The Northumberland Regiment 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 Durham Regiment to form The Midland Regiment (which now forms part of

The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. The regiment is part of 33 Canadian Brigade Group, one of four brigade groups of 4th Canadian Division. The regimental headquarters and one co ...

Lineage

* Originated on 5 October 1866, in

Cobourg Cobourg ( ) is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto and east of Oshawa. It is the largest town in and seat of Northumberland County. Its nearest neighbour is Port Hope, to the west. It is ...

, Canada West, as the 40th Northumberland Battalion of Infantry * Redesignated on 8 May 1900, as the 40th Northumberland Regiment * Redesignated on 12 March 1920, as The Northumberland (Ontario) Regiment * Redesignated on 15 May 1924, as The Northumberland Regiment * Amalgamated on 15 December 1936, with The Durham Regiment and Redesignated as The Midland Regiment (Northumberland and Durham)

Perpetuations

39th Battalion, CEF The 39th Battalion, CEF, was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the Great War. History The 39th Battalion was authorized on 7 November 1914 and embarked for Great Britain on 17 June 1915. It provided reinforcements ...

139th (Northumberland) Battalion, CEF The 139th (Northumberland) Battalion, CEF was a unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. Based in Cobourg, Ontario Cobourg ( ) is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario east of T ...

History

Early history

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 Northumberland County region of Canada West (now the Province of Ontario). On 5 October 1866, the 40th Northumberland Battalion of Infantry was authorized for service by the regimentation of six of these previously authorized independent militia rifle and infantry companies. Its Regimental Headquarters was located at Cobourg and had companies at Cobourg, Campbellford, Brighton, Cold Springs, Grafton, Colborne, Castleton and Warkworth, Ontario.

North West Rebellion

On 10 April 1885, the 40th Northumberland Battalion of Infantry 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 40th Northumberland Battalion of Infantry was redesignated as the 40th Northumberland Regiment.

Great War

On 7 November 1914, the 39th Battalion, CEF was authorized for service and on 17 June 1915, 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 4 January 1917, the battalion's personnel were absorbed by the 6th Reserve Battalion, CEF. On 22 December 1915, the 139th (Northumberland) Battalion, CEF was authorized for service and on 27 September 1916, the battalion embarked for Great Britain. After its arrival in the UK, on 6 October 1916, the battalion's personnel were absorbed by the 36th Reserve Battalion, CEF to provide reinforcements to the Canadian Corps in the field. On 21 May 1917, the 139th Battalion, CEF was disbanded.

1920s-1930s

On 15 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 40th Northumberland Regiment was redesignated as The Northumberland (Ontario) Regiment and was reorganized with two battalions (one of them a paper-only reserve battalion) to perpetuate the assigned war-raised battalions 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 15 May 1924, the regiment was redesignated for the final time as The Northumberland Regiment. As a result of the 1936 Canadian Militia Reorganization, on 15 December 1936, The Northumberland Regiment was amalgamated with The Durham Regiment to form

The Midland Regiment (Northumberland and Durham) The Midland Regiment was an infantry regiment of the Non-Permanent Active Militia of the Canadian Militia and later the Canadian Army. The regiment was formed in 1936 by the Amalgamation of The Northumberland Regiment and The Durham Regiment. In ...

Organization

40th Northumberland Battalion of Infantry (5 October 1866)

* Regimental Headquarters (

, Canada West) * No. 1 Company (Cobourg) (first raised on 24 January 1856 as the ''1st Volunteer Militia Rifle Company of Cobourg'') * No. 2 Company (Cobourg) (first raised on 6 February 1863 as the ''Volunteer Militia Company of Infantry'') * No. 3 Company ( Campbellford) (first raised on 30 January 1863 as a ''Volunteer Militia Company of Infantry'') * No. 4 Company (

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

) (first raised on 20 July 1866 as an ''Infantry Company'') * No. 5 Company (

Cold Springs Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynamic ...

) (first raised on 17 August 1866 as an ''Infantry Company'') * No. 6 Company ( Grafton) (first raised on 17 August 1866 as an ''Infantry Company'')

The Northumberland (Ontario) Regiment (15 September 1920)

* 1st Battalion (perpetuating the 139th Battalion, CEF) * 2nd (Reserve) Battalion (perpetuating the 235th Battalion, CEF)

Alliances

The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution an ...

(Until 1936)

Battle honours

* Mount Sorrel *

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 ...

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 *

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 ...

Ypres, 1917 The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by t ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Notable members

* Lieutenant

Wallace Lloyd Algie Wallace Lloyd Algie, (10 June 1891 – 11 October 1918) was a Canadian Expeditionary Force officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonweal ...

Notes and references

{{reflist Midland Regiment Former infantry regiments of Canada Military units and formations of Ontario Military units and formations established in 1866 Military units and formations disestablished in 1936