103rd Regiment (Calgary Rifles)

January 2023 April 2022 103rd Regiment (Calgary Rifles) 103rd Calgary Rifles Officers Cross-Belt Badge.jpg 103rd Calgary Rifles cross-belt badge. Two part, sterling silver badge consisting of a cast front badge and a rear plate with maker's mark, "JR Gaunt Montreal". Badge was affixed to the cross-belt with four screw-down lugs. 1910–1920 Canada 1868 Non-Permanent Active Militia Rifle regiment Military District No. 13 (unbrigaded) Calgary Honorary Colonel R.B. Bennett Ross rifle 1920 Lt-Col. William Charles Gordon Armstrong The 103rd Regiment (Calgary Rifles) was an infantry regiment of the Canadian Non-Permanent Active Militia, authorized at Calgary, Alberta, Canada, by General Order on 1 April 1910.www.canadiansoldiers.com http://www.canadiansoldiers.com/regiments/infantry/103rdcalgaryrifles.htm 2021-11-25 www.canadiansoldiers.com History thumb|left|upright|Field dress uniform for members of the 103rd Regiment, 1912. The 103rd Regiment was raised in Calgary as a militia unit. The first commanding officer was Lieutenant-Colonel W.C.G. Armstrong. The regiment was approved to train six companies of 50 men each, and later expanded to eight companies. The unit initially paraded at the former Calgary General Hospital building (today known as the Rundle Ruins) before being ordered to vacate in September 1910. The unit then moved into the former drill hall of the Canadian Mounted Rifles on Centre Street and 12th Avenue SE. In 1911 a new armoury was found, in a former German-Canadian club a block south of their former home at the General Hospital. After Mewata Armouries was completed during the First World War, the regiment moved its offices to that location. War Service At the outbreak of World War I the regiment was not mobilized but served as a recruiting depot to raise battalions for the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), the first being the 10th Battalion, CEF. The regiment also provided soldiers to man the internment camp at Castle Mountain.Calgary Guardian Article These soldiers were also employed full time as part of the Active Militia."103rd Regiment Internment Guards", Banff Crag and Canyon, 2 May 1916 A number of reinforcement battalions were commanded by former 103rd Regiment officers, including Lieutenant-Colonel William Charles Gordon Armstrong (56th Battalion (Calgary), CEF) and Lieutenant-Colonel George Morfitt (137th (Calgary) Battalion, CEF). The regiment also supplied soldiers to man internment camps near Castle Mountain and Cave & Basin in Banff National Park. Three soldiers of the 103rd Regiment (Calgary Rifles) died while assigned to the camp and are buried in Banff. Reorganization The 103rd Regiment was reorganized into two regiments in 1920 (the Calgary Regiment and The Alberta Regiment),Defence National 2018-11-29 The South Alberta Light Horse https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/military-history/history-heritage/official-military-history-lineages/lineages/armour-regiments/south-alberta-light-horse.html 2021-12-29 www.canada.ca each of which was reorganized into two regiments a few years later. None of the new units adopted the rifle regiment traditions of the 103rd. Perpetuations One of the resulting four regiments (the North Alberta Regiment) was disbanded in the 1936 reorganization of the Militia, but three present-day regiments claim descent from the 103rd: the South Alberta Light Horse, the King's Own Calgary Regiment (RCAC) and the Calgary Highlanders. These regiments perpetuate the 10th, 31st, 50th, 56th, 82nd, 89th and 137th Battalions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force all of whom were either raised in, or contained soldiers from, Calgary. Descendants of the 103rd Regiment "Calgary Rifles"http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/his/ol-lo/vol-tom-3/par1/arm-bli/SALH-eng.asp The South Alberta Light Horse June 11, 2010 Official Lineages: Volume 3, Part 1: Armour, Artillery and Field Engineer Regiments – Armour Regiments Directorate of History and Heritage November 14, 2011 25 February 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120225201146/http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/his/ol-lo/vol-tom-3/par1/arm-bli/SALH-eng.asp dead http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/his/ol-lo/vol-tom-3/par1/arm-bli/KOCR-eng.asp The King's Own Calgary Regiment (RCAC) June 11, 2010 Official Lineages: Volume 3, Part 1: Armour, Artillery and Field Engineer Regiments – Armour Regiments Directorate of History and Heritage November 14, 2011 31 March 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170331232601/http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/his/ol-lo/vol-tom-3/par1/arm-bli/KOCR-eng.asp dead http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/his/ol-lo/vol-tom-3/par2/ch-eng.asp The Calgary Highlanders October 2010 Official Lineages: Volume 3, Part 2: Infantry Regiments Directorate of History and Heritage November 14, 2011 24 November 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20151124121534/http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/his/ol-lo/vol-tom-3/par2/ch-eng.asp dead 100% Lineage center AD910 103RC 1910 103rd Regt "Calgary Rifles" blank , - - - v ^ - - - - .   AD920 1BCR 2BCR AlbRg 1920 1st Bn, The Calgary Regt 2nd Bn, The Calgary Regt The Alberta Regiment blank ! ! , - ^ - .   AD921 1BCHC ! 1BAR 2BAR 1921 1st Bn, Calgary Highlanders, The Calgary Regt 1st Bn, The Alberta Regt 2nd Bn, The Alberta Regt AD924 CgHgh CgyRg SAR NAR 1924 The Calgary Highlanders The Calgary Regt The South Alberta Regiment The North Alberta Regt AD936 ! CgyRg ! dbndd 1936 The Calgary Regt (Tank) Disbanded AD940 2BCH ! 2BSAR 1940 2nd (Reserve) Bn, The Calgary Highlanders 2nd (Reserve) Bn, The South Alberta Regt AD941 ! 14ATB ! 1941 14th (Reserve) Army Tank Bn, (The Calgary Regt (Tank)) AD942 ! 14ATR 2BSAR 1942 14th (Reserve) Army Tank Regt, (The Calgary Regt (Tank)) 2nd (Reserve) Bn, The South Alberta Regt (MG) AD945 CgHgh ! ! 1945 The Calgary Highlanders AD946 ! 14AR SAR 1946 14th Armoured Regt (King's Own Calgary Regt) The South Alberta Regt AD949 ! KOCR ! 1949 The King's Own Calgary Regt (14th Armoured Regt) AD954 ! ! SALH 1954 The South Alberta Light Horse (29th Armoured Regt) AD958 ! KOCR SALH 1958 The King's Own Calgary Regt (RCAC) The South Alberta Light Horse Curr ! ! ! References Knight, Darrell. The Canadian Regimental Badge Book. (Calgary: private publication, 2008) Regimental Histories Calgary's Infantry Regiment: A Pictorial History of The Calgary Highlanders by Michael A. Dorosh (Calgary Highlanders Regimental Funds Foundation, 2024) 440 pages 978-0-969461-64-7 Category:Rifle regiments of Canada Category:Infantry regiments of Canada until 1920 Category:Military units and formations established in 1910 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1920 Category:Military units and formations of Alberta