South Alberta Regiment

The South Alberta Regiment (SAR) was a regiment of the Canadian Army that existed from 1924 to 1954. Originally infantry, in February 1942 it became an armoured unit. During World War II the Regiment fought from July 1944 to May 1945 in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany.

South Alberta Regiment
Active1924–1954
CountryCanada
BranchCanadian Militia (1924-1940)
Canadian Army (1940-1954)
TypeLine infantry
RoleInfantry (1924-1942, 1945-1954)
Armoured (1942-1945)
SizeRegiment
Part ofNon-Permanent Active Militia (1924-1940)
4th Canadian (Armoured) Division (1940-1945)
Royal Canadian Infantry Corps (1945-1954)
Garrison/HQMedicine Hat, Alberta
March"A Southerly Wind and a Cloudy Sky"
EngagementsFirst World War
Second World War
Battle honoursSee #Battle Honours

History

Early history

The regiment was created in 1924 as infantry after The Alberta Regiment was split into two separate regiments: The North Alberta Regiment (disbanded in 1936) and The South Alberta Regiment.[1][2][3][4]

Second World War

The South Alberta Regiment mobilized in 1940 as part of the 4th Canadian Infantry Division.[5] When the division was reorganized as an armoured formation to satisfy demand for a second Canadian armoured division, the South Alberta Regiment was named 29th Armoured Regiment (The South Alberta Regiment) and received Ram tanks in February 1942.[6] The unit was again renamed as 29th Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment (The South Alberta Regiment) in January 1943.[7]

The SAR was deployed to northern France in mid-June 1944 (Normandy landings, D-Day was 6 June 1944), replacing their Ram tanks to be equipped with Stuart and Sherman tanks. They participated in the later battles of the Invasion of Normandy, taking part in Operation Totalize and finally closing the Falaise pocket in Operation Tractable.[8] The South Albertas went on to participate in the liberation of the Netherlands and the Battle of the Scheldt.

[9]

Major Currie (left, with pistol in hand) of the South Alberta Regiment accepting the surrender of German troops at Saint-Lambert-sur-Dives, France, 19 August 1944.
Sherman tanks of the South Alberta Regiment in recently liberated Bergen op Zoom, 29 October 1944

In January 1945, they took part in the Battle for the Kapelsche Veer. They spent the last weeks of the war fighting in northern Germany.

Major David Vivian Currie of the SAR received the Victoria Cross for his actions near Saint-Lambert-sur-Dives, as the allies attempted to seal off the Falaise pocket. Currie was one of only 16 Canadians to receive the Victoria Cross during World War II. It was the only Victoria Cross awarded to a Canadian soldier during the Normandy campaign, and the only Victoria Cross ever awarded to a member of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps. Lieutenant Donald I. Grant took a photograph of the event that would become one of the most famous images of the War (see at right). Historian C. P. Stacey called it "as close as we are ever likely to come to a photograph of a man winning the Victoria Cross."

The Freedom of the City was exercised by the South Alberta Regiment in Nanaimo, British Columbia, in April, 1941.[10]

The SAR is now incorporated by amalgamation in the reserve reconnaissance regiment the South Alberta Light Horse.[7]

Perpetuations

The Great War

Lineage

The South Alberta Regiment descended from the Calgary Rifles, which had been raised in 1910. In 1920 the Rifles split into two new regiments, the Calgary Regiment and the Alberta Regiment. In 1924 the Alberta Regiment again divided, forming the South Alberta Regiment and the North Alberta Regiment. The North Albertas disbanded in 1936 while the South Albertas continued through World War II.[7]

Lineage of the South Alberta Regiment
191431st Bn, CEF
1920Disbanded1st Bn (31st Bn, CEF), The Alberta Regt
19241st Bn (31st Bn, CEF), The South Alberta Regt
 C Coy, 13th MG Bn, CMGC
1936The South Alberta Regt
1940The South Alberta Regt, CASF
19401st Bn, The South Alberta Regt, CASF2nd (Reserve) Bn, The South Alberta Regt
194229th Armd Regt (The South Alberta Regt), CAC, CASF2nd (Reserve) Bn, The South Alberta Regt (MG)
194529th Armd Recce Regt (The South Alberta Regt), RCAC, CASF
1946DisbandedThe South Alberta Regt
 68th Light Anti-Aircraft Regt, RCA41st Anti-Tank Regt (Self Propelled), RCA
 
1958The South Alberta Light Horse (29th Armd Regt)
 

Battle Honours

Great War

Second World War

Notes and references
  1. Selected to be borne on colours and appointments
  1. "Guide to Sources Relating to the Canadian Militia (Infantry, Cavalry, Armored)" (PDF). Library and Archives Canada.
  2. "The Alberta Regiment [Canada]". 2007-08-17. Archived from the original on 17 August 2007. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  3. "The North Alberta Regiment [Canada]". 2007-08-17. Archived from the original on 17 August 2007. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  4. "The South Alberta Regiment [Canada]". 2007-08-08. Archived from the original on 8 August 2007. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  5. Graves, Donald E. (2004). South Albertas: A Canadian Regiment at War. Friesens, Altona, Manitoba: Robin Brass Studio Inc. p. 18. ISBN 1-896941-39-7.
  6. Graves, Donald E. (2004). South Albertas: A Canadian Regiment at War. Friesens, Altona, Manitoba: Robin Brass Studio Inc. pp. 57–58. ISBN 1-896941-39-7.
  7. "Guide to Sources Relating to the Canadian Militia (Infantry, Cavalry, Armored)" (PDF). Library and Archives Canada.
  8. Vogel, Robert., Copp, Terry (1983). Maple Leaf Route: Falaise. Alma, Ontario: Maple Leaf Route. p. 111. ISBN 0-919907-02-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. Stacey, C.P. (1966). The Victory Campaign: The Operations in North-West Europe 1944-1945. Ottawa, Canada: Queen's Printer and Controller of Stationery. p. 428.
  10. Freedom of the City Archived 2012-12-22 at the Wayback Machine
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