South Saskatchewan Regiment

Authorized in the districts of Assiniboia and Saskatchewan on July 3, 1905, the South Saskatchewan Regiment originated as the 95th Regiment. Headquartered in Regina, the 95th had eight companies consisting of approximately 80 to 200 men in each. A Company and B Company of the 95th were formed into a new regiment, designated the 60th Rifles of Canada. Beginning on August 6, 1914, troops from the 95th Saskatchewan Rifles and the 60th Rifles of Canada were placed on active service. Both regiments contributed dozens of officers and hundreds of other ranks to the 46th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), throughout World War I. After the war, on March 15, 1920, the 95th Saskatchewan Rifles amalgamated with the 60th Rifles of Canada and was renamed the South Saskatchewan Regiment. It was reorganized into five regiments in May 1924: the Regina Rifles Regiment, the Assiniboia Regiment, the Weyburn Regiment, the Saskatchewan Border Regiment, and the South Saskatchewan Regiment. The South Saskatchewan Regiment was once again reorganized on December 15, 1936, with the amalgamation of the Weyburn Regiment and the Saskatchewan Border Regiment. Cec Law, Peter Maulé,

Mobilized for active duty on September 1, 1939, as the South Saskatchewan Regiment, CASF, the regiment embarked for Europe on December 16, 1940. Once there, the South Saskatchewans performed valiantly, especially during the Dieppe Raid on August 19, 1942. On that day, the regiment landed on the beach at Dieppe in the dim light of the early morning and entered the small village of Pourville, believing that surprise had been achieved. However, the Germans had detected the raid and the South Saskatchewan Regiment was met with heavy gun fire. It suffered 84 casualties, and many of the survivors spent the rest of the hostilities as prisoners of war. The commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Cecil Ingersoll Merritt, won the Victoria Cross for his inspiring leadership during the raid. Following Dieppe, the reconstituted South Saskatchewan Regiment landed in Normandy on July 8, 1944, as a unit of the 6th Infantry Brigade, 2nd Canadian Infantry Division. Stationed there until the end of the war, the regiment disbanded on December 15, 1945. The South Saskatchewan Regiment was placed on the Supplementary Order of Battle List in September 1968.

Cec Law, Peter Maulé, Gregory Salmers, William Sutherland

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Further Reading

Buchanan, G.B. 1958. The March of the Prairie Men: A Story of the South Saskatchewan Regiment. Weyburn, Saskatchewan: South Saskatchewan Regiment Association.