Forces With History #214: 110 Years Old
and full of life
One hundred and ten years ago a regiment was born: Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry was created by Andrew Hamilton Gault, a successful Montreal busninessman. When Germany invaded Belgium in 1914 he followed the earlier example of Lord Strathcona and offered to raise a cavalry regiment to defend the British Empire. His offer of $100,000 was accepted, and the regiment became not cavalry but Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, which today is one of three regular force infantry regiments in the Canadian army.
Gault’s original idea was further modified, and the regiment went on to enlist men who had earlier military training and would thus be able to get into action directly. After a brief recruiting drive during which more than 3,000 men applied, 1,098 became “The Originals.”
Official sponsor of the regiment was Princess Patricia, daughter of Canada’s Governor General the Duke of Connaught. She not only bequeathed the regiment her name, she hand-made their Camp Colour, the Ric-A-Dam-Doo, and presented it to them on August 23, 1914.
Hamilton Gault, as he preferred to be known, had prior military experience in the Canadian Mounted Rifles in the Boer War. Once the Patricias were formed he went overseas with them as a major and second-in-command.
Commanding the Patricias was Lieutenant Colonel Francis Farquhar, who led them into furious action in France. He was killed in on March 20, 1915. On May 7 Gault himself was wounded, and later wounded again in 1916, losing a leg.
The Patricias have gone from strength to strength.
World War I, World War II, Korea, and Afghanistan are the regiment’s major milestones, but there are many others in between. Patricias have been there for Canada, and August 2024 marks their 110th birthday.
I’m happy to confirm that my historical novel THE FORGOTTEN: A Novel of the Korean War will be launched on October 12th 2024 in Surrey, BC. Watch for further announcements! A former member of the Patricia’s has said, “This book is a soldiers’ story of courage, hardship, professionalism, and dedication to duty; it’s a gripping read from Canada’s forgotten war in Korea. I served in the Regiment that provides the setting for this novel of Canada’s first soldiers to fight in that conflict and knew many of the veterans of the time. This tale rings true and is tribute to those who fought so well under great peril. We will remember them.” LCol RCAF (Ret’d) Keith Maxwell.