2nd Field Artillery Regiment (Canada)

In the First World War several batteries of artillery were raised in Montreal and the 2nd Brigade included the 3rd Montreal Battery amongst its four batteries. During the war, the unit took part in every action of the 1st Canadian Division and later on the Canadian Corps. In a series of reorganizations the battery was renamed the 7th Field Battery, the name it continues to hold. This battery was commanded at the outbreak of the war by Major Andrew McNaughton. Wounded at the 2nd Battle of Ypres, he went on to command the Canadian Corps Heavy Artillery and, in the Second World War, the First Canadian Army. The 2nd Brigade served in the divisional artillery of the 1st Canadian Division for the duration of the war.

In the Second World War the 2nd Field Regiment was once again mobilized in the divisional artillery of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division with the 7th Field Battery amongst its batteries. After training in England it served in Italy from July 1943 until January 1945 when it, along with I Canadian Corps, was transferred to Holland.

After the Second World War the regiments of artillery in the post-war Militia were renumbered and the 2nd Field Regiment was removed from the order of battle. The reorganizations of the 1964 Suttie Commission and the ensuing reduction in the number of units in the Militia would eventually see the 2nd Field Regiment reforming in 1966 with initially two and then three batteries. They were the 7th, 50th, and 66th Field Batteries, each perpetuating a different regiment of the post-war artillery in Montreal.

Today, it is primarily made up of militia from the city of Montreal as part of the Canadian Army Reserves. After over 50 years of peacetime operations, the regiment fields a single artillery battery of six 105 mm C3 howitzers. However, it has sent its members abroad to serve in peacekeeping and anti-terrorist roles and has yearly gunnery exercises.

The regiment is commanded by a Canadian Reserve lieutenant-colonel, with a new commanding officer appointed, on average, every three years. The regiment is officially bilingual and functions in both English and French. The commanding officers of the re-formed 2nd Field Regiment are listed:

• 1966–1969 – LCol J.H.E. Day, CD
• 1969–1970 – LCol W.L.M. Cloutier, CD
• 1970–1973 – LCol J.R.G. Saint-Louis, CD
• 1973–1975 – LCol P.B. Fecteau, CD
• 1975–1979 – LCol T.K. Stafford, CD
• 1979–1985 – LCol S.J. Goldberg, CD
• 1985–1988 – LCol J.F. Stirling, CD
• 1988–1991 – LCol J.M. Pronkin, CD
• 1991–1995 – LCol J.M. Lewis, CD
• 1995–1998 – LCol D.A. Patterson, CD
• 1998–2001 – LCol J.G.M.B. Lefebvre, CD
• 2001–2005 – LCol J.M.N. Bernier, CD
• 2005–2008 – LCol M. Bourque, CD[4]
• 2008–2013 – LCol D. Parent, CD
• 2013–2015 – LCol R. Garon, CD
• 2015–present – LCol S. Pelletier, CD

During November 1970 the regiment moved to its current location at the Côte des Neiges Armoury, after its Craig Street Armoury was demolished, the regiment had been based there for 75 years.[2]

Site	Date(s)	Designated	Description	Image
Côte des Neiges Armoury 4185 Chemin de la Côte des Neiges, Montreal, Quebec	1934-35	Canada's Register of Historic Places; Recognized - 1991 Register of the Government of Canada Heritage Buildings	on a treed site on the southwest perimeter of Mount Royal Park houses The Royal Canadian Hussars (Montreal); 2nd Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery

On April 29, 2000, the regiment was awarded Freedom of the City of Montreal[2] in recognition of its historical link to the city. Then in 2007 the city of Terrebonne also awarded the regiment the same courtesy.

• Military history of Canada
• History of the Canadian Army
• Canadian Forces
• List of armouries in Canada