The Perth Regiment was an infantry regiment of the
Canadian Army. It is currently on the Supplementary Order of Battle.
Affiliated to the Cameronians, the
regiment wore Douglas tartan.
In 1838, the Third Regiment of Huron was organized in the territory
which is now the south part of Perth County, Ontario. This was a paper
organization of the compulsory militia, to which every able-bodied male
citizen in theory belonged. It did not have equipment, did not train,
and while it continued to exist after the voluntary militia was formed,
it was distinct from the volunteers.
The Stratford Volunteer
Rifle Company was formed in 1856, elected its own officers, and carried
on entirely at the expense of its members for two years, before it was
officially recognized in 1858.
In response to the Fenian Raids, a
temporary battalion-sized composite unit was formed in 1866 at Thorold,
Ontario. It consisted of companies from Stratford, Chatham, Ingersoll,
St. Thomas and Guelph.
A general order of the Militia Department
of the Province of Canada, dated 14 September 1866 authorized a
regimental headquarters. Robert Service of Stratford was promoted to Lt
Col and appointed to command. The Stratford Volunteer Rifle Company
became No. 1 Company of the regiment. Other companies were in Listowel
and St. Marys
The principle of Militia units was voluntary
service and year-round training while carrying on with civilian life.
The Perth Regiment maintained this principle throughout its peacetime
service.
On 6 August 1914, during events which led to the First
World War, details of the regiment were placed on active service for
local protection duties.
The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF)
was organized in 1914 and 1915 using numbered battalions, which had
little connection with the existing militia regiments. The 110th
Battalion (Perth), CEF was authorized on 22 December 1915. The Perth
Regiment recruited the 110th Battalion from Perth county.
The
110th Battalion embarked for Great Britain on 31 October 1916 with a
strength of 679 all ranks. On 2 January 1917, personnel of the 110th
Battalion were absorbed by the 8th Battalion, CEF to provide
reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field. The 110th Battalion
was disbanded on 17 July 1917.
The 1st Battalion, The Perth
Regiment, was mobilized 1 September 1939 for service in World War II.
The 1st Battalion embarked for Great Britain on 9 October 1941. It
landed in Italy on 8 November 1943, as part of the 11th Infantry
Brigade, 5th Canadian Division. The 1st Battalion transferred with the I
Canadian Corps to North-West Europe in March 1945, where it fought until
the end of the war. It returned home under command of a Perth militia
officer, Lt Col MW Andrew and was disbanded on January 31, 1946.
The 2nd (Reserve) Battalion, headquartered in Stratford, was authorized
in 1940 and trained recruits for the 1st Battalion.
In 1954, as a
result of the Kennedy Report on the Reserve Army, this regiment was
amalgamated with The Highland Light Infantry of Canada to form The Perth
and Waterloo Regiment (Highland Light Infantry of Canada). This was not
a successful amalgamation, and in 1957 the two units reverted to their
former designations.
In June 1964, The Commission on the
Reorganization of the Canadian Army (Militia), commonly called the
Suttie Commission, issued its report. The Commission proposed the
Supplementary Order of Battle to maintain the name of deactivated units
and to facilitate reactivation. The commission further recommended that
the Perth Regiment be transferred to the Supplementary Order of Battle
and that the regiment's personnel be absorbed by 3 RCR (now 4 RCR).
On 28 February 1965, The Perth Regiment was reduced to nil strength
and placed on the Supplementary Order of Battle. At the time it was
inactivated, The Perth Regiment consisted of a company in Stratford and
a support platoon in St Marys.
Before being moved to the
Supplementary Order of Battle, The Perth Regiment its final Order of
Precedence as 16.
Alliances
The Perth Regiment was allied to
the Cameronians, the Otago Regiment of New
Zealand, 26th Battalion of Australia, and the
Witwatersrand Rifles of South
Africa.
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