The Loyal Edmonton Regiment (4th Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry), or L EDMN R, is a

Primary Reserve The Primary Reserve of the Canadian Armed Forces (french: links=no, Première réserve des Forces canadiennes) is the first and largest of the four sub-components of the Canadian Armed Forces reserves, followed by the Supplementary Reserve, the ...

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

unit of the Canadian Armed Forces based in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. The Loyal Edmonton Regiment is part of

3rd Canadian Division The 3rd Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army responsible for the command and mobilization of all army units in the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, as well as all units extending westwards from th ...

41 Canadian Brigade Group 41 Canadian Brigade Group (41 CBG; french: links=no, 41e Groupe-brigade du Canada) is a Canadian Army formation of the 3rd Canadian Division. The formation is composed of Army Reserve units within the province of Alberta and the Northwest T ...

. They are colloquially known as "The Loyal Eddies".Brown, Scott R.G. (1984).
The Loyal Edmonton Regiment at war, 1943-1945
' (M.A. thesis) Wilfrid Laurier University

Armorial Description

The maple leaves symbolise service to Canada and the regiment's perpetuated units, the 51st and 63rd Battalions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, and the crown, service to the Sovereign. The number 49 represents the service of the perpetuated unit, the 49th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, and the windmill sails allude to the battlefields in Flanders on which the battalion fought in the First World War. The coyote's head commemorates "Lestock", a prairie coyote presented to the regiment as a mascot prior to the 49th Battalion's departure for overseas service in 1915. The red rose came from the badge of the former allied regiment The Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) (now, through amalgamation, the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment). "THE LOYAL EDMONTON REGIMENT" is a form of the regimental title.

Lineage

File:LER colour.jpg, The Regimental Colour of the Loyal Edmonton Regiment. File:LED camp flag.jpg, The camp flag of the Loyal Edmonton Regiment.

The Loyal Edmonton Regiment

*Originated 1 April 1908 in Edmonton, Alberta as the 101st Regiment *Redesignated 1 March 1909 as the 101st Regiment "Edmonton Fusiliers" *Redesignated 15 March 1920 as The Edmonton Regiment *Reorganized 15 March 1920 to form two separate regiments,

The Edmonton Fusiliers The Edmonton Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the Non-Permanent Active Militia of the Canadian Militia and later the Canadian Army. First raised in 1908 as part of the 101st Regiment Edmonton Fusiliers, it became a separate regiment in 192 ...

and The Edmonton Regiment *Redesignated 7 November 1940 as the 2nd (Reserve) Battalion, The Edmonton Regiment *Redesignated 7 July 1943 as the 2nd (Reserve) Battalion, The Loyal Edmonton Regiment *Redesignated 1 November 1945 as The Loyal Edmonton Regiment *Redesignated 19 October 1954 as The Loyal Edmonton Regiment (3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry) *Redesignated 1 April 1970 as The Loyal Edmonton Regiment (4th Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry)Canadian Forces Publication A-DH-267-003 Insignia and Lineages of the Canadian Forces. Volume 3: Combat Arms Regiments.

Lineage chart:

Perpetuations

The Great War

49th Battalion (Edmonton Regiment), CEF The 49th Battalion (Edmonton Regiment), CEF, was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the Great War. History The 49th Battalion was authorized on 7 November 1914 and embarked for Great Britain on 3 June 1915. It dise ...

51st Battalion (Edmonton), CEF The 51st Battalion (Edmonton), CEF, was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the Great War. The 51st Battalion was authorized on 7 November 1914 and embarked for Great Britain on 18 April 1916. It provided reinforcemen ...

63rd Battalion (Edmonton), CEF The 63rd Battalion (Edmonton), CEF, was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. The 63rd Battalion was authorized on 20 April 1915. During its recruitment phase the battalion sent three reinforcing dr ...

History

The Great War

The

was authorized on 7 November 1914 and embarked for Great Britain on 3 June 1915. It disembarked in France on 9 October 1915, where it fought as part of the 7th Infantry Brigade,

in France and Flanders until the end of the war. The battalion disbanded on 15 September 1920. The

was authorized on 7 November 1914 and embarked for Great Britain on 1 April 1916. There it provided reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field until 13 November 1916, when it was reorganized as a Garrison Duty Battalion. On 22 June 1916, its personnel were absorbed by the various regimental depots. The battalion disbanded on 15 September 1920. The

was authorized on 20 April 1915 and embarked for Great Britain on 22 April 1916. There it provided reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field until 7 July 1916, when its personnel were absorbed by the 9th Reserve Battalion, CEF. The battalion disbanded on 1 September 1917. File:49th Bn CEF.jpg, The distinguishing patch of the 49th Battalion (Edmonton Regiment), CEF.

