VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – It’s a bittersweet day for the Seaforth Highlanders family.

Over 100 soldiers dressed in combat uniforms took part in a ceremonial March Out of the Armoury as the Regiment heads to its temporary new home at Jericho Garrison. This is the first time that troops will depart their home on Burrard Street since 1936 as the Armoury undergoes construction for seismic upgrades.

Colonel David Fairweather joined the regiment in December of 1939 and marched out the same doors 71 years ago to head out to battle in World War II. He says it was an emotional time then, just as it is now.

“It’s leaving home. It’s a sad thing to do, however what they’re going to do…we’ll come back to a better Armoury.”

Captain Rob MacDonald says the people in his troop were like his family, and the Armoury was like his home.

“What it has always meant to me, where ever you’ve been overseas — whether you’re on course or on operational service — you knew at the back of your mind, that this place was waiting for you,” he explains. “There was a fire in the fireplace and you’d be able to get back, you hoped to get back there again.”

The Armoury upgrades are expected to last three years.