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 the 1st Canadian Division; as such, it serves as the "local" regular infantry regiment for much of Western Canada. The Loyal Edmonton Regiment (LER), a Reserve Force battalion, is affiliated with the PPCLI but is not formally part of it. As part of this affiliation, the LER carries the designation '4th Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry'.
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. Two battalions – 1st and 2nd – serve with 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (1 CMBG) while the 3rd Battalion is now part of the 3rd Canadian Light Infantry Regiment. 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 PPCLI was raised on the initiative of Captain Andrew Hamilton Gault in 1914 as part of the British Empire's war effort for the First World War. It was the first Canadian infantry unit to enter the theatre of operations, arriving in France on December 21, 1914. The regiment served with both the British and Canadian Expeditionary Forces, and was retained as a regular infantry regiment after the war. The regiment mobilized again in the Second World War, provided three battalions in succession for the Korean War, and most recently fought in the War in Afghanistan. The regiment has also provided units for numerous NATO operations and United Nations peacekeeping missions. The regiment has received 39 battle honours, three Commander-in-Chief Unit Commendations and the United States Presidential Unit Citation.
Structure The regiment is composed of three battalions, all of which are Regular Force units and part of the 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (1CMBG). Each battalion is a distinct operational entity in the Canadian Forces' order of battle. The two first battalions are mechanized infantry, while the third one is light infantry. The regimental headquarters are on CFB Edmonton.
Battalion Base Brigade Type 1st Battalion CFB Edmonton (Alberta) 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group Mechanized infantry 2nd Battalion CFB Shilo (Manitoba) 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group Mechanized infantry 3rd Battalion CFB Edmonton (Alberta) 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group Light infantry
NATO Map Symbols 1 PPCLI 1 CMBG 2 PPCLI 1 CMBG 3 PPCLI 1 CMBG
1st Battalion The 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (1PPCLI) is at Steele Barracks, CFB Edmonton, Alberta. 1 PPCLI is a mechanized infantry battalion of the Regular Force and uses the LAV 6.0 (light armoured vehicle) as its primary fighting vehicle. 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 commanding officer is Lieutenant-Colonel M.O. Litzenberger, CD and the regimental sergeant-major (RSM) is Chief Warrant Officer C.J. Nevell, CD.
2nd Battalion The 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (2PPCLI) is based at Kapyong Barracks in CFB Shilo, Manitoba. 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. Each rifle company is made of three platoons and a headquarters element, and has 15 LAV 6.0 infantry fighting vehicles. The combat support company is composed of a reconnaissance platoon and a signals platoon. The current commanding officer is Lieutenant-Colonel P.S.R. Brown, CD. and the Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) is Chief Warrant Officer T.J. Barter, 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 current commanding officer (CO) is Lieutenant-Colonel J.M.P. Cressall, CD and the regimental sergeant major is Chief Warrant Officer K.P. Doerr, CD.
Lineage
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.Canadian Forces Publication A-DH-267-003 Insignia and Lineages of the Canadian Forces. Volume 3: Combat Arms Regiments.
Lineage chart
Perpetuations On 3 November 1997, the regiment was granted the perpetuation of the 260th Battalion Canadian Rifles, Canadian Expeditionary Force (Siberia).
History
Early history and First World War (1914–1919) At the outbreak of the First World War, when Canada was lacking regular military forces, the then-Captain Andrew Hamilton Gault raised the Patricias. Hamilton Gault offered $100,000 () to finance and equip a battalion to participate in the Canadian war effort overseas. The government temporarily accepted his offer on August 6, 1914, and officially authorized it on August 10. The Department of Militia and Defence contributed to the equipment of the unit. The charter of the regiment was signed on August 10, and the Governor General of Canada, The Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, approved the creation of the regiment.
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.sandstone slab memorial
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. "Light Infantry" in the battalion name was chosen by Captain Gault, who served during the Second Boer War and liked the impression of an irregular force that the name inspired.
Farquhar and Gault moved expeditiously to mobilize the regiment. The day after authority was granted, August 11, the two men began an aggressive recruitment campaign. Due to the patriotic outpouring following the August 4 declaration of war, 3,000 applicants were recruited within eight days. By August 19 a full complement of 1,098 had been selected, of those, 1,049 had previously served in South Africa or in the British Army. Farquhar became the first commander of the battalion. The regiment's first formal parade was conducted on August 23 in Ottawa, during which Princess Patricia presented the regimental standard. Princess Patricia, Colonel-in-Chief, designed and made by hand the regimental flag to be presented on that occasion. It is a crimson flag with a circular royal blue centre. In the circle are gold initials "V P", which stands for Victoria Patricia. The regimental standard became known as the "Ric-A-Dam-Doo". This flag was carried in every regimental action during the war. It was not officially adopted as a regimental colour and consecrated as such until after the war.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. However, because of enemy action in the Atlantic Ocean, the regiment had to disembark at Lévis, Quebec. During the period of training at Lévis, following extensive tests on the Ross rifle, the Patricias issued the first of what would be many damning reports of the suitability of the Ross rifle for combat. The regiment finally left on September 27 from Quebec City on board the Royal George for England in company with the rest of the first Canadian contingent.
Upon arrival at their camp on the Salisbury Plain, England, on October 18 the regiment was first stationed at Bustard Camp near Stonehenge. On November 16 the unit joined the 80th Brigade of the British Expeditionary Force at Winchester. At that time the regiment abandoned the troubled Ross rifle in favour of the British Lee–Enfield. On 20 December, the regiment departed for the port of Southampton with the rest of the brigade and embarked for France arriving the next day. On this date the PPCLI was the only Canadian infantry unit on the battlefield; only the 1st Canadian Medical Corps was there before.
The Patricias first took their place in the trenches on January 6, 1915, at a location known to the British Army's soldiers as "Dickiebush". 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.
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.