brigadier F.M.W. Harvey Building officially opened on 20 October 1996 on the occasion of the move of Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians) from Calgary to Edmonton. Frederick Maurice Watson Harvey earned the Victoria Cross for his conduct on 27 March 1917 in an attack on the village of Guyencourt in France. Harvey later received the Military Cross for his part in the Strathconas charge against German positions near Moreuil Wood on 30 March 1918. The French Government also granted him the Croix de Guerre.
The stone cairn in front of the building has a special connection to all First World War soldiers who trained at Camp Sarcee in Calgary, Alberta. It was constructed from stones which were placed on the side of Signal Hill by soldiers during the First World War to form replicas of their unit badges. The cairn was originally erected by the Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians) Regimental Association at the front entrance to Harvey Barracks in Calgary on 11 November 1984. It was dedicated in the presence of the Colonel of the Regiment, Major-General P.A. Neatby, CD.
