British Columbia Regiment (Duke Of Connaught's Own Rifles)
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The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own) is a
Primary Reserve The Primary Reserve of the Canadian Armed Forces () is the first and largest of the four sub-components of the Canadian Armed Forces reserves, followed by the Supplementary Reserve, the Cadet Organizations Administration and Training Service (f ...
armoured reconnaissance Armoured reconnaissance also Combat reconnaissance vehicle is the combination of terrestrial reconnaissance with armoured warfare by soldiers using tanks and wheeled or tracked armoured reconnaissance vehicles. While the mission of reconnaissan ...
(recce)
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 ...
of the
Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), 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 re ...
; the regiment is subordinate to 39 Canadian Brigade Group of the
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 Northwestern Ontario including the ...
. Established in 1883, it is the oldest military unit in
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
, British Columbia, Canada. It parades at the Beatty Street Drill Hall at the corner of Dunsmuir and Beatty in
Downtown Vancouver Downtown Vancouver is the central business district and the city centre list of neighbourhoods in Vancouver, neighbourhood of Vancouver, Canada, on the northwestern shore of the Burrard Peninsula in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. ...
. The regiment has been variously designated as garrison artillery,
rifles A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifle ...
,
infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...
, and armoured, but has been reconnaissance since 1965. It has received 41
battle honour A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or Military operation, operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In ...
s, and has been a unit of the
Royal Canadian Armoured Corps The Royal Canadian Armoured Corps (RCAC; ) is the armoured corps within the Canadian Army, including 3 Regular and 18 Reserve Force regiments,The Regiments and Corps of the Canadian Army (Queen's Printer, 1964) as well as the Royal Canadian Armo ...
since 1942.


Lineage


The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own)

''The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own)'' originated in Victoria, British Columbia on 12 October 1883, when the ''British Columbia Provisional Regiment of Garrison Artillery'' was formed. It was redesignated as the ''British Columbia Brigade of Garrison Artillery'' on 7 May 1886, as the ''British Columbia Battalion of Garrison Artillery'' on 1 January 1893, as the ''5th British Columbia Battalion of Garrison Artillery'' on 1 January 1895 and the ''5th British Columbia Regiment, Canadian Artillery'' on 28 December 1895. The regiment was reorganized and split into two battalions on 1 July 1896, designated the ''1st Battalion'' (now the ''5th (British Columbia) Field Artillery Regiment, RCA'') and ''2nd Battalion'', which was detached and converted to infantry and redesignated the ''6th Battalion Rifles'' on 1 August 1899, with headquarters in Vancouver. It was redesignated the ''6th Regiment The Duke of Connaught's Own Rifles'' on 1 May 1900. Following the Great War on 12 March 1920, the ''6th Regiment The Duke of Connaught's Own Rifles'' was amalgamated with the ''104th Regiment (Westminster Fusiliers of Canada)'', now ''The Royal Westminster Regiment'', and redesignated as the ''1st British Columbia Regiment''. It was redesignated the ''1st British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own)'' on 1 November 1920. On 15 May 1924 it was reorganized into three separate regiments, designated ''The Vancouver Regiment'', ''The Westminster Regiment'' and the ''1st British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own)''. The 1st British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own) was redesignated ''The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own Rifles)'' on 15 January 1930 and the ''2nd (Reserve) Battalion, The British Columbia Regiment, (Duke of Connaught's Own Rifles)'' on 7 November 1940. The regiment was converted to armour and redesignated the ''13th Armoured Regiment (The British Columbia Regiment), RCAC'', on 1 April 1946, ''The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own) (13th Armoured Regiment)'' on 4 February 1949, ''The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own) (RCAC)'', on 19 May 1958 and finally The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own) on 7 October 1985. On 13 June 2002, it was amalgamated with '' The Irish Fusiliers of Canada (The Vancouver Regiment)''.


Perpetuations

The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaughts' Own) perpetuates the '' 7th Battalion (1st British Columbia), CEF'', the '' 29th (Vancouver) Battalion, CEF'', the ''30th Battalion, CEF'', the ''62nd Battalion (British Columbia), CEF'', the ''102nd Battalion CEF'', the '' 121st Battalion (Western Irish), CEF'', and the '' 158th Battalion (The Duke of Connaught's Own), CEF''.


