The Brockville Rifles

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= The Brockville Rifles


caption= Cap Badge of the Brockville Rifles
dates= 1796-present
country= Canada
branch= Militia
type= Rifles
size= One battalion
garrison=Brockville
role= Light Role
command_structure=Royal Canadian Infantry Corps
ceremonial_chief=
ceremonial_chief_label=Colonel in Chief
colonel_of_the_regiment=
anniversaries=Regimental birthday - 5 October 1866
motto="Semper Paratus"
nickname=
battles=
march= "The Bonnie Dundee"

The Brockville Rifles is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces. It is fifteenth in the order of precedence.

The motto of the regiment is "Semper Paratus" meaning 'Always Ready'.

History

The history of the Regiment dates back to 1796 with the formation of the 1st Battalion Leeds Militia at Elizabethtown. At it's peak the Leeds county had raised a total of 9 Battalions to combat enemy forces. With the appointment of Maj. General Sir Isaac Brock, the ranking British General at the time, as the temporary administrator of the province of Upper Canada during the War of 1812 that citizens of Elizabethtown proposed the name of Brockville, which was later accepted as the official name by the provincial bureaucrats. During the War of 1812 the Regiment was involved with the capturing of Ogdensburg and as well the Battle of Chrysler's Farm. In 1856 the Regiment's name became even closer to that of its current one as it became the Brockville Volunteer Rifle Company.

In the year 1861, a major development also occurred in which a second unit, The Brockville Infantry Company, came into existence. Despite being similar in some respects the Rifles wore the traditional dark green of a rifle company and the infantry wore the scarlet red, common of all line infantry. Five years later the units were reorganized into the 41st Brockville Battalion of Rifles. This Battalion had 6 companies spread across immediate area. The organisation was as follows: 1 Coy was in Brockville, 2 Coy was in Gananoque, 3 Coy was in Perth, 4 Coy was in Merrickville, 5 Coy was in Carleton Place, and finally 6 Coy was in Pakenham. At the same time the 42nd Battalion of Infantry came into existence, however they became the Lanark and Renfrew Scottish Regiment. Later during the Fenian Raids, the Regiment was successful in combatting and fending off the Fenian Brotherhood in the raids of 1866 and 1870. The Regiment also contributed troops to the Boer War in 1899.

During the First World War, in December of 1915, the unit was reorganised to become the 156th Leeds & Grenville Battalion. The unit moved to England as part of the proposed 5th Division, however pressing needs for troops and reinforcements on the front caused the disbanding of the unit and the men were transferred to other units including the 2nd, the 21st, the 38th, and Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. The men of the unit served valiantly with the other units, and many awards and decorations were given to men including one Victoria Cross to Major Thain MacDowell, whose picture currently hangs in the units' Officers' Mess. A total of 10 Officers and 95 men were killed or died of wounds during the First World War.

Following World War I, the unit was reorganised into The Brockville Rifles. In April of 1926, the Colonel Commandant of the King's Royal Rifle Corps invited the unit to ally with them. Today the King's Royal Rifle Corps, the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and the Rifle Brigade have been amalgamated to form the Royal Green Jackets, this is the unit with which The Brockville Rifles has an alliance.

During the Second World War, the unit mobilised to from B Coy of the Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry Highlanders. Another unit that became part of the SD&G was the Princess of Wales' Own Regiment. This all came together to help create the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders that were deployed overseas to fight as a part of the 9th Highland Brigade, 3rd Canadian Division. As a part of the SD&G, soldiers from the Regiment landed on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, and were the first Allied force to enter Caen. The "Brocks" as part of the SD&G reached the center of the city by 1300, 9 July 1944.

On April 1, 1946, the Brocks were converted and re-designated the 60th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment (Brockville Rifles) RCA. On 1 September 1954, following another amalgamation, the Brocks were yet again converted, this time to the 32nd Locating Battery (Brockville Rifles) RCA. In December 1959, the Regiment once again returned to the Colours and adopted its current designation as The Brockville Rifles, as well as an infantry unit.

Battle Honours

World War I
Amiens, 1918

Arras, 1918

Hindenburg Line, 1918

Pursuit to Mons, 1918

World War II
Honorary Distinction, The badge of the Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry Highlanders on the drums

Honorary appointments

Honorary Colonel
Colonel W.M. Rogers

Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel
Lieutenant-Colonel J.A. English

Training

The Brocks train regularly in either CFB Petawawa or at CFB Kingston. On some occasions the unit has even conducted urban style training exercises in the City of Brockville. Members of the unit can usually expect to train a minimum of one night a week and one weekend exercise a month. Often, members of the unit will train and parade more often. Training consists of basic infantry soldier skills, individual battle task standards, and more advanced training that is more pertinent to current operations overseas in Afghanistan, which is usually headed by senior members with one or more deployments to Afghanistan. The unit often trains with its sister unit, The Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders, as well as participating in Brigade level training exercises with 33 Canadian Brigade Group.

Operations

Currently, a number of Brocks are on, training for, or will be training for deployment to Afghanistan. Previous Brocks have served in Afghanistan, Bosnia, The Former Republic of Georgia, among other deployments. The unit prepares soldiers to be effective and employable to the regular force of the CF for missions and or operations that may need augmentation by the reserve force.

External links

* [http://regimentalrogue.tripod.com/battlehonours/bathnrinf/17-brockr.htm Brockville Rifles Information]
* [http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/asu_kingston/military/brock_e.asp Brockville Rifles History - ASU Kingston]

Alliances

*GBR - The Rifles

Order of precedence