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The Royal Montreal
Regiment
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The
Royal Montreal Regiment was an infantry regiment of the
Canadian Army during the 20th Century that continued its
service into the 21st.
Lineage
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58th
Westmount Rifles authorized on
2 November 1914
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The
regiment was redesignated The Royal Montreal Regiment on 1
April 1920
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Redesignated The Royal Montreal Regiment (M.G.)
on 15 December 1936
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Redesignated The Royal Montreal Regiment on 1
September 1954
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The
Royal Montreal Regiment |
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Headquarters:
Montreal, PQ
Predecessors: none
Perpetuates: 14th and 23rd Battalions, CEF
Raised: 2 Nov 1914
Status on 31 December 1999: Active Militia
Regiment |
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First World War
The 14th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force was formed in
Valcartier in August 1914, from drafts of the three Militia
regiments existing in Montreal at that time, the Canadian Grenadier
Guards, the 3rd Regiment (Victoria Rifles of Canada) and the 65th
Regiment (Carabiniers Mont-Royal). The battalion took on the
regimental identity of a Montreal area unit which was later
reflected by the post-war creation of The Royal Montreal Regiment.
The 14th served as a component of the 3rd Infantry Brigade of the
1st Canadian Division in France and Flanders from 15 February 1915
to the end of the war. Captain Frederick A.C. Scrimger, the unit
medical officer, was awarded the Victoria Cross for actions during
the Second Battle of Ypres 22-25 April 1915, and Lieutenant G.B.
McKeen, MC, MM received the Victoria Cross for actions on 27-28
April 1918.
Second World War
The regiment mobilized a machine gun battalion for the Canadian
Active Service Force on 1 September 1939 and embarked for the United
Kingdom in December. In 1940, the scale of machine gun units were
reduced from one per brigade to one per division. The unit was
redesignated the 32nd Reconnaissance Regiment (Royal Montreal
Regiment) on 25 January 1943, and on 12 April 1944 reduced in size
to become the 1st Canadian Army Headquarters Defence Company (Royal
Montreal Regiment). The company landed in Nomandy on 28 July 1944.
The company was exchanged with rifle companies of The Regina Rifle
Regiment during the fighting at Calais and the Leopold Canal in
order to provide battle experience, and on 5 April 1945 the company
expanded to a battalion. The unit disbanded on 30 September 1945.
No. 9 Defence and Employment Platoon (Royal Montreal Regiment) also
mobilized in England on 24 May 1944, landed in Normandy on 27 July
as part of First Canadian Army Troops, and disbanded on 16 October
1945. A 6th Canadian Infantry Division Reconnaissance Troop (The
Royal Montreal Regiment) mobilized on 1 June 1945 for service with
the Canadian Army Pacific Force but disbanded on 1 November 1945
without seeing action following Japan's surrender. A 2nd Battalion
served in the Reserve Army.
Battle Honours
The Regiment was awarded Battle Honours
for service in the two World Wars (bold type indicates honours selected for
emblazonment):
Ypres, 1915, '17
St. Julien
Mount Sorrel
Pozières
Ancre Heights
Vimy, 1917
Scarpe, 1917, '18
Passchendaele
Drocourt Quéant
Canal du Nord
France and Flanders, 1915-18
The Scheldt |
Gravenstafel
Festubert, 1915
Somme, 1916
Thiepval
ARRAS, 1917, '18
Arleux
Hill 70
Amiens
Hindenburg Line
Pursuit to Mons
Calais, 1944
Leopold Canal |
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Northwest Europe, 1944-45 |
Traditions
- Regimental Alliances
- Official Marches
Insignia
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Cap Badge
The cap badge is described in "Regiments and Corps of the Canadian
Army" as:
A maple leaf inscribed "ROYAL
MONTREAL REGT" within the Garter and motto "HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y
PENSE" surmounted by the Crown and resting on a scroll bearing
the word "CANADA".1
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Notes
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The Regiments and Corps of the Canadian
Army, Queen's Printer, Ottawa,
1964, p.241
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