99th Canadian Field Battery
The 99th Battery of the Royal Canadian Artillery
was originally formed of men living in the town of Wingham and the immediate
vicinity. It was first formed in 1937 on the reorganization of the Canadian
Militia. Throughout the years before the war it struggled along and managed
to acquire some of the principles needed in a fighting unit, and on 24th
August, 1941, the order to go on active service was received. During October
and November recruiting was carried out and the Battery brought up to strength
from people living in the area of the 21st Field Brigade, N.P.A.M. This
included the towns of Wingham, Walkerton, Kincardine, Listowel, Port Elgin,
and Hanover.
The members then went to various training
centres, where they learned the fundamentals of soldiering, and on 10th
December the Battery assembled at Camp Borden, where the 19th Canadian
Army Field Regiment was formed and under whose command 99th Battery remained
until the close of the war. The Battery then moved to Shilo, Manitoba,
for advanced training and their first firing practice. They then moved
to Terrace, B.C., to take up a role in the defence of Canada against an
attack by the Japanese. On 15th Nov~mber, 1943, they received an overseas
role and moved to Petawawa for final training and equipment before proceeding
to England. On arrival in England they were shortly placed under command
of 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, and intensive training was begun to
prepare the Battery to take part in the assault on Europe.
On 5th June the Battery set sail for
the coast of France and had with it at that time all the original officers
and most of the N.C.Os. and men. The Battery landed on the coast of Normandy
early in the morning of 6th June, near St. Aubin-sur-Mer, with only one
man killed and three wounded. During the landing several incidents happened
worthy of mention. The guns of "B" Troop landed first and were prevented
from getting off the beach by mortar fire and beach obstructions. Captain
Jim McKague decided to find a new route off the beach, but in doing so
his self-propelled gun ran over a mine and was put out of action. However,
Sergeant Ted Elliott, the M.T. Sergeant, and his able assistants repaired
the vehicle under heavy fire and the troop was successful in reaching its
deployment area and going into action. B.H.Q. was also held up by heavy
fire and a number of vehicles set on fire. This was no obstacle to Gunner
H. R. Chaplin who, though seriously wounded, cleared the area and led the
vehicles to the deployment area, where he collapsed and was carried from
his vehicle. He was awarded the M.M. for his part in this affair. The Battery
was now firmly established on the European coast and was ready to take
its part in the defeat of the Nazi war machine.
The Battery then took part in the battles
that followed to capture the town of Caen and firmly to establish the bridgehead,
and when this was completed after forty-six days of fighting they were
relieved and sent out for a three-day rest. On the return to the front
the Battery came under command of 4th Canadian Armoured Division and with
this formation took part in the closing of the Falaise Gap and the pursuit
across France. During this operation Captain H. M. Harrison, as an
O.P. officer with the I.S.Rs., was killed. During the heavy enemy shelling
that took place during this time, our cookhouse was hit and our chief cook,
Corporal Jim Lee, with most of his helpers, were buried. However, other
members of the Battery extricated them in short order, but left all the
can of stew and bully beef where it was buried in the hope that it would
never be seen again, but more turned up.
After this operation the Battery was
taken out of action and re-turned to the vicinity of Bayeux for a rest
and re-equipment. The guns the Battery had were the self-propelled guns
of 105 calibre mounted on a Sherman chassis. These were completely worn
out, and the Battery received new 25-pdr. guns mounted on Ram chassis,
and these were our standard equipment for the remainder of the war. The
Battery then rejoined 4th Canadian Armoured Division and deployed just
outside Bruges in Belgium. From here on the formation took part in the
clearing of northern Belgium and the operations in the Scheldt pocket and
the final opening of the port of Antwerp. During the months of December
and January the Battery was in a static role, holding the line of the River
Maas, and during this time were on occasions under command of 4th Armoured
Division, Polish Armoured Division, the British 8th Armoured Brigade, and
8th Canadian Recce Group. Periods of rest and leave were available during
this time, and by February the Battery was again ready for the next phase
of the war.
On 3rd February they moved to the area
near Groesbeek and took part in the assault on the Siegfried Line, which
opened on the 8th and ended with the complete clearing of the west bank
of the Rhine. The Battery was then withdrawn to Tilburg for refitting,
which was designed to put it in shape for the crossing of the Rhine and
the pursuit through Germany. The Battery took part in the barrages and
bombardments that took place to effect the Rhine crossing, and on 1st April,
1945, it crossed the Rhine over "Uncle Stanley’s Bridge" at Rees. That
same night the Battery, along with 29th Armoured Regiment and the Argyll
and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada, who were mounted in kangaroos, started
off into Germany as an armoured recce party, the spearhead of the army,
and after several heavy engagements, such as crossing the Dortmund—Ems
Canal at Meppen, the repulsing of a German counter-attack at Sogel, the
crossing of the Twenthe Canal, and the battles at the Kuesten Canal, they
finally arrived at an area between Oldenburg and Wilhemshaven, when the
order to cease fire was received. The Battery was returned to Holland to
await repatriation.
During its years of active service the
Battery had gained a fine reputation for always carrying out all tasks
given to them, and most of the credit for this goes to the junior leaders,
the N.C.Os. and warrant officers of the Battery, and those fine Canadian
citizens, the "gunners," who drove their trucks through every conceivable
obstacle by night or day, or manned their guns day and night for weeks
at a time, in order that they could fire immediately if required to do
so.
During this period of active service
many men had come, many gone, but the spirit of the Battery remained constant,
and with all members, past or present, there is one main hope, and that
is that the Battery has helped maintain the prestige of the Canadian Army,
that it had brought distinction to the town of its origin and, more particularly,
that the individual members have done their duty.
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