Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry

Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI, generally referred to as the Patricia's) is one of the three Regular Force infantry regiments of the Canadian Army of the Canadian Armed Forces. Formed in 1914, it is named for Princess Patricia of Connaught, daughter of the then-Governor General of Canada. The regiment is composed of three battalions, for a total of 2,000 soldiers. The PPCLI is the main lodger unit of Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Edmonton in Alberta and CFB Shilo in Manitoba, and attached to 3rd Canadian Division; as such, it serves as the "local" regular infantry regiment for much of Western Canada.

The PPCLI is a "British-style" Regiment which serves as the spiritual home and repository of customs and traditions for a number of battalions that do not necessarily serve together operationally. Its three battalions are independent operational entities, within 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (1 CMBG). The regimental title is honorific: two of the battalions are mechanized infantry and the unit has never been organized as a traditional light infantry regiment. The regiment has received 39 battle honours, three Commander-in-Chief Unit Commendations and the United States Presidential Unit Citation. The battalion is made of three rifle companies, a combat support company comprising reconnaissance and signals platoons as well as a sniper group, and an administration company. The current commander is Lieutenant-Colonel C. Petersen, CD and its regimental sergeant-major (RSM) is Chief Warrant Officer B. Worth, CD. The battalion is a mechanized infantry unit of the Regular Force and is part of the 1CMBG. The battalion is composed of three rifle companies (A, B and C), one combat support company, and one command and administration company. Its Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) is Chief Warrant Officer Dunwoody, CD

3rd Battalion

The 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (3PPCLI) is based at Steele Barracks, CFB Edmonton, Alberta. The battalion is a light infantry unit of the Regular Force, and the only one in Western Canada. The battalion is composed of three rifle companies, one combat support company and one combat service support company. 3PPCLI also maintains an airborne and mountain operations capability. The commanding officer (CO) is Lieutenant-Colonel J. Hudson, CD The regimental sergeant major is Chief Warrant Officer K.P. Doerr, CD.

Lineage

File:Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Camp flag.png|Camp flag of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry

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Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry originated in Ottawa, Ontario, on 10 August 1914. The Permanent Active Militia (Regular Force) component was formed on 1 April 1919 and the Canadian Expeditionary Force component of the regiment was disbanded on 30 August 1920.

Following the Second World War on 1 March 1946, the Canadian Active Service Force regiment was disbanded and the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, CIC was redesignated Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, CIC. On 27 June 1946, the regiment was embodied in the post-war Permanent Force (Active Force).

On 7 August 1950, the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, RCIC was authorized to be formed as an Active Force unit embodied in the Special Force. On 1 January 1952, it ceased to be embodied in the Canadian Army Special Force.

On 30 November 1950, the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, RCIC was authorized to be formed as an Active Force unit embodied in the Special Force. On 1 November 1953, it ceased to be embodied in the Canadian Army Special Force. On 8 January 1954, it was reduced to nil strength and the battalion was disbanded on 21 July 1954. On 27 April 1970, the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry was authorized to be formed as a Regular Force unit.

Lineage chart

Perpetuations

On 3 November 1997, the regiment was granted the perpetuation of the 260th Battalion Canadian Rifles, Canadian Expeditionary Force (Siberia).

A sandstone slab memorial at Lansdowne Park is dedicated to the founding of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry at this location in August 1914.

Lieutenant-Colonel Francis D. Farquhar was instrumental in assisting Hamilton Gault in founding the regiment. Colonel Farquhar, Military Secretary to Canada's Governor General, asked the Duke of Connaught for permission to name the regiment after his daughter, Princess Patricia of Connaught. She was pleased to accept this honour and thus Princess Patricia's were established. Princess Patricia, Colonel-in-Chief, designed and made by hand the regimental flag to be presented on that occasion.<gallery>

File:Brigadier Andrew Hamilton Gault statue, Ottawa.jpg|Brigadier Andrew Hamilton Gault statue, near the National Arts Centre in Ottawa

File:Princess Patricia of Connaught.jpg|Princess Patricia of Connaught

</gallery>As a Canadian regiment mobilized in a time of wartime shortages, the regiment was equipped with weapons from a variety of sources. Private soldiers initially carried the Canadian .303 Ross rifle, while officers and non-commissioned officers normally carried the 1914 Colt Canadian-contract .45 M1911 pistol.

