The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. The regiment is part of 33 Canadian Brigade Group, one of four brigade groups of 4th Canadian Division. The regimental headquarters and one company (A Company, Assoro Company) are at 187 Pinnacle Street in Belleville and on Willmott Street in Cobourg, with another rifle company in Peterborough. The Peterborough Armoury houses what was traditionally B Company or Moro Company. Moro Company also serves as the headquarters for the regiment’s Assault Pioneer Platoon. Normally, the regiment deploys as a composite, Ortona Company, while the headquarters and administration form Somme Company.

In 2017, the Canadian Army assigned the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment the mission task to raise, train, and maintain the assault pioneer combat support capability within the 4th Canadian Division. Since taking on the task, the regiment has trained more assault pioneers than any other unit outside of the Canadian Army’s Combat Training Centre. Hasty P assault pioneers have deployed on training exercises with the 3rd Battalion, the Royal Canadian Regiment and overseas on Operation Unifier.

The commanding officer is Lieutenant-Colonel Angelo Manzara, who took over from Lieutenant-Colonel Marc Gallant on 11 May 2023. Commanding officers normally hold the position for a term of three years. The regimental sergeant major is Chief Warrant Officer Roderick McNeil. The colonel-in-chief is Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, who visited the regiment in June 2005 and received a guard of honour from the regiment during his visit to Old Fort Henry in Kingston in June 2008.

Lineage

<gallery>

File:Hast and PER regt colour.jpg|The regimental colour of the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment.

File:Hast and PER camp flag.jpg|The camp flag of The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment.

</gallery>

9th Anti-Tank Regiment (Self-Propelled) (Argyll Light Infantry), RCA

  • Originated 16 January 1863 in Belleville, Ontario as the 15th Battalion Volunteer Militia (Infantry) Canada
  • Redesignated 2 June 1871 as the 15th Battalion or the Argyll Light Infantry
  • Redesignated 8 May 1900 as the 15th Regiment Argyll Light Infantry
  • Redesignated 12 March 1920 The Argyll Light Infantry
  • Redesignated 15 December 1936 as The Argyll Light Infantry (Tank)
  • Redesignated 7 November 1940 as The (Reserve) Argyll Light Infantry (Tank)
  • Amalgamated 1 April 1946 with the 44th (Reserve) Field Regiment, RCA, converted to artillery, and redesignated as the 9th Anti-Tank Regiment (Self-Propelled) (Argyll Light Infantry), RCA
  • Amalgamated 1 September 1954 with the 34th Anti-Tank Battery (Self Propelled), RCA, The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment and The Midland Regiment, converted to infantry, and redesignated as The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment.

The 44th (Reserve) Field Regiment, RCA

  • Originated 1 June 1905 in Gananoque, Ontario, as the 9th Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery
  • Redesignated 1 July 1925 as the 9th Field Brigade, Canadian Artillery
  • Redesignated 3 June 1935 as the 9th Field Brigade, RCA
  • Redesignated 7 November 1940 as the 9th (Reserve) Field Brigade, RCA
  • Redesignated 24 June 1942 as the 44th (Reserve) Field Regiment, RCA
  • Amalgamated 1 April 1946 with The (Reserve) Argyll Light Infantry (Tank)
  • Originated 5 October 1866 in Cobourg, Ontario, as the 40th Northumberland Battalion of Infantry
  • Redesignated 8 May 1900 as the 40th Northumberland Regiment
  • Redesignated 7 November 1940 as the 2nd (Reserve) Battalion, The Midland Regiment (Northumberland and Durham)
  • Redesignated 1 June 1945 as The Midland Regiment (Northumberland and Durham)
  • Redesignated 1 April 1946 as The Midland Regiment
  • Amalgamated 1 September 1954 with the 9th Anti-Tank Regiment (Self Propelled), RCA, 34th Anti-Tank Battery (Self Propelled), RCA and The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment.

Perpetuations

War of 1812

Prior to the War of 1812 Upper Canada passed the Militia Act of 1808 in anticipation of threats coming from the Americans.

