The South Alberta Light Horse

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The South Alberta Light Horse
Image:SALH small.gif
Badge of the South Alberta Light Horse
Active 28th September 1954-Present
Country Canada
Branch Army
Type Light Horse
Role Armoured Reconnaissance
Size One regiment
Part of Royal Canadian Armoured Corps
Garrison/HQ Edmonton
Nickname The Sally Horse
Motto Semper Alacer (Always Ready)
March A Southern Wind and a Cloudy Sky
Commanders
Colonel-in-Chief HRH The Countess of Wessex
Colonel of
the Regiment		 Dr Stanley Milner OC, AOE, CD, LLD

The South Alberta Light Horse, or SALH, is an armoured unit of the Canadian Forces Army Reserve based in Medicine Hat and Edmonton, Alberta . It is one of the oldest of the western Canadian army reserve units.


Contents

[edit] Regimental Names

[edit] Battle honours

North West Canada 1885

First World War: Mount Sorrel, Somme 1916 '18, Flers-Courcelette, Thiepval, Ancre Heights, Arras, Vimy 1917, Arleux, Hill 70, Ypres 1917, Passchendaele, Amiens, Dorcourt-Queant, Hindenburg Line, Canel du Nord, Cambrai 1918, Pursuit to Mons, France and Flanders 1915-1918, Scarpe 1917-1918

Second World War: Falaise, Falaise Road, The Laison, St. Lambert sur-Dives, Moerbrugge, The Scheldt, Woendrecht, The Lower Maas, Kapelsche Veer, The Rhineland, The Hockwald, Veen, Twente Canal, Bad Zwischenahn, North-West Europe 1944-1945

[edit] Victoria Cross

Major (later Lieutenant Colonel) David Vivian Currie, VC

[edit] History

[edit] Early history

The South Alberta Light Horse traces its beginnings to the period of the Riel Rebellion of 1885. During this conflict the Rocky Mountain Rangers of Fort Macleod with 150 officers and men were tasked with the protection of the area ranging from the U.S. border to High River and from the Rockies to Medicine Hat.

This irregular cavalry unit is seen as the true genesis of the regiment. The 15th Light Horse, the official direct ancestor of the SALH, was raised in Calgary on July 3, 1905. From this point until the mid 1950s the regiment's history can be described as a series of complicated amalgamations and redesignations of Alberta army reserve units of all arms until the regiment as it is now was formed in Calgary in 1954.

[edit] History 1904-1913

[edit] History 1914-1938

The unit's active participation in the First World War came with the involvement of the 12th and 13th Regiments of the Canadian Mounted Rifles Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), which were direct descendants of the 15th Light Horse and the 31st, 113th, 175th and the 187th Overseas Battalions CEF, which were created with the advent of the war.

Despite its cavalry beginnings, the regiment fought in the war as infantry, carrying the name 31st Battalion CEF and was awarded 19 battle honours, including such notable actions as Vimy and Ypres.

Of interesting note is that the 31st Battalion CEF participated in the first tank attack in history at the battle of Coucelette on 15 September 1916, while the 19th Dragoons (at that time known as C Squadron, Canadian Light Horse) made the last cavalry charge in Canadian history at the battle of Iwuy on 10 October 1918. This means that among the predecessor units of the SALH, one participated in the first military operation involving the tank and another mounted the last cavalry charge in Canadian history.

The period between wars saw the re-emergence of the 15th Light Horse, henceforth called the 15th Alberta Light Horse and The Alberta Regiment. The former unit was cavalry out of Calgary and the latter was infantry out of Medicine Hat.

[edit] History 1939-1945

It was under these two main designations that the regiment entered the Second World War in 1939. Though their names were later changed, it was these two units that served to perpetuate the lineage. The 15th Alberta Light Horse had contributed to several active service units, including the 31st Alberta Reconnaissance Battalion, remaining in the Calgary area until the end of the war. The Alberta Regiment, which had become the South Alberta Regiment before the war, recruited an active service battalion in the Medicine Hat area in the summer of 1940. This infantry unit trained in Canada until 1942 when it was reorganized as the 29th Armoured Regiment (The South Alberta Regiment) and moved to England in August.

The SAR was granted 15 battle honours for its service overseas, redesignated the 29th Canadian Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment (The South Alberta Regiment) in 1944. The unit was selected by Maj-Gen Worthington to be the recce regiment of the 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division because he wanted "keen-eyed prairie men" as his scouts. The 29th was again converted, with all armoured recce regiments, to the war establishment of a regular armoured regiment in 1944 and sent to France in July of that year. It fought through Normandy, Belgium, tehe Scheldt, the Rhineland, The Netherlands and Germany until the end of the war in Europe in May 1945. Of particular note is that Major David Currie was awarded the Commonwealth's highest military award for bravery, the Victoria Cross, for his valour at St. Lambert sur Dives, France, during the battle of the Falaise Gap.

Meanwhile the 31st Reconnaissance Battalion had served in the Calgary area until January 1945 when it was shipped to England. It was disbanded a month later and broken up for reinforcements.

[edit] History 1945-1999

The end of the war saw the re-emergence of The South Alberta Regiment (infantry) in Medicine Hat and the 15th Light Horse (armoured) in Calgary. The 15th however, was not to keep its name, and it was united with the 22nd Field Battery RCA and renamed 68th Light Anti-Aircraft RCA. This is remained until 1954 when it united with The South Alberta Regiment of Medicine Hat and the 41st Anti-Tank Regiment out of Calgary to become The South Alberta Light Horse (29th Armoured Regiment) out of Calgary. In 1958 "29th Armoured Regiment" was dropped from the name, and two years later, in 1960, the regiment was moved back to its old Headquarters in Medicine Hat. The regiment remained an army reserve armoured unit until 1968 when it lost its tanks and was retasked as an armoured reconnaissance unit.

In 1978 the regiment established an independent B Squadron in Edmonton to train out of Griesbach Barracks. Originally roled as reconnaissance, B Squadron transition to AVGP and was reroled as armoured in the early 1980s. The rest of the regiment followed suit and by 1985 the entire regiment was out of reconnaissance and back to being armoured.

[edit] Recruiting

The South Alberta Light Horse actively recruits men and women between the ages of 16-57 for employment in a variety of military trades including Armoured Reconnaissance Crewman, Armoured Officer and Storesman. Further information can be obtained on the regiment's website (www.salh.net) or by calling 310-ARMY in Medicine Hat and (780) 973-4011 Ex. 5348 in Edmonton.

[edit] Recent activities

[edit] The regiment today

The regiment of today has soldiers both in Edmonton and Medicine Hat. With the advent of the Land Force Reserve Restructuring project, The South Alberta Light Horse was returned to its roots as an Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment effective September 1, 2004.

The current commanding officer of the SALH is Lieutenant Colonel Johnson. The current regimental sergeant major is Chief Warrant Officer Young.

[edit] References

  • Century of Service: The History of the South Alberta Light Horse by Donald E. Graves, ISBN 1-896941-43-5
  • South Albertas: A Canadian Regiment at War by Donald E. Graves

[edit] Alliances

[edit] Order of precedence

Preceded by:
The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own) (RCAC)		 The South Alberta Light Horse Succeeded by:
The Saskatchewan Dragoons

[edit] External link

[edit] Contact information

  • 120 Cuyler Rd, Medicine Hat, Alberta, Phone (403) 504-3775
  • 11630 - 109 St, Edmonton, Alberta, Phone (780) 973-4011 Ex. 5348
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