The regiment left Ottawa on August 28 and boarded the SS Megantic in Montreal, Quebec. On this date the PPCLI was the only Canadian infantry unit on the battlefield; only the 1st Canadian Medical Corps was there before.

When Farquhar was killed in action at St Eloi on March 20, he was replaced by Lieutenant-Colonel H. Buller, another British regular, who had served with him on the staff of the governor general before the war.

thumb|right|PPCLI at The Battle of Frezenberg

On May 8, the stout defence of Bellewaerde Ridge during the Battle of Frezenberg established the reputation of the Patricias but at tremendous cost. When they came out of the line the 700 men that had started the battle had been reduced to just 150 who were battle ready. The tattered remains were commanded by a lieutenant, all other officers having been killed or wounded. The phrase "holding up the whole damn line" became one of unit's unofficial mottos for the regiment. This action was immortalised in the painting Canadians at Ypres by William Barnes Wollen. the painting is on show with a diorama at the Military Museums in Calgary.

thumb|left|[[Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, inspecting the PPCLI guard of honour, September 1917.]]

The PPCLI served for a year with the 80th Brigade before joining the new 7th Brigade within the 3rd Canadian Division on December 22.

thumb|right|Officers of the PPCLI in Mons, France, November 1918.

During the Battle of Passchendaele Sergeant George Harry Mullin earned the Victoria Cross, the highest honour in the British Empire. When the awarded of his Victoria Cross was announced in the London Gazette on 12 February 1918, his surname was misspelled as "Mackenzie."

On February 4, 1915, Private Guy Dwyer became the Patricias' first combat death of the war.

The last of the Patricias killed in action was likely Corporal Percy Wainwright Carleton on 10 November 1918. In total 1,272 officers and enlisted men of the Patricias were killed and 82 officers and enlisted men were captured during the war.<gallery>

File:Canadians Entering Mons.jpg|The Canadians entering Mons

File:PPCLI CEF.svg|The 3rd Canadian Division CEF distinguishing patch of the PPCLI

</gallery>The 260th Battalion, Canadian Rifles, CEF (Siberia) was authorized on 1 November 1918 in Victoria, B.C. and embarked for Russia on 29 December 1918. It served with the 16th Infantry Brigade as part of the Allied Forces in eastern Russia until 9 May 1919. The battalion was disbanded on 15 November 1920. The service of the 260th Battalion, CEF (Siberia) resulted in Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry being awarded the battle honour .

Between the wars (1918–1939)

On March 20, 1919, the regiment became a component of the Permanent Active Militia.<gallery>

File:Princess Patricia 1.jpg|Princess Patricia inspecting the PPCLI in 1919

File:PPCLIReturnToOttawaMarch1919.jpg|The return of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, Ottawa, March 1919

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Second World War (1939–1945)

World War II began in Europe on September 1, 1939, and the Parliament of Canada declared war between Canada and Germany on September 10, 1939. The same day, the Patricias were mobilized for active service.

On March 13, 1945, the I Canadian Corps was transferred to Northwest Europe where it joined the First Canadian Army and took part in the liberation of the Netherlands. In the end, all the members of the unit, including the officers, became paratroopers; training was completed in the spring of 1949. The 2nd Battalion, PPCLI served in Germany from October 1953 to the fall of 1955, when the 1st Battalion replaced it until the fall of 1957. In the fall of 1963 the 1st Battalion deployed for its second rotation until 1966. The 2nd Battalion returned in July 1984 for four years. In 1994 CFB Lahr in Germany closed, effectively ending the Canadian rotations. The regiment also increased in size when the Canadian government closed 4 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group.

The sculpture Anti-Tank Patrol by André Gauthier was commissioned to mark the 75th anniversary of the regiment in 1989.