The Second World War

The regiment mobilized The Edmonton Regiment, CASF for active service on 1 September 1939. It was redesignated as the 1st Battalion, The Edmonton Regiment, CASF on 7 November 1940; and as the 1st Battalion, The Loyal Edmonton Regiment on 7 July 1943. On 22 December 1939, it embarked for Great Britain. "D" Company participated in the expedition to the Norwegian island of Spitzbergen on 25 August 1941, and the battalion landed in Sicily on 10 July and Italy on 3 September 1943, as part of the 2nd Infantry Brigade,

1st Canadian Infantry 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 ...

. The unit landed in France on 15 March 1945 as part of

Operation Goldflake Operation Goldflake was the administrative move of I Canadian Corps (in essence, all Canadian combatant units) and the British 5th Infantry Division from Italy to Northwestern Europe during the Second World War. British-led forces had been fighti ...

, on its way to the Northwest Europe theatre of operations, in which it fought until the end of the war. The overseas battalion disbanded on 15 October 1945. :*

Leonforte Leonforte (''Liunforti'' in sicilian) is an Italian ''comune'' with a population of 14,046 in the Province of Enna, Sicily. The town is situated 22 km from Enna, in the centre of the Erean Mountains at 600 metres a.s.l. History The ancie ...

, July 1943. According to Mitcham and

von Stauffenberg The Schenk von Stauffenberg family is a noble (''Uradel'') Roman Catholic family from Swabia in Germany. The family's best-known recent member was Colonel Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg – the key figure in the 1944 " 20 July plot" to ...

in ''The Battle of Sicily'', The Loyal Edmonton Regiment allegedly killed captured German prisoners. On 1 June 1945, a second Active Force component of the regiment was mobilized for service in the Pacific theatre of operations, as under the 3rd Canadian Infantry Battalion (The Loyal Edmonton Regiment), CASF. The battalion disbanded on 1 November 1945. File:Loyal Edmonton Regiment soldiers entering Modica Sicily July 1943.jpg, Troops of The Loyal Edmonton Regiment enter

Modica Modica (; scn, Muòrica) is a city and ''comune'' of 54,456 inhabitants in the Province of Ragusa, Sicily, southern Italy. The city is situated in the Hyblaean Mountains. Modica has neolithic origins and it represents the historical capital ...

during the

Allied invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It b ...

(1943) File:LoyalEdmontonRegimentWithRadioOrtona1943.jpg, Infantrymen of The Loyal Edmonton Regiment operating a No. 18 wireless set outside Regimental Headquarters, Ortona, Italy, December 21, 1943

Post-War: Korea and NATO

On 4 May 1951, the regiment mobilized two temporary Active Force companies designated "E" and "F" Companies. "E" Company was reduced to nil strength when its personnel were incorporated into the 1st Canadian Infantry Battalion (later the 3rd Battalion,

The Canadian Guards The Canadian Guards (officially known as the Regiment of Canadian Guards) was an infantry regiment of the Canadian Army that served in the same role as the five regiments of foot guards in the British Army. The regiment was formed on 16 October 19 ...

) for service in Germany with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It disbanded on 29 July 1953. "F" Company was initially used as a reinforcement pool for "E" Company. On 15 May 1952, it was reduced to nil strength, when its personnel were absorbed by the newly formed 2nd Canadian Infantry Battalion (later the 4th Battalion, The Canadian Guards) for service in Korea with the United Nations. "F" Company disbanded on 29 July 1953.

Afghanistan

The regiment contributed an aggregate of more than 20% of its authorized strength to the various Task Forces which served in Afghanistan between 2002 and 2014. It suffered three dead and numerous injured during this war.

Recent activities

The unit continues to carry out individual and small unit training locally and across Canada. The L EDMN R has continued to support NATO, UN, and Canadian domestic operations with multiple individual and group deployments. The regiment expanded to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, with the establishment of C Company, The Loyal Edmonton Regiment, in August 2009. In the summer of 2018, The Loyal Edmonton Regiment and Calgary Highlanders were tasked with standing up a mortar platoon that deployed to the Forward Presence Battle Group in Latvia in early 2020. This was the first Primary Reserve mortar platoon to deploy overseas.

Alliances

The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's Lancashire and Border) The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's, Lancashire and Border) (LANCS) is an infantry regiment of the line within the British Army, part of the King's Division. Headquartered in Preston, it recruits throughout the North West of England. The Duk ...

