Gunner History – 1st Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, CASF
The 1st Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery was a Permanent Force Unit activated for the Second World War. It retained its peacetime A, B and C Batteries plus the Militia 54th Battery from Brantford, Ont. The Regiment sailed from Canada on 10 December 1939 as part of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division. On 1 June 1940 the Regiment sailed for France, an adventure that was only to last until they returned to England on the 18th. They managed to bring their guns back, but not their vehicles, radios and technical stores. The 54th Battery was later reroled as anti-aircraft battery. Many months of training and deployments throughout England ended when the 1st Field Regiment landed in Sicily in July 1943. After fighting up the length of Italy, they were shipped to Southern France in March 1945 and arrived in the Netherlands on 7 April 1945. The unit was disbanded 25 August 1945.
The history of the 1st Field Regiment RCHA is told in the attached document. This story has been compiled from the Unit War Diaries, an incomplete manuscript by an anonymous author and excerpts from RCHA – Right of the Line.
1st Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, CASF 1939-1945
Please forward any comments that you may have to the RCAA Executive Director, exdir.rcaa.aarc@gmail.com
The RCAA is also looking for additional photographs of the 1st Field Regiment RCHA and additional names of any that served with the unit. Send them to the Executive Director and we’ll include them in the next update. Photo credits.
We have also not been able to locate a copy of a nominal roll for the 1st Regiment Royal Canadian Horse Artillery from 1939 until 1945. The nominal roll in the book and this attached document were gleaned from the 3 source documents and are far from complete. If you have a nominal roll or names that should be entered please also forward them to the Executive Director for the next update. We’re also looking for names to be added to our Lest We Forget project. The attached list shows the date of death of those that already entered and we’re looking for obituaries on the others. Nominal Roll
3. C/54 Battery 1940
4. Director Training 1940
5. General Gamelin, Commander in Chief Allied Forces
6. Gunner Irving Lionel (Ghostie) Vince
9. Billeting in France, 15 Jun 1940
7. RCHA Road Party, France1940
8. Wine Tasting 18 Jun 1940
10. Tac Sign
11. A Troop, 1940
12. Galloping Horse
13. RCHA Hockey Team 1940
14. English Wives
16. Capt Bigg
17. Officers Aug1941
18. Field exercise, Barham, England, 10 Apr 1942
19. B Battery Officers 1942
20. E Troop 1943
21. OP B Battery, Potenza, Italy, 24 Sep 1943
22. A Battery 27 Sep 1943
23. Capt Robert Donald, Gnr Richard Dixon, Oct 1943
25. Bdr W J Black, TSM Jimmy Walker, San Pietro, Italy, 26 Nov 1943
26. Kingbird1944
27. Fall of the Hitler Line, May 1944
28. B Battery FOO party
29. Firing on Gothic Line, B Battery 1943
31. Oxen, Porter Force Nov1944
30. Near Florence, Fall 1944
32. B Troop Command Post Dec 44
33. E Troop, C Battery 22 May 1945