History


Early history

The ''6th Battalion Rifles'' contributed volunteers for the Canadian Contingents during the
South African War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...
. In 1914 the regiment was involved in the
Komagata Maru incident The ''Komagata Maru'' incident involved the Japanese steamship ''Komagata Maru'', on which a group of people from British Raj, British India attempted to migrate to Canada in April 1914, but most were denied entry and forced to return to Budge ...
.


The Great War

The ''6th Regiment The Duke of Connaught's Own Rifles'' and the ''11th Regiment Irish Fusiliers of Canada'' were placed on active service on 6 August 1914 for local protection duties. The '' 7th Battalion (1st British Columbia), CEF'' was authorized on 10 August 1914 and sailed for Britain on 28 September 1914. The 7th Battalion disembarked in France on 15 February 1915, where it fought as part of the ''2nd Infantry Brigade,
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 ...
'' in France and Flanders until the end of the war. The battalion was disbanded on 30 August 1920. The '' 29th Battalion (Vancouver), CEF'', known as "Tobin's Tigers", was authorized on 7 November 1914 and embarked for Britain on 20 May 1915. It arrived in France on 17 September 1915, where it fought as part of the ''6th Infantry Brigade,
2nd Canadian Division The 2nd Canadian Division (2 Cdn Div; ) is a formation of the Canadian Army in the province of Quebec, Canada. The present command was created 2013 when Land Force Quebec Area was re-designated. The main unit housed in this division is the Roy ...
'' in France and Flanders until the end of the war. The battalion was disbanded on 30 August 1920. The '' 102nd Battalion, CEF'', was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Britain on 18 June 1916, arriving in France on 12 August 1916, where it fought as part of the ''11th Infantry Brigade,
4th Canadian Division The 4th Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army. It is currently responsible for Canadian Army operations in the Canadian province of Ontario and is headquartered at Denison Armoury in Toronto. The division was first created as ...
'' in France and Flanders until the end of the war. The battalion was disbanded on 30 August 1920. The '' 30th Battalion, CEF'', was authorized on 27 October 1914 and embarked for Britain on 23 February 1915. It was redesignated the ''30th Reserve Battalion, CEF'', on 18 April 1915 to provide reinforcements for units in the field. On 4 January 1917 its personnel were absorbed by the ''1st Reserve Battalion, CEF''. The '' 62nd Battalion (British Columbia), CEF'', was authorized on 20 April 1915 and embarked for Britain on 20 March 1916, where it provided reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field until 6 July 1916 when its personnel were absorbed by the 30th Reserve Battalion, CEF. The '' 121st Battalion (Western Irish), CEF'', was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Britain on 14 November 1916, where it provided reinforcements for Canadian units in the field until 10 January 1917 when its personnel were absorbed by the ''16th Reserve Battalion, CEF''. The '' 158th Battalion (The Duke of Connaught's Own), CEF'', was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Britain on 14 November 1916 where it provided reinforcements for the units in the field until 4 January 1917 when its personnel were absorbed by the 1st Reserve Battalion, CEF.


