8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's)

Building 48 Second Floor, Room 238
Moncton, NB
E1C 9L4

Who Are We

The 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's) is an armoured reconnaissance Regiment with 2 Squadrons. Its Regimental Headquarters (RHQ) is A Squadron and it is located in Moncton with B Squadron located in Sussex, NB. Lieutenant Colonel Donald Bourque currently commands the unit.

What We Do

We are an armoured reconnaissance regiment.

When We Train

Thursday evenings (7-10 pm), and selected weekends.

Recruiting Contact

1-877-5-GO ARMY Ext 8, then 5234

Orderly Room Contact

506-860-5500 Ext 5175

History

The earliest beginnings of the 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's) have traditionally been traced to the year 1775 in the Colony of Virginia where Captain John Saunders, of Princess Anne County, raised a troop of cavalry at his own expense to fight for the Crown against the Colonial rebels. This unusual Regiment included riflemen, grenadiers, artillery and cavalry, and it never knew defeat during the American conflict for independence. In September 1783, the Regiment as an entity sailed for Nova Scotia and reached Saint John on 27 September 1783. A large number of these Loyalists soldiers settled in the Saint John and Kennebecasis valleys2011-08-08ly by Loyalist soldiers, had a military tradition and indeed an effective militia.

In 1839, the York County Troop, known for a time as the York Light Dragoons, was mobilized for service in the Aroostook War, a conflict with American lumbermen that never quite came to open fighting. For four months they patrolled the border and roads between Woodstock, Fredericton and Saint John.

By 1848, eleven troops of cavalry were in existence. By authority of Militia General Order No 1 of 4 April 1848, these eleven independent troops were united to form a Regiment entitled the New Brunswick Yeomanry Cavalry. It is this date that is officially recognized as the formation date of the 8th Canadian Hussars.

In 1879, the Regiment provided an escort for the visit of the Governor General, the Marquees of Lorne and his wife, Her Royal Highness the Princess Louise, daughter of Queen Victoria. Princess Louise consented, and in July 1884, the Regiment was designated the 8th Princess Louise's New Brunswick Regiment of Calvary.

In mobilization of the Canadian Militia for the Great War, plans did not permit mobilization of any but a few of the existing units for the Canadian Expeditionary Force. The Hussars did, however, provide one formed squadron and a number of officers to the 6th Canadian Mounted Rifles. In late 1915, the 6th CMR first went into action south of Messines in Belgium, in a brigade commanded by a Hussar, Lieutenant-Colonel F.B. Black.

The Second World War provided the Regiment with its first opportunity for active service as a formed unit as the 5th Armoured Regiment (8th Princess Louise's New Brunswick Hussars) and on 19 August 1941 embarked for service in England.

The Regiment landed in Italy on 19 December 1943 at the port of Naples. The 8th Hussars moved northward with the 5th Armoured Division to take part in the fighting at Ortona. The heavy fighting of the Italian campaign was a demanding proving ground, providing ample opportunity for the 8th Hussars to prove their worth. The bloody battles of Cassino and the Liri Valley, the Melfa Crossing, Ceprano, the Gothic Line, Missano Ridge, Coriano, the Lamone River Crossing and Coventello were a grim testimony to their effectiveness.

In February 1945, the Hussars sailed from Italy to Southern France, moving through France by rail to Roulers in Belgium. The Regiment went into action in Holland, breaking through to Putten in mid-April and then moving North to the final actions of the war in the Delfzijl Pocket, where some 2800 enemy were captured.

Following the war, the Regiment returned to its reserve status. In 1957, a third regular forces armoured regiment was formed and the 8th Canadian Hussars now had both a Regular Forces regiment and a Militia regiment.

In 1977, the Special Service Force was formed in Petawawa and the Hussars, in the reconnaissance role, became part of the Force. From October 1978 to March 1979, the Regiment went to Cyprus for peacekeeping duties with the UN Forces.

In the summer of 1987, the Regiment replaced the Royal Canadian Dragoons in Lahr, Germany as the armoured regiment in 4 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group. In 1993 the Regiment repatriated back to Canada as the Western nations drew down their forces following the fall of the Iron Curtain. The 8th Canadian Hussars became a Total Force Regiment composed of both Regular and Reserve personnel. In 1998, the 8th Canadian Hussars was re-designated as a Reserve unit, a role that it continues to fulfill to this day.

The Regiment has continued to participate in major exercises and has deployed personnel in support of national crises, UN missions and more recently, the conflict in Afghanistan where members of the unit have volunteered for service.

BATTLE HONOURS

Mount Sorrel
Somme, 1916
France and Flanders, 1915-16
Liri Valley
Melfa Crossing
Ceplano
Gothic Line
Montecchio
Tomba di Pesaro
Coriano
Misano Ridge
Lamone Crossing
Conventello - Comacchio
Italy 1944-45
Ijsselmeer
Delfzijl Pocket
North-West Europe 1945