The 2nd Field Artillery Regiment, RCA () is a

Royal Canadian Artillery The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery () is the artillery personnel branch of the Canadian Army. History Many of the units and batteries of the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery are older than the Dominion of Canada itself. The first arti ...

reserve

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

. It is located in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

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 Mon ...

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 between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

and the passage of the

Militia Act of 1855 The ''Militia Act'' of 1855 was an Act of Parliament, 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 ...

. 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 or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

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: ) 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 notice, and is staffed and ...

and later on 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 19 ...

. 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 General (Canada), General Andrew George Latta McNaughton (25 February 1887 – 11 July 1966) was a Canadian Electrical engineering, electrical engineer, scientist, army officer, Minister (government), cabinet minister, and diplomat. Before th ...

. Wounded at the 2nd Battle of Ypres, he went on to command the Canadian Corps Heavy Artillery and, in the Second World War, the

First Canadian Army The First Canadian Army () was a field army and a formation of the Canadian Army in World War II in which most Canadian elements serving in North-West Europe were assigned. It served on the Western Front from July 1944 until May 1945. It was Cana ...

. 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the 2nd Field Regiment was once again mobilized in the divisional artillery of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division and consisted of the 7th, the 8th, and 10th Field Batteries RCA. 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 Ca ...

, 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 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 ca ...

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 In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to f ...

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, 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 Canada in World War II

War in Europe

Twenty-first century

Armoury

See also

References