  • 1st Regiment of Durham Militia
  • 1st Regiment of Hastings Militia
  • 1st Regiment of Northumberland Militia
  • 1st Regiment of Prince Edward Militia

Great War

  • 9th Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery, CEF
  • 39th Battalion, CEF
  • 80th Battalion, CEF
  • 136th Battalion (Durham), CEF
  • 139th Battalion (Northumberland), CEF
  • 155th Battalion (Quinte), CEF
  • 254th Battalion (Quinte's Own), CEF

Alliances

  • – The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires)

Battle honours

In the list below, battle honours in capitals were awarded for participation in large operations and campaigns, while those in lowercase indicate honours granted for more specific battles. Those battle honours followed by a "+" are emblazoned on the regimental guidon.<gallery>

File:Hast and PER regt colour.jpg|The regimental colour of the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment.

</gallery>

War of 1812

Honorary distinction:

  • The non-emblazonable honorary distinction DEFENCE OF CANADA - 1812-1815 - DÉFENSE DU CANADA

North-West Rebellion

Second World War

  • 9–12 July 1943
  • Grammichele 15 July 1943
  • Valguarnera 17–19 July 1943
  • Assoro 20–22 July 1943+
  • Agira 24–28 July 1943
  • 29 July-7 August 1943
  • Regalbuto 29 July-3 August 1943
  • +
  • Landing at Reggio 3 September 1943
  • Motta Montecorvino 1–3 October 1943
  • Campobasso 11–14 October 1943
  • Torella 24–27 October 1943
  • The Moro 5–7 December 1943+
  • San Leonardo 8–9 December 1943
  • The Gully 10–19 December 1943
  • Ortona 20–28 December 1943
  • 11–18 May 1944+
  • Gustav Line 11–18 May 1944
  • 18–30 May 1944
  • Hitler Line 18–24 May 1944+
  • 25 August-22 September 1944+
  • 2–13 September 1944
  • Misano Ridge
  • Bulgaria Village 13–14 September 1944
  • 14–21 September 1944+
  • San Fortunato 18–20 September 1944+
  • Naviglio Canal 12–15 December 1944
  • Fosso Vecchio 16–18 December 1944
  • +
  • Apeldoorn 11–17 April 1945
  • +

Notable soldiers

  • Sir Mackenzie Bowell: the fifth prime minister of Canada, served during the Fenian raids as a captain with the 15th Argyll Light Infantry and later retired from a long career with the Canadian Militia in 1874 with the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the 49th (Hastings) Battalion of Rifles (a founding regiment.)
  • Private Harold Joseph Pringle: the only soldier of the Canadian Army to be executed for a service offence during the Second World War and was also the last Canadian soldier to be executed. He was executed by firing squad.
  • Canadian Author Farley Mowat: served as a platoon commander and as the regiment's intelligence officer during the Second World War. He authored four books about the regiment and his experiences during the war: The Regiment, And No Birds Sang, My Fathers' Son and Aftermath. Mowat left with the rank of captain.
  • Lieutenant General Howard Douglas Graham: Commanded the regiment from 1940 to 1941 and was later Chief of the General Staff of the Canadian Army from 1955 to 1958.
  • Golf course architect Geoffrey Cornish served as an officer (retired as major) during the Second World War.
  • Corporal Mark Robert McLaren: served as a member of the regiment from 2002 to 2007 before transferring the Regular Force with the 1st Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment. He was an Afghanistan veteran wounded during the A-10 strike incident which killed Private Mark Graham in 2006. Corporal McLaren was awarded the Medal of Military Valour for his devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy. On 6 November 2008, Corporal McLaren's joint Canadian-Afghan patrol was ambushed in Kandahar Province in Afghanistan. The attack seriously injured his team's Afghan interpreter, paralyzing him and leaving him exposed to further enemy fire. Heedless to the incoming fire, Corporal McLaren crawled 10 metres to his colleague's position, extracted him to a safe location and administered first aid. Corporal McLaren's courage and selfless devotion to his team prevented the interpreter's immediate loss and allowed for his safe evacuation. Corporal McLaren was subsequently killed in action on his second tour on 5 December by an improvised explosive device on his armoured vehicle during a joint patrol with Afghan National Army soldiers in the Arghandab District, west of Kandahar City. A Canadian Coast Guard Hero-class patrol vessel, CCGS Corporal McLaren MMV, will be named after him on commissioning.

