Essex Armoured Soldiers Museum

Please visit the museum's website at http://www.essex-armoured-soldiers-museum.ca and check out our new look. Thank you to L. Stallings for all of her work.

From the illustrated history of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps by Marteinson and McNorgan: "The idea of creating Canadian tank battalions had arisen in January 1918 in a conversation between Major-General H.J. Elles, General Officer Commanding the Tank Corps, and a Canadian gunner on his staff, Lieutenant-Colonel James Edgar Mills who suggested that Canada should be involved in the new forma warfare that Elles commanded. Ottawa was receptive to the suggestion and appointed... Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Denison of the Winnipeg Rifles to raise and command the new battalion, which would be part of the Canadian Machine Gun Corps. Within two months he had recruited a complete complement of 688 all ranks from universities across the country. "A" Company of the 1st Canadian Tank Battalion was recruited at the University of Toronto, "B" Company from McGill and "C" Company from other universities. First brought together in Ottawa, they were shipped to Britain in June of 1918 and quartered at Frensham Camp for basic training while the officers were posted to Bovington Camp to learn the mysteries of armoured warfare.

We hope that everyone had a great Christmas. I received the book "Afghanistan A Canadian Story 2001-2014" from my dear wife. Looking through it, the museum is credited on page 236 on the page describing the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps in Afghanistan. It was a delightful surprise. Also, our web site is back up and running. You can find it at http://www.essex-armoured-soldiers-museum.ca .

Friends, there is a new Windsor Regiment Association Facebook page. Pop by and say hello, they'd love to hear from you. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Windsor-Regiment-RCAC-Association/787913714605234?skip_nax_wizard=true&ref_type=logout_gear

Folks, there will be a monument dedication in Windsor on the 7th of September, 2014. This double sided monument will honour the veterans of Afghanistan on one side and Peace Support Operations and NATO on the other. The monument and dedication is at Reaume Park, 4714 Riverside Drive East. Form up at 10:30, step off at 10:45 and we arrive at monument at 10:55 so ceremony can start at 11:00. They are looking for two guards made up of veterans from Afghanistan and Peace Support Operation/NATO Service. The veterans guards may be formed up at the monument while the Regiments will march to the service. That decision is still being worked out. If you are interested in taking part, please arrive at Reaume Park by 1015 so we can get sorted out.

I've added a few more pages. Most of the photos come from the museum collection but a few are found from the internet.

After the Great War, the military went through a period of down-sizing and reorganization and history repeated itself, as it tends to do, after the Second World War. This time, however, the tank was here to stay. On the 27th of April, 1948, Major-General "Fighting Frank" Worthington retired from active service and on that day became the first Honorary Colonel of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps. Events of the war proved that the tank was no passing fancy and every modern a...Continue reading

With the formation of the Canadian Armoured Corps on the 13th of August, 1940 the need for better training for the troops was a huge concern for Worthington. He set for Washington D.C. where he agreed to buy some scrape metal from the Americans. The scrape metal happened to be in the form on 250 used, First World War vintage Renault FT17 tanks. In October of 1940, 236 of the Renaults arrived in Camp Borden where they were put to work training our Armoured troops in tactics and driver & maintenance. By the end of the war the Canadian Armoured Corps had lost 2,005 fatal casualties and had amassed an enviable record of wartime achievement. In recognition of this service, the Corps was granted a Royal title and henceforth became known as the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps.

On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland and a few days later, Canada declared war on Nazi Germany. Once again, Canada would send her sons and in some cases her daughters, to fight in another European war. By war's end, Canada would have over 1 million citizens in uniform. The Regiment received its call for mobilization on the 27th of May, 1940 for a company of soldiers for local protection duties. Mobilization was short lived as the active service company was stood dow...Continue reading