The Peterborough Rangers was an infantry regiment of the

Non-Permanent Active Militia The Non-Permanent Active Militia (NPAM) was the name of Canada's part-time volunteer military force from 1855 to 1940. The NPAM (also called "the Militia" though that term could also encompass the full-time standing army known as the Permanent A ...

of the Canadian Militia (now the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...

). In 1936, the regiment was amalgamated with the 3rd Prince of Wales' Canadian Dragoons to form The Prince of Wales Rangers (Peterborough Regiment).

Lineage

The Peterborough Rangers

* Originated on 3 May 1867, in

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

, Canada West, as the ''57th Peterborough Battalion of Infantry''. * Redesignated on 16 January 1880, as the ''57th Battalion of Infantry Peterborough Rangers''. * Redesignated on 8 May 1900, as the ''57th Regiment Peterborough Rangers''. * Redesignated on 12 March 1920, as ''The Peterborough Rangers''. * Amalgamated on 15 December 1936, with the 3rd The Prince of Wales' Canadian Dragoons and the Headquarters and C Company of the 4th Machine Gun Battalion, CMGC, and redesignated as ''The Prince of Wales Rangers (Peterborough Regiment) (MG)''.

Perpetuations

* 2nd Battalion (Eastern Ontario Regiment), CEF *

93rd Battalion (Peterborough), CEF The 93rd Battalion (Peterborough), CEF, was an infantry battalion of the World War I, Great War Canadian Expeditionary Force. The 93rd Battalion was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Britain on 15 July 1916 where the battalion provid ...

* 247th Battalion (Victoria & Haliburton), CEF

History

Early years

With the passing of the

Militia Act of 1855 The ''Militia Act of 1855'' was an Act passed by the Parliament of the Province of Canada that permitted the formation of an "Active Militia", which was later subdivided into the Permanent Active Militia and the Non-Permanent Active Militia, and ...

, the first of a number of newly-raised independent militia companies were established in and around the Peterborough region of Canada West (now the Province of Ontario). On 3 May 1867, the ''57th Peterborough Battalion of Infantry'' was authorized for service by the regimentation of seven of these previously authorized independent militia rifle and infantry companies. Its regimental headquarters was at

and had companies at Peterborough, Ashburnham, Norwood and

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

. On 16 January 1880, the battalion was redesignated as the ''57th Battalion of Infantry Peterborough Rangers''.

The North West Rebellion

On 10 April 1885, the 57th Battalion of Infantry Peterborough Rangers mobilized a company for active service with

The Midland Battalion The Midland Provisional Battalion (also known as The Midland Battalion) was a military unit of the Non-Permanent Active Militia of the Canadian Militia (now the Canadian Army) from Eastern Ontario, Canada, which fought in the North-West Rebellion ...

where it served in the Alberta Column of the North West Field Force. On 24 July 1885, the company was removed from active service.

Early 1900s

On 8 May 1900, the 57th Battalion of Infantry Peterborough Rangers was redesignated as the ''57th Regiment Peterborough Rangers''.

Great War

On 10 August 1914, the ''2nd Battalion (Eastern Ontario Regiment), CEF'' was authorized for service and on 26 September 1914, the battalion embarked for Great Britain as part of the First Contingent of the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) was the expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry division ...

. On 11 February 1915, the battalion disembarked in France where it fought as part of the 1st Canadian Brigade,

1st Canadian Division The 1st Canadian Division (French: ''1re Division du Canada'' ) is a joint operational command and control formation based at CFB Kingston, and falls under Canadian Joint Operations Command. It is a high-readiness unit, able to move on very short ...

in France and Flanders until the end of the war. On 30 August 1920, the 2nd Battalion, CEF, was disbanded. On 22 December 1915, the ''93rd Battalion (Peterborough), CEF'' was authorized for service and on 15 July 1916, the battalion embarked for Great Britain. After its arrival in the UK, the battalion provided reinforcements to the

Canadian Corps The Canadian Corps was a World War I corps formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France. The corps was expanded by the addition of the 3rd Canadian Division in December ...

in the field. On 6 October 1916, the battalion’s personnel were absorbed by the 39th Reserve Battalion, CEF. On 21 May 1917, the 93rd Battalion, CEF, was disbanded. On 1 May 1917, the ''247th Battalion (Victoria & Haliburton), CEF'' was authorized for service. On 1 April 1917, the battalion’s personnel were absorbed in Canada by the 235th Battalion, CEF. On 11 April 1918, the 247th Battalion, CEF, was disbanded.

