Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary's)


The Canadian Scottish Regiment is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army based on Vancouver Island in British Columbia.
The regiment is in Victoria, Nanaimo, and Courtenay, British Columbia. It is part of the 3rd Canadian Division's 39 Canadian Brigade Group, which commands all army reserve units in British Columbia. One of four infantry regiments in British Columbia, the Canadian Scottish is the largest reserve unit in Western Canada.
As a light infantry regiment the regiment trains in raids, reconnaissance patrolling, ambushes, amphibious operations and airmobile operations. The unit also trains to meet the realities of the "Three Block War" – warfighting, peacekeeping, and humanitarian support.

General

The Canadian Scottish Regiment is actively involved in sending troops to various Canadian missions around the world.
As of 2012, all members of the regiment who were serving on combat operations with the Canadian Expeditionary Force in Afghanistan have returned home.
Members of The Canadian Scottish Regiment have also been involved in peacekeeping missions; notably in Egypt, Golan Heights, Cyprus, Croatia, Bosnia, and Sierra Leone.
Image:Cpl MetcalfVC.jpg|thumb|right|William Henry Metcalf, VC
Image:William Johnstone Milne.jpg|thumb|William Johnstone Milne, VC
Image:CWPeckVC.jpg|thumb|right|Cyrus Wesley Peck, VC
Image:James C Richardson.jpg|thumb|right|Piper James Cleland Richardson, VC, c. 1914–15.
The regiment originated on 3 September 1912 when the 88th Regiment, Victoria Fusiliers, was authorized. When the 16th Battalion, CEF, was created in 1914, it drew on soldiers from four separate regiments – the 50th Regiment in Victoria, the 72nd Seaforth Highlanders of Canada in Vancouver, the 79th Regiment in Winnipeg, and the 91st Canadian Highlanders in Hamilton. The desire was to not perpetuate specific regimental identities and so the new battalion was simply referred to as "Canadian Scottish".
The 16th Battalion served in the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Canadian Division. Since its early beginnings, the battalion had a high standard of conduct on the battlefield and was commanded by outstanding leaders. One such was Lieutenant General Sir Arthur Currie who rose to command the Canadian Corps during the First World War. Currie was a master tactician whose skills led the Canadians to victory at the Vimy Ridge, the Amiens, and the intense last Hundred Days campaign which ended the Great War.
Four members of the 16th Battalion were awarded the Victoria Cross. Private William Milne single-handedly attacked and destroyed two enemy machine gun nests at Vimy Ridge on 9 April 1917 and was killed the same day. Lance Corporal William Henry Metcalf and Lieutenant Colonel Cyrus Peck MP, won their VC's on the same day: 2 September 1918 during the Canadian Corps capture of the Drocourt-Quéant Line. Piper James Richardson who was just 18 years old when he enlisted, and was killed on October 8, 1916, during the Battle of the Somme shortly after having played his company through No Man's Land. He disappeared in shellfire after going back to retrieve the bagpipes he laid aside to bring back a wounded comrade. Piper James Richardson's Pipes were returned to the regiment in the 2000s after being found on display at a private school in Scotland due to research initiated by Pipe Major Roger McGuire. They were presented to the people of B.C. on November 8, 2006, at a ceremony on the lawn on the Provincial Legislature in Victoria. The pipes are on display in the Canadian Scottish Regimental Museum in the Bay Street armoury.
After the war, the battalion disbanded, and in the 1920 re-organisation of the Militia, in the wake of the work of the Otter Commission, a new regiment was created amalgamating the 50th Regiment and the 88th Regiment Victoria Fusiliers, and named "The Canadian Scottish Regiment". The title "" was appended in 1948 by permission of King George VI and Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood, who had consented to become colonel-in-chief of the regiment in 1930, being also colonel-in-chief of the Royal Scots since 1927, and to whom the Canadian Scottish had been allied in 1927.
The Canadian Scottish were unusual in 1939 in having two battalions on the strength of the Canadian Militia. The 1st Battalion was mobilized for overseas service in 1940 and trained in Debert, Nova Scotia, until August 1941, from where it moved to the United Kingdom as part of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division. On 6 June 1944 C Company was in the first wave ashore in Normandy on Juno Beach, the rest of the battalion following in the second wave. The battalion proceeded to advance a total of six miles inland – farther than any other assault brigade of the British Second Army that day. The regiment went on to earn 17 battle honours, including one for the liberation of Wagenborgen, a Dutch village; this last honour was not awarded until the 1990s.