Battle honours

In the list below, battle honours in capitals were awarded for participation in large operations and campaigns, while those in lowercase indicate honours granted for more specific battles. Those battle honours followed by a "+" are emblazoned on the regimental colour. File:LER colour.jpg, The Regimental Colour of the Loyal Edmonton Regiment.

The Great War

*+, 2–13 June 1916 *+, 1 July–18 November 1916 * Flers–Courcelette+, 15–22 September 1916 * Ancre Heights, 1 October–11 November 1916 *, 9 April–4 May 1917 *

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 ...

+, 9–14 April 1917 *+, 15–25 August 1917 *, 31 July–10 November 1917 * Passchendaele+, 12 October 1917 or 26 October–10 November 1917 *+, 8–11 August 1918 *+, 26 August–3 September 1918 * Scarpe, 1918+, 26–30 August 1918 *+, 12 September–9 October 1918 * Canal du Nord, 27 September–2 October 1918 *+, 11 November 1918 *

Second World War

*+, 9–12 July 1943+ *

Piazza Armerina Piazza Armerina ( Gallo-Italic of Sicily: ''Ciazza''; Sicilian: ''Chiazza'') is a ''comune'' in the province of Enna of the autonomous island region of Sicily, southern Italy. History The city of Piazza (as it was called before 1862) developed ...

, 16–17 July 1943 *

, 21–22 July 1943 *

Agira Agira (; Sicilian: ''Aggira'', grc, Ἀγύριον) is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Enna, Sicily (southern Italy). It is located in the mid-valley of the River Salso, from Enna. Until 1861 it was called San Filippo d'Argiriò, i ...

, 24–28 July 1943 *+, 29 July–7 August 1943+ * Troina Valley, 2–6 August 1943 *, 9 July 1943 – 17 August 1943 * Colle d'Anchise, 22–24 October 1943 * The Gully, 10–19 December 1943 * Ortona+, 20–28 December 1943+ *+, 18–30 May 1944+ * Hitler Line, 18–24 May 1944 *+, 25 August–22 September 1944+ *

Monteciccardo Monteciccardo is a ''frazione'' of Pesaro, and former ''comune'', in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino in the Italian region Marche, located about northwest of Ancona and about southwest of Pesaro. It was a separate ''comune ''until 2020. Monte ...

, 27–28 August 1944 * Monte Luro, 1 September 1944 *+, 14–21 September 1944+ * Pisciatello+, 16–19 September 1944+ * San Fortunato, 18–20 September 1944 * Savio Bridgehead+, 20–23 September 1944+ * Naviglio Canal+, 12–15 December 1944+ * Fosso Munio, 19–21 December 1944 *, 3 September 1943 – 22 April 1945 *

Apeldoorn Apeldoorn (; Dutch Low Saxon: ) is a municipality and city in the province of Gelderland in the centre of the Netherlands. It is located about 60 km east of Utrecht, 60 km west of Enschede, 25 km north of Arnhem and 35 km south of Zwolle. Th ...

, 11–17 April 1945 *+

War in Afghanistan

* +

Victoria Cross recipients

* Private Cecil John Kinross, VC * Private John Chipman Kerr, VC

Loyal Edmonton Regiment Military Museum

The Loyal Edmonton Regiment Military Museum is located in

in the Prince of Wales Armouries Heritage Centre, the building where the regiment was based from 1920 to 1965. The building also houses the City of Edmonton Archives and the Telephone Historical Centre. The museum features two galleries and several smaller exhibits, and displays include historic firearms, uniforms, souvenirs, memorabilia, military accoutrements, and photos. The museum features an exhibit on the role of the 49th Battalion, CEF in Canada's Hundred Days Offensive.

Media

* ''A City Goes to War: History of the Loyal Edmonton Regiment (3PPCLI)'' by Lieut-Colonel G. R. Stevens (1964) * ''Our Quarrel with the Foe: Edmonton's Soldiers 1914-1918'' by Ian Edwards (2020)

Order of precedence

References

External links

Loyal Edmonton Regiment Military Museum
*

Loyal Edmonton Regiment Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry

Loyal Edmonton Regiment The Loyal Edmonton Regiment (4th Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry), or L EDMN R, is a Primary Reserve infantry unit of the Canadian Armed Forces based in Edmonton, Alberta. The Loyal Edmonton Regiment is part of 3rd Canadia ...

Organizations based in Edmonton Military units and formations of Alberta Military units and formations of Northern Canada Infantry regiments of Canada in World War II Military units and formations established in 1908 {{DEFAULTSORT:Loyal_Edmonton_Regiment_(4th_Battalion,_Princess_Patricia's_Canadian_Light_Infantry)