The Patricias served in Israel, Golan, Egypt, Lebanon, Kuwait, Iraq, Nigeria, Uganda, Congo, Vietnam, Central America, Angola, Somalia, Rwanda, Korea, Croatia, and Bosnia, for various missions. B Company, 1st Battalion, deployed as part of Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) Battle Group to northwest Bosnia from July 1997 to January 1998. Elements of PPCLI served with Lord Strathcona's Horse during the 1917–1918 winter, and in 1999, the 1st Battalion sent a complete battle group to the Kosovo Force. The battle group also included a reconnaissance squadron from Lord Strathcona's Horse and support elements from the 1 Service Battalion. Other Canadian snipers recorded high hit ratios and some extremely difficult shots, but remain anonymous.<gallery>

File:Canadian soldiers afghanistan.jpg|Soldiers from 3PPCLI in Afghanistan in 2002

File:AnacondaAreaOfOperations.jpg|Map of Anaconda operations

</gallery>On March 13, 2002, Operation Harpoon was launched in parallel of Operation Anaconda, with the goal of eliminating a small pocket of Taliban fighters. A battlegroup built on 1PPCLI deployed in Kandahar from February to July 2006.

The 2nd Battalion, PPCLI, took over from the 3rd Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment (R22eR) in February 2008. Two soldiers of the regiment have been awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest honours of the Commonwealth forces, during World War I.

Battle honours:

Victoria Cross recipients

{| class="wikitable"

! scope=col | Recipient

! scope=col | Location of action

! scope=col | Date of action

| Sergeant George Mullin

| Passchendaele, Belgium

| 30 October 1917

| Sergeant Robert Spall

| Parvillers, France

| 12–13 August 1918

Recognition

Freedom of the city was exercised by the 3rd Battalion in Victoria, British Columbia on June 15, 1974.
The regiment was granted the Freedom of the City of Edmonton, an honour in respect of the centennial of the regiment. This permits the regiment to conduct parades on city streets as of May 22, 2014.

Bands

Instead of a regimental band, PPCLI maintains three drum lines that form the regimental corps of drums, which provides ceremonial musical support. It is the Canadian counterpart to the Corps of Drums of the British Army Royal Logistics Corps, and thus it is an all-percussion unit that occasionally marches with the Royal Canadian Artillery Band. From 1919 to 1994 however, PPCLI did maintain a regimental band. PPCLI's band date back to the First World War when its core band came from the St. Mary's Boys Brigade Band and the 140th New Brunswick Battalion in January 1916. PPCLI Band was formed in 1919 under the guidance of Captain Tommy James and was stationed at Fort Osborne Barracks in Winnipeg. In early 1940s, the 1st Canadian Division Band was largely made up of former PPCLI bandsmen, which provided the basis to be reactivated after the war at Wainwright, Alberta. Due to military budget cuts in 1994, the entire band was disbanded and reduced to a corps of drums. The drum line was inactive due to the Afghanistan War in the early 2000s; however, it was re-formed under the leadership of Sergeant Keith Mooney and Warrant Officer Dave Kennedy in 2014. The process for establishment began in 2012 with the research for drum patterns and sequences. The drum line took part in the regimental Centennial Parade in September 2014.

The Edmonton Police Service pipe band, which was formed in 1914, was dissolved during the First World War, with its musicians being re-augmented to PPCLI and leading the regiment into battle. Members of the pipe band also served as stretcher bearers during the war. As a result of this close history together, the Pipes and Drums of the EPS, which was re-founded in 1961, is the only non-military civilian band within the Commonwealth to wear the badges of three Canadian regiments, with one of these being PPCLI. While serving as a public relations tool for the EPS, it performs alongside the regiment during public events in Edmonton. The band was invited to play at PPCLI's beating retreat ceremony in 1964 and at the regimental trooping the colour in 1967.<gallery>

File:Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry parade with regimental colour, July 1917 - MIKAN 3397740.jpg|PPCLI parading with the pipes and drums at its head, July 1917.

