8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's)

8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's)
8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's) Cap Badge
Active	1848-present
Country	Canada
Branch	Primary Reserve
Type	Line Cavalry
Role	Reconnaissance
Part of	Royal Canadian Armoured Corps
Nickname	The Crazy Eights
Patron	The Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll
Motto	Regi patriaque fidelis For King and Country
March	The 8th Hussars
Engagements	World War II
Commanders
Colonel-in-Chief	HRH The Princess Royal

The 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's) is one of the longest serving armoured regiments in the Canadian Army. A Squadron being Regular Force served in CFB Gagetown and B, C and HQ Squadrons served in Sussex, Moncton and Sackville. In 1998 again due to budget reasons the Regular Squadron was disbanded and the regiment reverted to reserve status again.

History

Originally founded as the New Brunswick Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry in 1848 by the regimentation of a number of independent cavalry troops, the regiment was the first volunteer cavalry regiment in British North America.

The Regiment perpetuates the 6th Regiment Canadian Mounted Rifles, Canadian Expeditionary Force.^[1]

World War II

The Second World War provided the regiment’s first opportunity for active service as a formed unit, initially as the 4th Canadian Motor Cycle Regiment and then as the 5th Armoured Regiment. The regiment landed in Italy on 19 December 1943 at Naples and saw action soon and frequently thereafter. The bloody battles of Cassino and the Liri Valley, the Metfa Crossing, Ceprano, The Gothic Line, Missano Ridge, Coriano, the Lamone River Crossing, and Coventello were grim testimony to the regiment’s fighting effectiveness. In February 1945, the Hussars sailed from Italy to Southern France, and then moved by rail to Northwest Europe. After refitting the tanks, the regiment went into action in Holland, breaking through to Putten in mid-April. The regiment then moved north for the final actions of the war at the Delfzijl Pocket where 3,000 German soldiers surrendered to the regiment. On 26 January 1946, the regiment arrived in Halifax and the next day reached Sussex, New Brunswick where it was demobilized.

The Guidon of the 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's).

Post WWII

In 1950, the regiment was called upon to provide men for service with the Special Force which was raised and deployed to Korea, and in 1951 "Y" Troop was organized for service with the 27th Canadian Infantry Brigade in Germany.

On 29 January 1957, it was decided that a third armoured regiment would be formed in the Canadian Army. As a result the regiment was honoured with the privilege of providing its name to the new regiment. This resulted in the change of the regiment’s name to the 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise’s). The Regular Regiment served in Gagetown, New Brunswick.

The camp flag of the 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's).

In the summer of 1965, the regiment was deployed from their base at Petawawa, Ontario on a peacekeeping mission for the United Nations to the island nation of Cyprus. The regiment has participated in several "aid to the civil authority" missions in recent history. In the summer of 1990 the regiment sent a troop sized force to the province of Quebec in Cougars to assist in Canadian Forces Operations in the Oka Crisis. In the 1998 Ice Storm, the regiment provided a platoon-sized force to assist in the maintenance of infrastructure in the community of St. Stephen, New Brunswick. In the fall of 1998, the regiment provided soldiers to the recovery effort for Swiss Air Flight 111.

In 2004, 8CH changed trades to become an armoured reconnaissance unit, in place of its previous designation as simply an armoured unit. Along with this trade change the unit was given the new Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon, a Jeep-like vehicle more suited to their new role as reconnaissance. The unit is stationed at the Moncton and Sussex detachments of CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick. Its Colonel-in-Chief is HRH The Princess Royal.

8th Hussars Regimental Museum

8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's) Museum
Location	former train station in Sussex, New Brunswick
Website	http://8chassociation.com/Museum.html

The regiment's museum is located in a former train station in Sussex, New Brunswick. Exhibits focus on the regiment's history and activities, and include uniforms, medals, weapons and artifacts from different wars.

Alliances

•  United Kingdom - The Queen's Royal Hussars (Queen's Own and Royal Irish)
•  United Kingdom - Yorkshire Yeomanry

See also

Canadian Armed Forces portal

• The Canadian Crown and the Canadian Forces

References

1. ^ Canadian Forces Publication A-DH-267-003/AF-001 -- Part One: Armour, Artillery and Field Engineer Regiments

• http://www.8chassociation.com/Regiment1.html

Further reading

• Douglas How, The 8th Hussars: A History of the Regiment, Sussex, NB: Maritime Publishing, 1964.

External links

• [1] 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's)
• [2] 8th Hussars Regimental Museum
• History and Uniform of the 8th Canadian (Princess Louise's) Hussars, 1848 to 1970

Preceded by The Halifax Rifles (RCAC)

8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's)

Succeeded by The Ontario Regiment (RCAC)

Coordinates: 45°53′42″N 77°17′00″W / 45.894996°N -77.283368°E / 45.894996; -77.283368