Armouries

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:90%;width:100%;border:0px;text-align:left;line-height:150%;"

! style="background: #f2f2f2; color: #000080" width="13%" | Site

! style="background: #f2f2f2; color: #000080" width="12%" | Date(s)

! style="background: #f2f2f2; color: #000080" width="9%" | Designated

! style="background: #f2f2f2; color: #000080" width="12%" | Location

! style="background: #f2f2f2; color: #000080" width="12%" | Province

! style="background: #f2f2f2; color: #000080" width="35%" class="unsortable" | Description

! style="background: #f2f2f2; color: #000080" width="7%" class="unsortable" | Image

|-

|Belleville Armoury, 187 Pinnacle Street

|1907-8

|Canada's Register of Historic Places;1992 Recognized – Register of the Government of Canada Heritage Buildings

|Belleville

|Ontario

|

  • Houses The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment, Regimental Headquarters and one company (A Coy/Assoro Coy)
  • This centrally located, low-pitched gambrel-roofed, stone and brick building features a pair of tall towers.

|

|-

| Peterborough Drill Hall<br />220 Murray Street

| 1907-8 (completed) David Ewart

| 1989 National Historic Sites of Canada; 1990 Classified on the Register of the Government of Canada Heritage Buildings

| Peterborough<br />

|Ontario

|

"Riding a wave of national price and military enthusiasm following the South African War (1899–1902), the Canadian government embarked on a major reform of the nation's defence system. The new program included an expanded and upgraded militia and the construction of new armouries across the country. Recalling a Baronial style fortress in its turrets, arched troop doors and crenellated roof line, this is one of the largest and best designed examples from this period. It is home to the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment of the Canadian Armed Forces (Reserve)."

| 100px|alt=A detail of the exterior of the Peterborough armoury

|-

|Cobourg Armoury,

210 Willmott Street

|

|

|Cobourg

|Ontario

|Houses the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment "C Company" or "Cassino Company", in an industrial mall unit.

|

|}

Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment Museum

The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment Museum is located in the Belleville Armoury in Belleville. The museum preserves the history of the militia, specifically the

Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment, through the collection and preservation of military artifacts and documents of historical significance to the Regiment and its antecedent units.

The museum displays and illustrates in an appropriate manner the dress, weapons, and military equipment, and customs of the Regiment's heritage. It serves as a training medium to teach regimental history and to provide a scholarly basis for those studying the history of the militia, the Regiment and its antecedent units, and their historical significance in the Midland District of Ontario. The museum fosters in the local community an interest and sense of pride in the Regiment and its accomplishments.

The museum focuses on the history of the regiment, its activities in different wars, and the effect on area counties. Exhibits include uniforms, weapons, medals, equipment, photographs, and other military and regimental memorabilia. The museum is open several days a week.

The museum is affiliated with: CMA, CHIN, OMMC and Virtual Museum of Canada.

See also

  • The Canadian Crown and the Canadian Forces
  • Organization of Military Museums of Canada
  • Military history of Canada
  • History of the Canadian Army
  • List of armouries in Canada
  • Canadian Forces

Order of precedence

Notes and references

  • The Regiment (1955) is an account of the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment written by Canadian author Farley Mowat, who served as an officer with the regiment during the Second World War.
  • Duffy's Regiment: A History of the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment by Kenneth B. Smith (14 Dec 2012)
  • Decorations and Awards Received During World War II 1939-1945 By the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment by R.D. Bradford (1986)
  • "And No Birds Sang" (1979) explains Farley Mowat's experiences with the Regiment and the invasion of Sicily.
  • Official website
  • Regimental website
  • The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment Museum