Colección Collection 38 - Loyal Edmonton Regiment collection

The Loyal Edmonton Regiment, originally the 49th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, was formed in Edmonton for overseas service on 4 January 1915 under command of LCol W.A. Griesbach. Following World War I, the 49th Battalion was disbanded. On 22 March 1920 the First Battalion, The Edmonton Regiment was formed as part of the Non-Permanent Active Militia and it perpetuated the 49th Battalion. At the outbreak of World War II, The Edmonton Regiment mobilized an active service battalion as a unit of the 1st Canadian Division which fought alongside PPCLI in the 2nd Infantry Brigade. In July 1943 the Regiment was honoured by being renamed the Loyal Edmonton Regiment. It was nicknamed the "Loyal Eddies". Throughout the war, the Regiment maintained a second reserve battalion in Edmonton, and for a short period in 1945, raised a third battalion for the Pacific Force. During the two World Wars, the regiment fought in the same brigade as Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, and they established a close relationship. The Loyal Edmonton Regiment was affiliated with Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry as its 3rd Battalion, in accordance with the 1954 Canadian Army policy to affiliate Militia regiments with Regular Force regiments. In the general announcement made on 19 September 1969 advising that the 1st Battalion Queen's Own Rifles of Canada would be designated the 3rd Battalion, the Loyal Edmonton Regiment was re-designated as the 4th Battalion of PPCLI.