The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own) | |
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Regimental badge
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Active | 12 October 1883–Present |
Country | Canada |
Branch |
Canadian Army Primary Reserve |
Type | Armoured Reconnaissance |
Role | To obtain timely and accurate information that both satisfies the commanders information requirements and is provided quickly enough to be incorporated into the commanders operational planning process. |
Part of |
39 Canadian Brigade Group 3rd Canadian Division |
Garrison/HQ | Vancouver, British Columbia |
Nickname(s) | "The Dukes" |
Patron | Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn |
Motto(s) | Irish: Faugh a ballagh (Clear the way) |
March | "I'm Ninety-Five" |
Battle honours | South Africa, 1900; Ypres, 1915, '17; Gravenstafel; St. Julien; Festubert, 1915; Mount Sorrel; Somme, 1916, '18; Flers-Courcelette; Thiepval; Ancre Heights; Ancre 1916; Arras, 1917, '18; Vimy, 1917; Arleux; Hill 70; Passchendaele; Amiens; Scarpe, 1917, '18; Drocourt–Quéant; Hindenburg Line; Canal du Nord; Cambrai 1918; Valenciennes; France and Flanders, 1915–18; Falaise; Falaise Road; The Laison; Chambois; The Scheldt; The Lower Maas; The Rhineland; The Hochwald; Veen; Twente Canal; Küsten Canal; Bad Zwischenahn; North-West Europe, 1944–1945; Afghanistan |
Commanders | |
Commanding officer | LCol Douglas Evans |
Abbreviation | BCR (DCO) |
The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own) is a Primary Reserve armoured reconnaissance (recce) regiment of the Canadian Army; the regiment is subordinate to 39 Canadian Brigade Group of the 3rd Canadian Division. Established in 1883, it is the oldest military unit in Vancouver, British Columbia. It parades at the Beatty Street Drill Hall at the corner of Dunsmuir and Beatty in downtown Vancouver. The regiment has been variously designated as garrison artillery, rifles, infantry, and armoured, but has been reconnaissance since 1965. It has received 41 battle honours in its history, and has been a unit of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps since 1942.
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.