How ironic:
Princess Patricias have proud history based on never giving up ground
TIM COOK
Canadian Press
EDMONTON (CP) - They are internationally known for holding their ground no matter what the cost. They are the only Canadian military regiment to be given a citation by a president of the United States.
They have fought in both world wars and Korea. Now 900 of their number are serving in Afghanistan - where four died and eight were seriously injured early Thursday when an American plane accidentally bombed their position on a night-time live-fire training exercise. But don't call them Pats - they're Patricias.
Born out of the First World War, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry has a proud history based on toughness and the ability to mobilize quickly, without much equipment.
"We've always been the first to go it seems," said Capt. Stephen Newman, a Patricia who is writing a book about the regiment's involvement in the First World War.
"In the First World War we were the first Canadians into action. In the Second World War we were the first ones to arrive in England. We were the first ones into Korea . . . ."
Steeped in tradition, PPCLI was founded in 1914 by a Montreal businessman named Capt. Andrew Hamilton Gault.
With the First World War brewing in Europe, Gault believed Canada should have an experienced core of light infantry soldiers ready to be sent overseas at a moment's notice.
He took his idea to Ottawa where it piqued the interest of Lt.- Col. Francis Farquhar, who was secretary to the Duke of Connaught, the governor-general.
With Gault's own money, the two men began recruiting soldiers from across the country.
At a time when most military regiments were formed locally, the national Patricias were unusual, but it made them an elite and experienced fighting force.
"One of the criteria to enlist was that you had to be a soldier that had seen action or been outside the country," Newman said.
With the troops signed up, all the regiment needed was a name.
Farquhar approached the Duke of Connaught and asked him if the regiment could be named after his daughter, Princess Patricia.
"She was a real beauty," Newman said.
The princess was delighted with the idea and on Aug. 10, 1914, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry was given authority through a charter of the Privy Council of Canada.
Over the years the Patricias have been involved in numerous battles, but there are two in particular that stand out.
At Frezenberg, during the First World War in 1915, as part of the British "stone-wall" brigade, PPCLI was asked to hold an Allied line that was crumbling.
Frezenberg was where PPCLI developed the reputation of holding their ground despite the cost, historians say.
"They went into the line with 650 men," Newman said. "Twenty- four hours later they came out with 150 and still held."
Thirty seven years later, the Patricias were at Kapyong during the Korean War, part of a team trying to stop the Chinese advancing to Seoul.
"The Americans and South Korean troops were bugging out, and the Commonwealth brigade stepped in," Newman said. "The Australians got forced off of their position but the Patricias held on and stopped the Chinese."
The regiment earned a U.S. presidential unit citation for their work at Kapyong.
There are three PPCLI battalions today: PPCLI 1 and PPCLI 3 are based in Edmonton, while PPCLI 2 is based in Winnipeg. Battalion 3 and some soldiers from Battalion 2 were called upon to serve in the American-led anti-terrorist offensive in Afghanistan.
They are foot soldiers in the true sense of the word, said Maj. Ted Giraldeau, and they are not tied to any armed vehicles during combat.
"It's truly a light infantry," Giraldeau said. "It's trained in parachute operations and helicopter operations - anywhere you need a light foot soldier . . . You're carrying everything on your back."
And the past is not lost on the Patricias in Afghanistan, Giraldeau said.
"You try and live up to the standards set by the originals of the First World War," Giraldeau said. "You get steeped into this regimental history and pride of what people did before you and you want to carry that ahead." |
