23rd Field Artillery Regiment, RCA

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The 23rd Field Artillery Regiment, (SP) RCA, was part of the 4th Canadian Armoured Division of the 2nd Canadian Corp., of the 1st Canadian Army in WW11. The Regiment was formed in April 1942 and from May to July 1942 the 3 Batteries of the Regiment formed up at the Canadian Artillery Training Centre A2 (C.A.T.C. A2) in Petawawa, Ontario. The (SP) in their name denotes that the Regiment was a "Self Propelled" Regiment.

The 3 Batteries of the 23rd Field Regiment were:
1) the 31st, which had formed part of the 7th (Toronto) Field Regiment (Reserve) mostly from Toronto. Its Company Name was "Peter" and the Squad's initials were A - Abel and B - Baker.

2) the 36th, which was from the areas of Cobourg, Port Hope and Peterborough, Ontario. Its Company Name was "Queen" and the Squad's initials were C - Charlie and D - Dog,

3) the 83rd, from the 8th Field Brigade (Reserve) from the areas of Hamilton, Brantford and St. Catharines, Ontario. Its Company Name was "Roger" and the Squad's initials were E - Easy and F - Fox.

A summary of their activities in WW11 follows:
Training in Canada
May/July 1942 - Canadian Artillery Training Centre A2, Petawawa, Ontario
July/Aug 1942 - Sussex Military Camp, Sussex, New Brunswick
Aug/Sept 1942 - Tracadie Camp, Tracadie, New Brunswick
Sept '42 - June '43 - Sussex Military Camp, Sussex, New Brunswick
June/July 1943 - Tracadie Camp, Tracadie, New Brunswick
July 1943 - Sussex Military Camp, Sussex, New Brunswick
Training in UK
July 23/43 - to UK aboard Queen Elizabeth 1
July 27/43 - arrive Gourock Harbour, Scotland
July/Aug 1943 - Chobham Common Reception Camp for 10 days
Aug - Nov 1943 - Eastbourne Camp
Nov 1943 - Larkhill Gunnery Camp (British School of Artillery)
Dec 1943 - Eastbourne Camp
Dec 1943 - Redesdale Camp
Dec'43 - Feb'44 - Eastbourne Camp
Feb 1944 - Larkhill Gunnery Camp, Salisbury Plains
Feb/Mar 1944 - Eastbourne Camp
Mar/June 1944 - Pippingford Park
July 1944 - Camped in field about 1 mile from Pippingford Park
July 1944 - Wanstead Common Marshalling Camp
July 24/44 - convoy through Straits of Dover towards France
FRANCE
July 26/44 - Disembarked at Arromanches & moved inland to Banville area, near Caen
July to Sept 1944 - activity in areas of Caen, Ifs, Mondeville, Operation Totalize, St. Andre-sur-Orne, Verrieres, Gausmesnil, Caillouet, Roquancourt, River Laize, Hautmesnil, St. Aignon de Cramesnil, Renemesnil, Operation Tractable, Olendon, Le Moutiers-en-Auge, Trun, Le Menil Girard, Coudehard, Monnai, Bernay, Bout de la Ville, St. Pierre les Elbeuf, River Seine, Criqueboeuf-sur-Seine, Pont de L'Arche, Ymaro, Le Hamel aux Batiers, Grainville-sur-Ry, Boissay, Forges-les-Eaux, Airaines, Sorel, Abbeville, Wisques, Soex, St. Omer and St. Riquiers.
BELGIUM
Sept/Oct 1944 - activity in areas of Leysele, Bruges, Den Daelo, Holding of the Leopold, Canal de Ghent, Boerbrugge, Oedelem, Syssele, over Leopold Canal, Cliet, Balgerhoek, Eecloo, Caprycke, Maldegem, Balgerhoek, Antwerp, Schilde, Roosendaal Canal, Punt Heuvek, Wildert and Wousche Plantage.
NETHERLANDS
Oct '44 to Feb '45 - activity in areas of Spillebeek, Heimolen, Bergen-op-Zoom, Halsteren, Dinteloord, Operation Suitcase, Roosendaal, Breda, Tilburg, Vught, s'Hertogenbosch, Boxtel, Gemonde, St. Philipsland Peninsula, Operation Trojan, Operation Schultz and Sprang
GERMANY
Feb/March 1945 - activity in areas of Hau (south of Cleve), Operation Blockbuster, Louisendorf, Keppeln, The Hochwald Gap, Udermerbruch, Sonsbeck, Veen and Winnethal
NETHERLANDS
March 12 to 22, 1945 - In Tilburg for rest period
GERMANY
March 1945 - activity in areas of Huibsberden (on banks of Rhine), Emmerich and Milligen
NETHERLANDS
April 2-4 - activity in areas of Gelselaar, Diepenheim, Twente Canal, Wegdam and Delden
GERMANY
April/May 1945 - activity in areas of Wilsum, Emmlicheim, Ruhl, Dortmund-Ems Canal, Meppen, Lathen, Sogel, Werlte, Lorup, Neuvrees, Friesoythe, Kusten Canal, Edewecht, Bad Zwischenahn, Rorbeck, Rastede, Nutte and Rastede
May 5, 1945 - Cease Fire was officially proclaimed at 8:00 a.m.
May 14, 1945 - Major General Christopher Vokes, GOC, 4th Canadian Armoured Divisions addresses the Regiment at Ocholt.
NETHERLANDS
June 29/45 - Armoured guns turned in at Nijmegen, in a "Farewell to the Guns" Parade

SOURCE: After WW11, each Regiment had to submit a War Diary of their activities and the foregoing is sourced from the 23rd Field Regiment's 81 page War Diary, entitled "The History of the 23rd Field Regiment (SP) R.C.A., April 1942 to May 1945", by Lieut. Lawrence N. Smith, which was subsequently published by the St. Catherines Standard in 1945 in St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada.