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Charles Curley

A Navy veteran in Windsor. He serves in the colour guard of the Royal Canadian Naval Association, Windsor, and stands vigil guard at Remembrance ceremonies.

Charles Curley, left, in a dark naval-style ceremonial uniform and a white sailor cap with the tally R.C.N.A. WINDSOR and a name badge reading CURLEY. Another man in a brown historical uniform stands to his right. Other people are in the background.
Charles Curley, left, in the ceremonial uniform of the Royal Canadian Naval Association, Windsor. The cap tally reads R.C.N.A. WINDSOR, and the name badge reads CURLEY. Posted publicly on his Facebook profile on 10 November 2023. The other people in the photograph are not named here. Photo: Charles Curley, via Facebook.

Colour guard and Remembrance ceremonies

Charles Curley's public Facebook profile lists him in the colour guard of the Royal Canadian Naval Association from 7 April 2019 to the present.fb-about Photographs he posted publicly on 8 November 2022 and 10 November 2023 show him in that association's ceremonial uniform, including the cap tally R.C.N.A. WINDSOR.fb-2023fb-2022-monument

The Windsor branch is the Admiral Hose Branch. It erected and maintains the Naval Monument in Dieppe Gardens, on the Detroit River. The monument was dedicated on 4 May 1997 and rededicated on 6 May 2018.city-monument

A photograph he posted publicly on 8 November 2022 shows him at that monument in ceremonial uniform, his head bowed and his hands on a rifle held in front of him. Other members of a ceremonial party stand nearby and are not named here.fb-2022-monument The editor of Windsor News, who knows him, says he serves as a vigil guard at Remembrance ceremonies, the kind of watch in which sentries stand silent for hours.editor This desk has not found a published program that names him in that role, or that states the length of the watch.

Charles Curley in a dark naval-style ceremonial uniform and a white sailor cap, standing at the Naval Monument in Dieppe Gardens with his head bowed and his hands on a rifle. A Canadian flag flies behind the monument.
Charles Curley at the Naval Monument in Dieppe Gardens, Windsor, in ceremonial uniform, his head bowed and his hands on a rifle. Posted publicly on his Facebook profile on 8 November 2022. The image is a crop from that public post, and it is lower in resolution than the 2023 photograph. Other people in the picture are not named. Photo: Charles Curley, via Facebook.

On 4 May 2025 the Battle of the Atlantic ceremony was held at the same monument. A Windsor Star photograph caption, published the next day, identifies "Retired master sailor Chuck Curley" standing in remembrance at that ceremony. The newspaper uses the name Chuck. The Star photograph is not used on this page.star-curley

Service

The editor of Windsor News knows Charles Curley and records that he served in the Navy himself.editor The Windsor Star caption describes Chuck Curley as a retired master sailor. Master sailor is a Royal Canadian Navy rank. The caption does not give the ships he served in, his years of service, or his trade, and this desk has not seen a service file. Those details are not recorded here.star-curley

His public Facebook About page lists "Works at Canadian Forces," with no dates, branch, rank, or trade. That listing is not treated here as a record of current service.fb-about

Source and rights

The photographs on this page are cropped from photographs Charles Curley posted publicly on his Facebook profile. The original image files were not available, so the images used here were cropped from public screenshots of those posts, with the Facebook page chrome removed. Credit: Photo: Charles Curley, via Facebook. He is a living veteran. This profile uses his own public posts, a published newspaper caption for facts only, and the editor's personal knowledge. It does not claim a ship, a service year, or a trade beyond what those sources state. The 2025 Windsor Star photograph by Madeline Mazak is not published here. If he objects to this page or to the use of his photographs, the page will be taken down.

Back to The Navy from Windsor and Essex County

Notes

  1. Charles Curley, Facebook profile, https://www.facebook.com/ccurleyca, About, Work, read 11 November 2026 from public and visible profile pages. Exact listings: "Works at Canadian Forces," no dates, branch, rank, or trade; "Colour Guard at Royal Canadian Naval Association," "April 7, 2019 - Present." The colour-guard date is an association-role date, not a stated Navy enlistment date. The same About page also lists "Works at South Western Ontario Veterans Group," "April 13, 2019 - Present," described as "South Western Ontario Veterans Group. Veteran Motorcyclists and others," and "Lancaster Crew at Canadian Aviation Museum," "2008 - Present." Those two listings are recorded here as context only. The museum listing is not treated as wartime air-force service. Education listings, "Studied at St. Clair College" and "Went to General Amherst High School," give no dates and no military education.
  2. Charles Curley, public Facebook photograph, 10 November 2023, https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10161488236603417, labelled "Shared with Public." No author caption was shown. Visual observations only: dark naval-style ceremonial uniform, white sailor cap, white belt and gloves, poppy and medal; cap tally "R.C.N.A. WINDSOR"; name badge "CURLEY." The photograph also shows another man in a brown historical uniform and other bystanders, who are not identified here. The post date is the date Facebook displayed for the upload, not a verified date the picture was taken.
  3. Charles Curley, public Facebook photograph, 8 November 2022, https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10160626428878417, labelled "Shared with Public." No author caption was shown. The setting is the Naval Monument in Dieppe Gardens, Windsor, identified from the monument's granite form, anchor, inscriptions to the Royal Canadian Navy and the Merchant Navy, the Canadian flag, and the riverfront. He is shown with his head bowed and his hands on a rifle held in front of him. Other people in ceremonial dress appear at the edges of the frame and are not named. The image, as captured from the public post, is lower in resolution than the 2023 photograph. A separate public photograph posted the same day, https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10160626432663417, shows a ceremonial firing party in naval-style uniforms. That group photograph is not used on this page, and the people in it are not identified here.
  4. City of Windsor, "The Naval Monument," https://www.citywindsor.ca/residents/Culture/Monuments/The-Naval-Monument, retrieved 11 November 2026. The page credits the Royal Canadian Naval Association, Admiral Hose Branch, Windsor, and records that the monument was dedicated 4 May 1997 and rededicated 6 May 2018. A small bronze plaque quoted there reads: "The Naval Monument Erected and maintained by The Royal Canadian Naval Association Admiral Hose Branch Windsor Dedicated May 4, 1997 Rededicated May 6, 2018."
  5. Kyle Stewart, editor-in-chief of Windsor News, personal knowledge, 11 November 2026. He knows Charles Curley and said that Curley served in the Navy himself, and that "he does the soldier guard, ceremony where they stand silent for hours," understood here as a vigil guard at Remembrance ceremonies. Curley was not contacted for this profile, at the editor's choice. The editor's account is used for the fact of Navy service and for the vigil-guard role. It is not used to supply ships, years, rank, or trade.
  6. Madeline Mazak, "'Sign of respect.' Windsor remembers Battle of the Atlantic sacrifices," Windsor Star, published 5 May 2025, https://windsorstar.com/news/sign-of-respect-windsor-commemorates-battle-of-the-atlantic-sacrifices/, retrieved 11 November 2026 for facts only. The article covers the 4 May 2025 Battle of the Atlantic ceremony at the Naval Monument in Dieppe Gardens (the article also says Dieppe Park). A photograph caption in the article reads: "Retired master sailor Chuck Curley stands in remembrance at a ceremony held in Windsor on Sunday, May 4, 2025, to honour the 80th anniversary of the end of the Battle of the Atlantic." Credit on that caption: Madeline Mazak / Windsor Star. The caption is the only mention of Curley in the article. It does not give ships, years of service, or a trade. The Star photograph is not published on this page.