The Second World War

The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own Rifles) was called out on service on 26 August 1939 and details of the regiment were placed on active service on 1 September 1939 for local protection duties under the designation ''The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own Rifles), CASF (Details)''. Details from the Irish Fusiliers were called out on service on 26 August 1939 and then on active service on 1 September 1939, as the ''Irish Fusiliers (Vancouver Regiment), CASF (Details)'', for local protection duties. The 102nd Battery was called out on service on 26 August 1939 and details of the battery were placed on active service on 1 September 1939 as the ''102nd (North British Columbia) Heavy Battery, RCA, CASF (Details)'', for local protection duties. The details of the three units called out on active service were disbanded on 31 December 1940. The ''British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own Rifles), CASF'', mobilized for active service on 24 May 1940. It was redesignated as the ''1st Battalion, The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own Rifles), CASF'', on 7 November 1940. It was converted to armour and redesignated the ''28th Armoured Regiment (The British Columbia Regiment), CAC, CASF'', on 26 January 1942; and then the ''28th Armoured Regiment (The British Columbia Regiment), RCAC, CASF'', on 2 August 1945. On 21 August 1942 it embarked for Britain. The regiment landed in France on 28 July 1944 as part of the '' 4th Armoured Brigade,
4th Canadian Armoured Division Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama ...
'' and continued to serve in North West Europe until the end of the war. The overseas regiment was disbanded on 15 February 1946. The ''1st Battalion, Irish Fusiliers (Vancouver Regiment), CASF'', mobilized for active service on 1 January 1941. The battalion served in Canada in a home defence role as part of the ''18th Infantry Brigade, 6th Canadian Division''; and in Jamaica on garrison duty from 18 May 1943 to 6 August 1944. On 10 January 1945 it embarked for Britain, where it was disbanded on 19 January 1945 to provide reinforcements to the Canadian Army in the field. The ''3rd Battalion, Irish Fusiliers (Vancouver Regiment), CASF'', mobilized for active service on 12 May 1942. This unit served in Canada in a home defence role as part of the ''19th Infantry Brigade'' of Pacific Command. The 3rd Battalion was disbanded on 15 August 1943. The ''102nd (North British Columbia) Heavy Battery, RCA, CASF'', mobilized for active service on 1 January 1941. It was redesignated as the ''102nd Coast Battery, RCA, CASF'', on 1 May 1942. This unit served in Canada in a home defence role with the ''17th (North British Columbia) Coast Regiment, RCA'', CASF, as part of Pacific Command. The battery was disbanded on 31 October 1945. The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own Rifles) was called out at 4:15 a.m. on August 26, 1939, two weeks prior to the official declaration of war by the Canadian governor general. Soldiers were dispatched to various vulnerable areas in the city, largely as a precautionary measure in response to
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
's increasing aggression towards Poland.History of the BCRs in World War Two
The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own) Official DND Website.
The British Columbia Regiment trained in Canada until January 1942, when it was announced that the 4th Division would become an armoured division. As a result, the unit was re-designated as the 28th Armoured Regiment (The British Columbia Regiment), and its officers and men were sent to England for training. In August 1943, Lieutenant-Colonel D.G. Worthington became the commanding officer of the regiment. In October, the regiment began to receive the
M4 Sherman The M4 Sherman, officially medium tank, M4, was the medium tank most widely used by the United States and Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman proved to be reliable, relatively cheap to produce, and available in great numbers. I ...
tanks, gradually replacing the Canadian-made
Ram tank The Ram was a cruiser tank designed and built by Canada in the Second World War, based on the U.S. M3 Medium tank chassis. Due to standardization on the American Sherman tank for frontline units, it was used exclusively for training purposes a ...
s, which had been in use for training. Following the Allied invasion of Europe on
D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...
, the regiment embarked for France on July 23 and landed in Normandy on July 26. The regiment saw its first action in the Second World War during
Operation Totalize Operation Totalize (also spelled Operation Totalise in recent British sources) was an offensive launched by Allied troops in the First Canadian Army during the later stages of Operation Overlord, from 8 to 9 August 1944. The intention was to bre ...
