3rd Field Regiment (The Loyal Company)
The 100th Anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge
It was decided early on, that 3rd Field Regiment would like to send a contingent of soldiers to northern France to take part in the 100th Anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. It was known that there would be a ceremony held at the National War Memorial to mark the event. It was also known through the research done in the Regiment’s recently released history book, that many gunners left from The Loyal Company, and from New Brunswick in general, to take part in the Great War. It was our intent to take part in these ceremonies, as an act of remembrance to those gunners who came before us.
We would take part in a ten day battlefield tour hosted by the Royal Canadian Artillery Association, who would be sending 100 gunners to France. 3rd Field Regiment would be sending 11 gunners to represent the Loyal Company, and the Batteries were asked to forward nominations for the trip. The following were chosen from the Regiment:
Lt Guthrie, WO Hayes, Sgt Smith, MBdr Lavigne, Bdr O’Dell, Bdr Hanrahan, Bdr Caines, Bdr Brooker, Bdr Hovey, MCpl Flanagan, Sgt (R) Sleep with CWO Louvelle and MWO Grant on their own dime.
Our Honorary Lieutenant- Colonel, Jim Quinn along with LCol (ret) Steven Strachan, spearheaded the fundraising campaign, to raise the needed funds to send our group of soldiers on the Return to Vimy 2017 Tour. A Fundraiser Gala dinner was held on Nov 5th, 2016 at the Marco Polo Cruise Ship Terminal, in Saint John. The dinner was hosted by the Honorary Colonel and Commanding Officer, and was attended by local dignitaries, sponsors, media, tour participants, and other members of the regiment. We started off the evening with an official meet and greet, where the visiting VIP’s and sponsors had the opportunity to meet the tour participants, and media interviews were given.