Lineage

The Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary's)

  • Originated 3 September 1912 in Victoria, British Columbia as the 88th Regiment
  • Amalgamated 12 March 1920 with the 50th Regiment "Gordon Highlanders" and redesignated The Canadian Scottish Regiment
  • Redesignated 7 November 1940 as the 3rd Battalion, The Canadian Scottish Regiment
  • Redesignated 26 March 1942 as the 3rd Battalion, The Canadian Scottish Regiment
  • Redesignated 1 April 1946 as The Canadian Scottish Regiment
  • Redesignated 29 April 1948 as The Canadian Scottish Regiment
  • Amalgamated 31 December 1954 with the 66th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, RCA and the 62nd Anti-Tank Battery, RCA, retaining its designation as The Canadian Scottish Regiment

    The 50th Regiment "Highlanders"

  • Originated 15 August 1913 in Vancouver, British Columbia as an "8 company Highland Regiment of Infantry"
  • Designated 21 November 1913 as the 50th Regiment "Highlanders"
  • Amalgamated 12 March 1920 with the 88th Regiment Victoria Fusiliers

    66th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, RCA

  • Originated 1 August 1930 in Nanaimo, British Columbia as the 2nd Battalion, The Canadian Scottish Regiment
  • Amalgamated 15 December 1936 with "A" Company, 11th Machine Gun Battalion, CMGC, and redesignated as the 2nd Battalion, The Canadian Scottish Regiment
  • Redesignated 7 November 1940 as the 2nd Battalion, The Canadian Scottish Regiment
  • Redesignated 1 January 1941 as the 2nd Battalion, The Canadian Scottish Regiment
  • Redesignated 15 October 1943 as the 2nd Battalion, The Canadian Scottish Regiment
  • Converted 1 April 1946 to artillery and redesignated as the 66th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, RCA
  • Amalgamated 31 December 1954 with The Canadian Scottish Regiment and the 62nd Anti-Tank Battery, RCA

    62nd Anti-Tank Battery (Self-Propelled), RCA

  • Originated 2 February 1920 in Duncan, British Columbia as the 62nd Field Battery, CFA
  • Redesignated 1 July 1925 as the 62nd Field Battery, CA
  • Redesignated 3 June 1935 as the 62nd Field Battery, RCA
  • Redesignated 7 November 1940 as the 62nd Field Battery, RCA
  • Redesignated 1 April 1946 as the 62nd Anti-Tank Battery, RCA
Amalgamated 31 December 1954 with The Canadian Scottish Regiment and the 66th Light Anti-Aircraft
Regiment, RCA

Chart

Perpetuations

There are two English translations of the regiment's Gaelic motto Deas gu cath. Regimental histories and sources close to the regiment itself translate it as "Ready for the Fray" However, the Canadian Forces' Directorate of History and Heritage and the federal government's terminology database translate it as "Ready to sting".

Operational history

The Great War

The 50th Regiment Gordon Highlanders and the 88th Regiment Victoria Fusiliers were placed on active service on 6 August 1914 for local protection duties.
The 16th Battalion, CEF, was authorized on 1 September 1914 and embarked for Britain on 28 September 1914. It disembarked in France on 15 February 1915, where it fought as part of the 3rd Infantry Brigade, 1st Canadian Division in France and Flanders until the end of the war. The battalion was disbanded on 30 August 1920.
The 48th Battalion, CEF, was authorized on 7 November 1914 and embarked for Britain on 1 July 1915, where it was converted to a pioneer battalion and redesignated as the 3rd Canadian Pioneer Battalion, CEF, on 6 January 1916. It disembarked in France on 9 March 1916, where it served as part of the 3rd Canadian Division in France and Flanders until 17 April 1917, when its personnel were absorbed by the Canadian Corps in the field. The battalion was disbanded on 30 August 1920.
The 67th Battalion, CEF, was authorized on 20 April 1915 and embarked for Britain on 1 April 1916 where it was converted to a pioneer battalion and redesignated as the 67th Canadian Battalion, CEF, on 15 May 1916. It disembarked in France on 14 August 1916, where it served as part of the 4th Canadian Division in France and Flanders until 28 April 1917, when its personnel were absorbed by the Canadian Corps in the field. The battalion was disbanded on 30 August 1920.
The 88th Battalion, CEF, was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Britain on 31 May 1916. It provided reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field until 18 July 1916, when its personnel were absorbed by the 30th Reserve Battalion, CEF.
The 103rd Battalion, CEF, was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Britain on 23 July 1916, where it provided reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field until 7 January 1917, when its personnel were absorbed by the 16th Reserve Battalion, CEF. The 88th and 103rd Battalions were disbanded on 1 September 1917.
The 143rd Battalion, CEF, was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Britain on 17 February 1917, where its personnel were absorbed by the 24th Reserve Battalion, CEF, and the Canadian Railway Troops Training Depot on 15 March 1917 to provide reinforcements to the Canadian Corps in the field. The battalion was disbanded on 4 April 1918.