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Traditions

Since March 17, 2007, the regiment's colonel-in-chief is former Governor-General of Canada Adrienne Clarkson. The previous colonel-in-chief was Countess Mountbatten of Burma, herself succeeding Princess Patricia. This is the first time that a person who is not a member of the Canadian Royal Family has been invited to take such a position with the regiment. The new colonel-in-chief took up her appointment at a ceremony on March 17, 2007, at the Regimental Headquarters in Edmonton.

The PPCLI does not have an official motto; however, their unofficial motto, "First In The Field", is based on the fact that they were the first Canadian unit to deploy in the Great War. The regiment also uses another non-official motto, Once a Patricia, Always a Patricia, which reminds that the regimental family includes retired soldiers and officers and those who transferred elsewhere in the Canadian Forces. March 17 is the most important date within the regiment, as it corresponds to Princess Patricia's birthday. May 8 is the anniversary of the 1915 Battle of Frezenberg and is observed by a parade and a church ceremony.

The Countess Mountbatten of Burma 15 June 197417 March 2007
The Rt Hon Adrienne Clarkson 17 March 2007Present

List of colonels of the regiment

Brigadier Andrew Hamilton Gault, OBE, DSO, ED, CD (September 25, 1958 – November 28, 1958)
Major-General Cameron B. Ware, DSO, CD (September 13, 1959 – April 21, 1977)
Major-General George Grenville Brown, CD (April 21, 1977 – July 6, 1983)
Colonel William Benjamin Scott Sutherland, CD (July 6, 1983 – October 14, 1987)
Brigadier-General R. Stuart Graham, CD (October 15, 1987 – October 19, 1990)
Major-General Herbert C. Pitts, MC, CD (October 19, 1990 – July 3, 1994)
Major-General C. William Hewson, CMM, CD (July 3, 1994 – June 24, 2000)
General A.J.G.D. de Chastelain, CC, CMM, CD, CH (June 24, 2000 – June 20, 2003)
Major-General Robert I. Stewart, CMM, CD (June 20, 2003 – August 30, 2006)
Brigadier-General J.E.L. Gollner, OMM, CD, (August 30, 2006 - May 17, 2010)
Lieutenant-General Ray R. Crabbe, CMM, MSC, CD (May 17, 2010 – June 11, 2015)
Major-General W. Brian Vernon, CD (June 11, 2015 – June 15, 2018)
Brigadier-General V.W. Kennedy, OMM, MSM, CD (June 15, 2018 – Present)

The Patrician

The Patrician is a regimental journal first published in May 1933. In 1946, a monthly paper started publishing, but was suspended during the Korean War.

In 1984, in a conversation with the PPCLI Colonel-of-The-Regiment, Colonel William Sutherland, Lieutenant James MacInnis surmised that the PPCLI's founder, Brigadier Hamilton Gault, a former Black Watch officer from the Canadian Militia, may have used the Gaelic term when referring to the flag and Lieutenant MacInnis believed that subsequent soldiers' bastardization of the Gaelic phrase became accepted practice. MacInnis's knowledge came from his own family history. An ancestor, Donald Livingston, son of Anna MacInnis rescued the of the Appin Regiment after their defeat at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Today, the Appin Regiment Colour is displayed in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. The Ric-A-Dam-Doo was hand-sewn by Princess Patricia and presented to the regiment.

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="width: 40em; margin: auto;"

! colspan=2 style="text-align: center;" | The Ric-A-Dam-Doo

| align=center |

The Princess Pat's Battalion

They sailed across the Herring Pond,

They sailed across the Channel too,

And landed there with the Ric-A-Dam-Doo

Dam-Doo, Dam-Doo.

The Bombers of the Princess Pat's

Are scared of naught, excepting rats,

They're full of pep and dynamite too,

They'd never lose the Ric-A-Dam-Doo,

Dam-Doo, Dam-Doo.

Old Hammy Gault, our first PP,

He led this band across the sea,

He'd lose an arm, or leg or two

Before he'd lose the Ric-A-Dam-Doo,

Dam-Doo, Dam-Doo.

