The 2nd Field Artillery Regiment, RCA (french: 2^e Régiment d'artillerie de campagne, ARC) is a

Royal Canadian Artillery , colors = The guns of the RCA themselves , colors_label = Colours , march = * Slow march: "Royal Artillery Slow March" * Quick march (dismounted parades): "British Grenadiers/ The ...

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

. It is located in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

and shares its headquarters with

The Royal Canadian Hussars (Montreal) The Royal Canadian Hussars (Montreal) (abbreviated as RCH) is an armoured reconnaissance regiment of the Primary Reserve in the Canadian Armed Forces. It is one of the oldest cavalry regiments in North America, tracing a direct history to the Mo ...

at the Côte-des-Neiges Armory. Although there had been temporary volunteer artillery units formed in Montreal as early as 1828, the regiment has its origin in the 3rd Montreal Battery formed in 1855 as a result of the departure of British regular troops for the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

and the passage 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 ...

. Militia forces, including the five field batteries formed, would for the first time be maintained at public expense. In 1856 the Battalion of Montreal Artillery was formed and in 1895 it was renamed the 2nd "Montreal" Regiment, CA.

War in Europe

In the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

several batteries of artillery were raised in Montreal and the 2nd Brigade included the 3rd Montreal Battery amongst its four batteries. During the war, the unit took part in every action of the

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 shor ...

and later on the Canadian Corps. In a series of reorganizations the battery was renamed the 7th Field Battery, the name it continues to hold. This battery was commanded at the outbreak of the war by Major Andrew McNaughton. Wounded at the

2nd Battle of Ypres 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 ...

, he went on to command the Canadian Corps Heavy Artillery and, in the Second World War, the First Canadian Army. The 2nd Brigade served in the divisional artillery of the 1st Canadian Division for the duration of the war. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

the 2nd Field Regiment was once again mobilized in the divisional artillery of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division with the 7th Field Battery amongst its batteries. After training in England it served in Italy from July 1943 until January 1945 when it, along with

I Canadian Corps I Canadian Corps was one of the two corps fielded by the Canadian Army during the Second World War. History From December 24, 1940, until the formation of the First Canadian Army in April 1942, there was a single unnumbered Canadian Corps. I ...

, was transferred to Holland. After the Second World War the regiments of artillery in the post-war Militia were renumbered and the 2nd Field Regiment was removed from the order of battle. Reorganization after the 1964 Suttie Commission and the ensuing Militia unit reductions eventually saw the 2nd Field Regiment reforming in 1966 with initially two and then three batteries. They were the 7th, 50th, and 66th Field Batteries, each perpetuating a different regiment of the post-war artillery in Montreal.

Twenty-first century

On April 29, 2000, the regiment was awarded Freedom of the City of Montreal in recognition of its historical link to the city. Then in 2007 the city of

Terrebonne Terrebonne, meaning ''good earth'' in French, is a name of several places in North America: ;Canada *Terrebonne, Quebec, a suburb of Montreal ** Terrebonne station, a commuter railway station in Terrebonne, Quebec **Terrebonne City Council, the go ...

also awarded the regiment the same courtesy. Today, it is primarily made up of

reservists A reservist is a person who is a member of a military reserve force. They are otherwise civilians, and in peacetime have careers outside the military. Reservists usually go for training on an annual basis to refresh their skills. This person is ...

from the city of Montreal as part of the Canadian Army Reserves. After over 50 years of peacetime operations, the regiment fields only a single artillery battery of six 105 mm C3 howitzers. It has sent its members abroad to serve in peacekeeping and anti-terrorist roles and has yearly gunnery exercises. The regiment is commanded by a Canadian Reserve

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

, with a new commanding officer appointed, on average, every three years. The regiment is officially bilingual and functions in both English and French. The commanding officers of the re-formed 2nd Field Regiment are listed: *1966–1969 – LCol J.H.E. Day, CD *1969–1970 – LCol W.L.M. Cloutier, CD *1970–1973 – LCol J.R.G. Saint-Louis, CD *1973–1975 – LCol P.B. Fecteau, CD *1975–1979 – LCol T.K. Stafford, CD *1979–1985 – LCol S.J. Goldberg, CD *1985–1988 – LCol J.F. Stirling, CD *1988–1991 – LCol J.M. Pronkin, CD *1991–1995 – LCol J.M. Lewis, CD *1995–1998 – LCol D.A. Patterson, CD *1998–2001 – LCol J.G.M.B. Lefebvre, CD *2001–2005 – LCol J.M.N. Bernier, CD *2005–2008 – LCol M. Bourque, CD *2008–2013 – LCol D. Parent, CD *2013–2015 – LCol R. Garon, CD *2015–present – LCol S. Pelletier, CD

Armoury

During November 1970 the regiment moved to its current location at the Côte des Neiges Armoury, after its Craig Street Armoury was demolished, the regiment had been based there for 75 years. **I think we were called the RCA 101st(1966-67) and trained Saturday mornings with our six 105 mm howitzers at the Lacombe Armoury, behind the Veterans Hospital on Queen Mary Rd. In the summer we used the Hussars Armoury for training sessions!

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:002nd Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery Field artillery regiments of Canada Military units and formations established in 1966

War in Europe

Twenty-first century

Armoury

See also

References