, on August 8, 1944. The operation was launched under the cover of darkness. To aid in navigation at night, searchlights had been pointed at the cloud cover to provide some illumination. 40 mm Bofors guns were also firing tracers along the line of advance to aid the attack. Despite these precations, the 28th, accompanied by The Algonquin Regiment, became disoriented and navigated away from Hill 195, which was its objective, and steered instead towards Hill 140, but did not reach the hill before daybreak. As a result, when daylight came, the unit was in an exposed valley with units of the 12th SS Panzer Division concealed in the high ground. The two Canadian regiments were attacked by the 12th SS, who were equipped with 88 mm flak guns and Tiger tanks, among other heavy weapons. Lieutenant-Colonel Worthington was killed during the battle, and the survivors of the regiment managed to break contact with the 12th SS, after suffering 133 casualties and losing 48 out of 52 tanks. The 28th would return to action only a week later, contributing to the closing of the
Falaise Pocket The Falaise pocket or battle of the Falaise pocket (; 12–21 August 1944) was the decisive engagement of the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War. Allied forces formed a pocket around Falaise, Calvados, in which German Army Group B, c ...
during
Operation Tractable Operation Tractable was the final attack conducted by Canada in World War II, Canadian and Polish contribution to World War II, Polish troops, supported by a British tank brigade, during the Operation Overlord, Battle of Normandy during World W ...
, which saw the destruction of the German Seventh Army and the capture of a great number of enemy soldiers and equipment. After the closing of the Falaise Pocket, the regiment participated in the pursuit of retreating German forces into Belgium, as part of 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 ...
. A main objective of the Allied armies in Europe was the capture of major ports in order to ease the considerable logistical burden caused by the stretched supply lines, some of which extended hundreds of miles back to the invasion beaches in Normandy. The capture of a major port facility would allow the Allied armies to regain their momentum for the push into Germany. The port of
Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
was selected as the target of the
21st Army Group The 21st Army Group was a British headquarters formation formed during the Second World War. It controlled two field armies and other supporting units, consisting primarily of the British Second Army and the First Canadian Army. Established ...
for this reason. In October, as part of the
Battle of the Scheldt The Battle of the Scheldt in World War II was a series of military operations to open up the Scheldt river between Antwerp and the North Sea for shipping, so that Antwerp's port could be used to supply the Allies in north-west Europe. The oper ...
, the regiment, as part of the First Canadian Army, took part in the essential task of clearing out the Scheldt Estuary to make the approach to the port of Antwerp safe for operation. On November 4, units from the Lake Superior Regiment (LSR) entered the village of St. Phillipsland and were informed by the civilian population that there were four small
Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...
vessels docked at the harbour. The following day, a
troop A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Troo ...
of tanks from C Squadron, together with units from the LSR opened fire while the vessels were docked and unable to escape. The vessels were attacked by the guns from the C Squadron tanks as well as 6-pounder antitank guns and
mortars Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a village i ...
from the LSR. Three vessels were sunk and a fourth was severely damaged. Captain R. Styffe from the LSR later removed the log from one of the vessels and wrote as a final entry: "Gesunken by Lake Superior Regiment and British Columbia Regiment – Canadian Army." A member of the British Columbia Regiment recovered the ship's bell from one of the sunken vessels, and it now resides in the Officer's Mess at the Beatty St. Armoury. (One of the vessels sunk was likely AF-9
The Minute Book
an MFP (Marinefahrprahm), a landing craft type vessel of about 153 feet long, equipped to lay mines and armed with two 88 mm guns. The others were likely similar. The plaque on the bell in the Officer's Mess describes the vessel as an "escort".) The regiment finished the war in Germany, after crossing the
Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
in April 1945. The regiment captured the town of Neuenhaus and administered it for a brief period. The final action of the war involved crossing the Kusten Canal on April 17, 1945. At the close of the war, the regiment had lost 108 officers and men killed, and 213 wounded. 105 Sherman tanks, 14 Stuart tanks, and one
Crusader tank Crusader, in full "Tank, Cruiser Mk VI, Crusader", also known by its List of tanks of the United Kingdom#General Staff numbers, General Staff number A.15, was one of the primary British cruiser tanks during the early part of the World War II, ...
had been lost during the course of the war. These losses were the highest suffered by any regiment in the 4th or 5th Armoured Divisions. 14 new battle honours were added to the regiment's guidon as a result of its service during 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 ...
. On February 1, 1946, the British Columbia Regiment returned to Vancouver, marching to the Beatty St. Armoury under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel J.W. Toogood.