And then we came to Sicily.

We leapt ashore with vim and glee.

The Colonel said the Wops are through

Let's chase the Hun with the Ric-A-Dam-Doo,

Dam-Doo, Dam-Doo.

The Ric-A-Dam-Doo, pray what is that?

'Twas made at home by Princess Pat,

It's Red and Gold and Royal Blue,

That's what we call the Ric-A-Dam-Doo,

Dam-Doo, Dam-Doo.

In 2011, Colonel-in-Chief Adrienne Clarkson asked Bryan Adams to write a song to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the PPCLI. Together with his songwriting partner Jim Vallance, they composed the song "Ric-A-Dam-Doo". It was recorded by the wives of the regiment in Edmonton, Alberta, and was released to the public by Universal Records.

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="width: 40em; margin: auto;"

! colspan=2 style="text-align: center;" | "Ric-A-Dam-Doo" (written by Adams / Vallance)

| align=center |

in a foreign field

in a distant land

when our country calls we will be there

hear the battle cry

see the Ric A Dam Doo

it's the flag of freedom in the air

we were glorious, victorious

standing shoulder to shoulder to the end

while the world is turning

keep the home fires burning

until we meet again

o'er stormy seas

however far away

never fear nor fail it's the cross we bear

under crimson and blue

it's the Ric A Dam Doo

singing songs of freedom everywhere

we were glorious, victorious

standing shoulder to shoulder to the end

while the world is turning

keep the home fires burning

until we meet again

under crimson and blue - it's the Ric A Dam Doo

Western Hockey League affiliation

The PPCLI is not directly affiliated with the Western Hockey League, but they are associated through name with the Regina Pats who were formed in 1917 in Regina, Saskatchewan, as a major junior hockey team. The "Patricias" shortened their name to the Regina "Pats" in 1923, and to this day wear the PPCLI patch on their hockey jersey's shoulders. The Regina Pats are the longest lived major junior hockey team in the world.

In popular culture

In the movie "Across the Pacific" (1942), a cashiered U.S. Army officer, played by Humphrey Bogart crosses the border in 1941 and attempts to enlist in the Princess Pats. He is refused, as the regiment expects all its officers to have high moral standards. The character later comments that his rejection "was a *little* on the insulting side".

A soldier of the regiment is interviewed in Max Brooks's zombie novel World War Z.

The character Major Patrick Gordon/Patrick Crawley in Season 2 of Downton Abbey was a member of PPCLI.

The Canadian infantry soldiers in the Afghanistan War-based movie Hyena Road are members of the PPCLI.

In 1968 movie "The Devil's Brigade", Sgt. Patrick O'Neill (played by Jeremy Slate) is wearing P.P.C.L.I. insignia on his shoulder.

In the "Ultimate Soldier Challenge" TV show on History Channel (Season 1, Episode 5), three teams of two soldiers (US Marines, Canadians, and Contractors) are competing in various military tasks. The Canadians (Alex and Andrija) are from the PPCLI.

Freedoms

The regiment has received the Freedom of several locations throughout its history; these include:

1952: Calgary
16 September 1972: Esquimalt.
15 June 1974: Victoria.
1985: Ypres
1985: Ottawa.
1989: Winnipeg.
2011: Kapyong
22 May 2012: Brandon.
10 August 2014: Edmonton.
15 September 2014: Gibbons.

Arms

Order of precedence

Possible specialist Arctic sovereignty role

It has been suggested in a Canadian professional military journal that the regiment's third battalion (3 PPCLI) could be adapted to become a specialized light infantry battalion that is able to deploy parachute infantry and marine infantry company groups to support the protection of Canada's sovereignty in the Arctic.

Notes

References

Other footnotes

Bibliography

External links

Regimental page on Canadian Army site

Regimental veterans association
1914/11/04–1915/10/31
1915/11/01–1916/12/31
1917/01/01–1918/03/31
1918/04/01–1919/01/31