Remarks by Mayor Fennell at the Brampton Cenotaph To Mark the Centenary of the Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry Tuesday, September 9, 2014, at 12:15 p.m. Brampton Cenotaph – City Hall As Mayor of the City of Brampton and on behalf of all citizens of our city it is my honour to welcome you to the hallowed ground of our Cenotaph as we pay tribute to the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry on their 100th Anniversary. The Patricia’s, as they are known, were founded at the onset of the First World War, and were named for Princess Patricia, the daughter of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria and Canada’s then Governor General. On August 11, 1914, the day after authority was granted to form the Regiment its founder Hamilton Gault, with the assistance of Lieutenant-Colonel Francis D. Farquhar, began an aggressive recruitment campaign. Due to the patriotic outpouring following the August, 4 declaration of war, some 3,000 applicants were recruited within eight days, and by August, 19 a full complement of 1,098 had been selected. Lieutenant-Colonel Francis D. Farquhar, DSO, became the first commander of the battalion. The regiments first paraded on August, 23 in Ottawa during which Princess Patricia, as Colonel-in-chief, presented the regimental standard which she had made by hand. The regiment left Ottawa on August, 28 for Montreal, trained at Lévis, and left on September, 27 for Europe with the rest of the first Canadian contingent to fight in what would become the four yearlong bloodbath of the First World War. The Patricias first marched to their place in the trenches on January 6, 1915, lost their first commanding officer at St Eloi in 1915, and established their reputation as a formidable fighting force during the battle of Frezenberg, but with the loss of 500 men in three days. In 1916 the regiment fought major battles at Mount Sorrel and on the Somme. In October 1916 the Regiment got its first Canadian Commander, Lt Col Agar Adamson, and in 1917 the Regiment took part in the Battle of Vimy Ridge and at the bloody battle of Passchendaele. In 1918 the regiment fought at Amiens, Jigsaw Wood and Canal du Nord as part of the great battles of the Hundred Days that ended the war. The 4th Company, PPCLI, entered Mons with other Canadian troops early on November 11, 1918, before the armistice took effect at 11 AM. The Regiment then embarked for Russia on December 29, 1918. It served with the 16th Infantry Brigade as part of the Allied Forces in eastern Russia until 9 May 1919, earning the Patricias the battle honour SIBERIA, 1918-1919. On March 20, 1919, the regiment became a component of the Permanent Active Militia. World War II began in Europe on September, 1st 1939, and the Canadian Parliament declared war between Canada and Germany on September 10, 1939. The same day, the Patricias were mobilized for active service, and sailed from Halifax that December. The regiment spent three and a half years in the United Kingdom, tasked with coastal defense and training. In 1943 they landed in Sicily as part of Operation Husky and won their first battle honours of the Second World War at Leonforte. They later landed and fought in Italy in the Morno River Campaign, in Ortona, at the Hitler Line west of Monte Cassino, during the offensive against Rome, the Gothic Line, and the assaults on San Fortunato and Rimini. In 1945, they were transferred to Northwest Europe and took part in the liberation of the Netherlands, captured the city of Apeldoorn, and, on May 7, 1945, the Patricias were the first allied force to enter Amsterdam. On June 1, 1945, the Patricias entered the campaign against Japan. When on June 25, 1950, the North Koreans invaded South Korea, Canada did not hesitate to respond to this open act of war. The second battalion of the Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry boarded the troop ship on November 25, 1950 bound for Pusan in South Korea, and were the first Canadian Infantry Unit to take part in the war. In the Battle of Kapyong the Patricias held their ground in the face of an enemy of superior numbers, and ultimately delayed the Chinese forces long enough for United Nations forces to withdraw to a new defensive line ultimately saving the capitol city of Seoul from invasion as well as saving the lives of countless United Nations soldiers. As a part of NATO forces in Europe, they served in Germany in peace time, as well as in Cyprus, and in peacekeeping missions in Israel, Golan, Egypt, Lebanon, Kuwait, Iraq, Congo, Vietnam, Central America, Angola, Somalia, Rwanda, Korea, Croatia, Bosnia and Yugoslavia. Most recently, the regiment served with distinction in Afghanistan in numerous major operations hunting the Taliban, working to destroy the infrastructure and bunkers that were being used by the enemy, and operating in Kabul, Kandahar, and Helmand. Canadians were one of the leading combatants and the first fighting in the first Battle of Panjwaii. For their actions in 2006, the 1st Battalion PPCLI Battle Group was given the Commander-in-Chief Unit Commendation from the Governor-General of Canada. This storied and distinguished regiment has served Canada with great distinction for a century, through two World Wars, Korea, numerous UN Peacekeeping Missions, and members of this regiment have won the Victoria Cross for Valour. The Patricias won many battle honours, and sadly, many Patricias have made the ultimate sacrifice for Canada and our allies. As we mark this incredible milestone, we Canadians owe the men and women of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry a debt of thanks so great we will never be able to repay it. Brampton is honoured you have chosen our city as part of your 100th Anniversary celebration and, as Mayor, on behalf of the citizens of Brampton I pay tribute to you this day, I thank you for your service, and I am honoured to recognize the valour and sacrifice of your regiment and its important place in this history of our nation.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 05:05:45 +0000
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