Post-war to modern day

In April 1946, Duke of Connaught's Own Rifles and the 28th Armoured amalgamated into the 13th Armoured Regiment (The British Columbia Regiment), RCAC. Later, in 1949 the name was again changed, to The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own) (13th Armoured Regiment). The regiment continued to train on the M4A2E8 Sherman tank, winning the Wallace Trophy for most efficient Militia unit in 1954, 1955 and 1956. Although the unit did not deploy to Korea as part of the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
, it did contribute volunteers to augment
Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) (LdSH(RC)) is a regular armoured warfare, armoured regiment of the Canadian Army and is Canada’s only tank regiment. Currently based in Edmonton, Alberta, the regiment is part of 3rd Canadian Division' ...
and the
Royal Canadian Dragoons The Royal Canadian Dragoons (RCD) is the senior armoured regiment of the Canadian Army by precedence. It is one of three armoured regiments in the Regular Force and forms part of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps. The colonel-in-chief of the ...
, whose regiments were sent. Soldiers of the regiment also served in deployments to Germany during the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
. On May 19, 1958, the regiment was redesignated again, becoming The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own) (RCAC); the regiment's title dropped "(RCAC)" in 1985, but it remains part of the corps. On February 28, 1965, the regiment's role changed, and it became an
armoured reconnaissance Armoured reconnaissance also Combat reconnaissance vehicle is the combination of terrestrial reconnaissance with armoured warfare by soldiers using tanks and wheeled or tracked armoured reconnaissance vehicles. While the mission of reconnaissan ...
unit. The long-serving Sherman tanks were retired, and the unit converted to the M38A1 CDN
Jeep Jeep is an American automobile brand, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with other assets, from its previous owner, American Motors Co ...
. The
Lynx reconnaissance vehicle The M113½ Command and Reconnaissance Vehicle (M113 C&R) is a United States-built tracked reconnaissance armoured fighting vehicle, which was originally employed by the armed forces of the Netherlands and Canada and later Bahrain and Chile. For ...
entered service in the Canadian Army in 1968, to replace the
Ferret armoured car The Ferret armoured car, also commonly called the Ferret scout car, is a British armoured fighting vehicle designed and built for reconnaissance purposes. The Ferret was produced between 1952 and 1971 by the UK company Daimler. It was widely us ...
currently serving in the reconnaissance role. The regiment cross-trained its soldiers to use the Lynx so that they could supplement regular army units overseas if necessary. In the 1987, the regiment received the Bombardier Iltis Jeep to replace the CJ7, itself a stopgap replacement for the aging M38A1, and the unit continued to train in the light reconnaissance role. The Canadian Army began to change the Reserve concept in the late 1990s, into the year 2000. Reservists would now be trained to the equivalent levels of their Regular force counterparts to ensure that a reserve augmentee could better serve in a given role. Under this concept, the regiment continues to train its soldiers to support and augment regular force units whenever required, in addition to being ready to serve locally whenever required. Soldiers of the regiment have served overseas in Canadian
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
missions, especially the former
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
. The regiment continues to contribute soldiers to the
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
mission in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
, usually attached to Lord Strathcona's Horse or the Royal Canadian Dragoons, operating the Leopard C2, Leopard 2A6 or Coyote Reconnaissance Vehicle. In 2004, the regiment retired its Iltis Jeeps, receiving the
Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...
G-Wagon Light Utility Vehicle, Wheeled, in the C&R (command and reconnaissance) version. The G-Wagons are built to accept a lightweight applique armour kit, and are usually armed with either the C9A1 Light Machine Gun or C6
General Purpose Machine Gun A general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) is an air-cooled, usually belt-fed machine gun that can be adapted flexibly to various tactical roles for light and medium machine guns. A GPMG typically features a quick-change barrel design calibered for ...
in a manually operated
turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Optical microscope#Objective turret (revolver or revolving nose piece), Objective turre ...
.


Recognition

On 10 November 1983 Canada Post issued 'The Royal Canadian Regiment, The British Columbia Regiment' as part of the Canadian Forces, Regiments, 1883–1983 series. The stamps were designed by Ralph Tibbles, based on a painting by William Southern. The 32¢ stamps are perforated 13.5 x 13 and were printed by Canadian Bank Note Company, Limited. The Freedom of the City was exercised by the British Columbia Regiment in Vancouver, British Columbia on October 13, 2008.


Alliances

* —
The Rifles The Rifles is an infantry regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of four Regular battalions and three Reserve battalions. Each Regular battalion was formerly an individual battalion of one of the two large regiments of the ...


Battle honours

Battle honours in small capitals are for large operations and campaigns and those in lowercase are for more specific battles. Bold type indicates honours emblazoned on the regimental guidon. The regiment formerly held the battle honour , but this honour cannot be perpetuated if a regiment is entitled to the honour , which was gained by the regiment upon amalgamation with the Irish Fusiliers of Canada (The Vancouver Regiment) in 2002.


Bands

The regiment is also home to two volunteer bands. The British Columbia Regiment Band is a brass and reed band that performs at regimental mess dinners and events, as well as public performances at community events. The British Columbia Regiment Irish Pipes and Drums are a volunteer pipe and drum band representing the regiment. The band preserves the Irish heritage of the regiment, and the former Irish Fusiliers of Canada, which merged to become part of the British Columbia Regiment in 2002.


Cadet Corps

There are several Royal Canadian Army Cadets corps spread across British Columbia that are affiliated to the British Columbia Regiment (DCO). Cadet units affiliated to the BCR (DCO) receive support and also are entitled to wear traditional regimental accoutrements on their uniforms.


Lineage chart


Order of precedence


Notes and references


Books

*"A short history of the British Columbia regiment (13th armoured regiment, Duke of Connaught's own, Royal Canadian armoured corps). The "Dukes." (Vancouver: Regimental Headquarters, 1953) *''The Dukes - The Story of the Men Who have Served in Peace and War with the British Columbia Regiment (D.C.O.)'' by Douglas E. Harker (1974) *''Swift and Strong'', 2011


External links

*
BCR (DCO) Regimental Association


{{DEFAULTSORT:British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own) Armoured regiments of Canada Irish regiments in Canada Organizations based in Vancouver Military units and formations of British Columbia Armoured regiments & units of Canada in World War II