WW1 Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry Regiment Canada Patricia’s Cap Badge

Guaranteed original. Complete & intact This is an original Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry Cap Badge for sale. In good condition. Please see our other items for more original WW1, WW2 & post war British military cap badges for sale including other Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry cap badge.

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Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI, generally referred to as The Patricias) is one of the three Regular Force infantry regiments of the Canadian Army of the Canadian Armed Forces. The regiment is composed of four battalions including a Primary Reserve battalion, for a total of 2,000 soldiers. The PPCLI is the main lodger unit of Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Edmonton in Alberta and CFB Shilo in Manitoba, and belongs to 3rd Canadian Division; as such it is the “local” regular infantry regiment for much of Western Canada. At the outbreak of World War I, when Canada was lacking regular military forces, the then-Captain Andrew Hamilton Gault raised the Patricias. Hamilton Gault offered $100,000 (around 2 million in 2006 Canadian Dollars) to finance and equip a battalion in order to participate in the Canadian war effort overseas. The government temporarily accepted his offer on August 6, 1914, and officially authorized it on August 10, 1914. The Department of Militia and Defence contributed to the equipment of the unit. As a Canadian regiment mobilized in a time of wartime shortages, the regiment was equipped with weapons from a variety of sources. Private soldiers initially carried the Canadian .303 Ross rifle, while officers, gunners, and noncommissioned officers normally carried the 1914 Colt Canadian-contract .45 M1911 pistol. The PPCLI served for a year with the 80th Brigade before joining the new 7th Brigade within the 3rd Canadian Division on December 22, 1915.

In 1916 the regiment fought major battles at Mount Sorrel and on the Somme. It was not until October 1916 that the first Canadian, Lt Col Agar Adamson, was appointed to command the regiment. In 1917 as part of the Canadian Corps, the regiment took part in the Battle of Vimy Ridge on April 9, 1917, and Passchendaele later the same year. In 1918 the regiment fought at Amiens, Jigsaw Wood and Canal du Nord as part of the great battles of the Hundred Days that ended the war. The 4th Company, PPCLI, entered Mons with other Canadian troops early on November 11, 1918, before the armistice took effect at 11 AM. World War II began in Europe on September, 1st 1939, and the Canadian Parliament declared war between Canada and Germany on September 10, 1939. The same day, the Patricias were mobilized for active service. The regiment recruited in Winnipeg and Vancouver until October. The regiment sailed from Halifax, Nova Scotia on the December 21, 1939, arriving in Aldershot, England, as part of the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division under the command of Lieutenant Colonel W.G. On July 10, 1943, the PPCLI, forming part of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division and the British Eighth Army, landed in Sicily during Operation Husky. The Patricia won its first battle honours of the Second World War at Leonforte. Later, on September 4, 1943, the regiment landed and fought in Italy, advancing North for two months. The unit was slowed down by the demolished bridges and the German rear guard. In December 1943 the regiment fought during the Moro River Campaign; that year the soldiers spent Christmas in Ortona. In May 1944 the PPCLI took part in the offensive against the Hitler Line, west of Monte Cassino, during the allied offensive against Rome. At that point the regiment was a component of the newly formed 1st Canadian Corps. In August the unit took part in the offensive against the Gothic Line and in the assaults on San Fortunato and Rimini.

Please see our other items for more original WW1, WW2 & post war British military cap badges for sale including other Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry cap badges.