1920s-1930s

On 12 March 1920, as a result of the

Otter Commission The Otter Commission, or Otter Committee, was established after the First World War to tackle a problem created by the chaotic mobilization of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. In 1919 units of the CEF, intended as a wartime expeditionary force, ret ...

and the following post-war reorganization of the militia, the 57th Regiment Peterborough Rangers was redesignated as ''The Peterborough Rangers'' and was reorganized with three battalions (two of them paper-only reserve battalions) to perpetuate the assigned war-raised battalions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. As a result of the 1936 Canadian Militia reorganization, on 15 December 1936, The Peterborough Rangers was amalgamated with the 3rd Prince of Wales' Canadian Dragoons and the Headquarters and C Company of the 4th Machine Gun Battalion, CMGC, to form '' The Prince of Wales Rangers (Peterborough Regiment)'' – now the 50th Field Artillery Regiment (The Prince of Wales Rangers), RCA (on the

Supplementary Order of Battle In the Canadian Army, a regiment is placed on the Supplementary Order of Battle when the need for the regiment's existence is no longer relevant. When placed on the Supplementary Order of Battle, a regiment is considered "virtually disbanded", and ...

since 1970).

Organization

57th Peterborough Battalion of Infantry (3 May 1867)

* No. 1 Company (first raised on 2 April 1857 as the ''Peterborough Rifle Company'') * No. 2 Company (first raised on 29 October 1863 as the ''Lakefield Infantry Company'') * No. 3 Company (first raised on 16 January 1863 as the ''1st Peterborough Infantry Company'') * No. 4 Company (first raised on 30 January 1863 as the ''Asburnham Infantry Company'') * No. 5 Company (first raised on 8 June 1866 as the ''2nd Peterborough Infantry Company'') * No. 6 Company (first raised on 17 August 1866 as the ''Norwood Infantry Company'') * No. 7 Company (first raised on 17 August 1866 as the ''Hastings Infantry Company'')

The Peterborough Rangers (12 March 1920)

* 1st Battalion (perpetuating the 2nd Battalion, CEF) * 2nd (Reserve) Battalion (perpetuating the 92nd Battalion, CEF) * 3rd (Reserve) Battalion (perpetuating the 247th Battalion, CEF)

Alliances

* -

The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers R ...

(1911-1936)

Battle honours

Ypres, 1915 During the First World War, the Second Battle of Ypres was fought from for control of the tactically important high ground to the east and south of the Flemish town of Ypres in western Belgium. The First Battle of Ypres had been fought the pre ...

, '17 * Gravenstafel Ridge * St. Julien *

Festubert, 1915 The Battle of Festubert (15–25 May 1915) was an attack by the British army in the Artois region of France on the western front during World War I. The offensive formed part of a series of attacks by the French Tenth Army and the British ...

Mont Sorrel The Battle of Mont Sorrel (''Battle of Mount Sorrel'', ''Battle of Hill 62'') was a local operation in World War I by three divisions of the British Second Army and three divisions of the German 4th Army in the Ypres Salient, near Ypres, Bel ...

Somme, 1916 The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

Pozières Pozières (; ) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography The commune is situated on the D929 road, northeast of Amiens between Albert and Bapaume, on the Pozières ridge. Southwest of the village on ...

* Flers-Courcelette *

Ancre Heights The Ancre (; ) is a river of Picardy, France. Rising at Miraumont, a hamlet near the town of Albert, it flows into the Somme at Corbie. It is long. For most of its length it flows through the department of Somme. For a short stretch near P ...

Arras, 1917 The Battle of Arras (also known as the Second Battle of Arras) was a British offensive on the Western Front during the First World War. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British troops attacked German defences near the French city of Arras on the W ...

, '18 *

Vimy, 1917 The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions o ...

Arleux Arleux () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Geography The river Sensée joins the Canal du Nord at Arleux. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes o ...

* Scarpe, 1917, '18 *

Hill 70 The Battle of Hill 70 took place in the First World War between the Canadian Corps and five divisions of the German 6th Army. The battle took place along the Western Front on the outskirts of Lens in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France b ...

* Passchendaele *

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

* Drocourt-Quéant *

Hindenburg Line The Hindenburg Line (German: , Siegfried Position) was a German defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front during the First World War. The line ran from Arras to Laffaux, near Soissons on the Aisne. In 191 ...

Canal du Nord The Canal du Nord (, literally ''Canal of the North'') is a long canal in northern France. The canal connects the Canal latéral à l'Oise at Pont-l'Évêque to the Sensée Canal at Arleux. The French government, in partnership with coal-min ...

Pursuit to Mons Pursuit may refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''Pursuit'' (1935 film), a 1935 American action film * ''Pursuit'' (1972 American film), a made-for-TV film directed by Michael Crichton * ''Pursuit'' (1972 Hong Kong film), a Shaw Brot ...

France and Flanders, 1915–18 The Western Front was one of the main theatres of war during the First World War. Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of impor ...

Notable members

* Lieutenant Colonel

William Nassau Kennedy William Nassau Kennedy (28 April 1839 – 3 May 1885) was the second Mayor of Winnipeg, Manitoba from 1875 – 1876. He was the first commander of The Royal Winnipeg Rifles. Biography Kennedy was born in Newcastle, Upper Canada (no ...

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peterborough_Rangers Former infantry regiments of Canada Ranger regiments of Canada Prince of Wales Rangers (Peterborough Regiment) Military units and formations of Ontario Military units and formations disestablished in 1936