Honours and Traditions

Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Victoria Cross Winners

The Victoria Cross is the British realm's highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy. It has precedence over any other of our Sovereign's awards or Commonwealth decorations.

The Victoria Cross was founded by Royal Warrant January 29, 1856 to recognize the bravery of those who were then fighting the Crimean War. It was available to all soldiers and "neither rank, nor long service, nor wounds, nor any other circumstance or condition whatsoever, save the merit of conspicuous bravery" could make one eligible - truly a democratic award.

The Cross itself is cast from the bronze of cannons captured at Sevastopol during the Crimean War. The design, chosen by Queen Victoria, consists of a cross patee ensigned with the Royal Crest resting upon a scroll bearing the words "For Valour." The reverse of the suspender bar is engraved with the recipients' name, rank and unit while the reverse of the cross is engraved with the date of the deed for which the recipient was honoured.

Since its inception, the Victoria Cross has been awarded 1,350 times. The youngest recipient was 15 years old and the eldest was 69. Nearly a hundred Canadians have been awarded the Victoria Cross, including three to members of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry: Lt Hugh McKenzie, Sgt George Mullin and Sgt Robert Spall.

LT. Hugh McKenzie

Hugh McKenzie was born in Liverpool, England on 5 December 1885. Lieutenant McKenzie was one of the Original Patricia's, joining the Regiment at its conception. He later became part of the 7th Machine Gun Company and was promoted Lieutenant 28 January 1917. For his actions during the Battle of Passchendaele 30 October 1917, Lieutenant Mckenzie was awarded the Victoria Cross (posthumously). The Citation accompanying the award reads as follows

"The Patricia field of attack was limited by swampy ground to a narrow strip, every foot of which was exposed to the fire of the machine guns upon the slopes. One pillbox in particular on the crest of the hill maintained such a murderous fire that that the attacking company of Patricia's was brought to a halt upon the face of the slope, with every officer and NCO shot down and the remaining men seeking what cover they could. They could not advance and were unwilling to retreat. Noting the hesitation of our men on the slope of the hill, McKenzie left a Corporal in charge of his machine guns and made his way through the heavy fire to our troops in their terribly exposed positions. Taking command of the company he instantly set about arranging a plan for the downfall of the pillbox above them. Not only was there the pillbox to deal with but the upper hill was a veritable nest of machine guns and McKenzie had to make a daring reconnaissance before he could effect a suitable scheme of attack. Detailing small parties, he sent them off to work their way around the flanks to be prepared to make an attack from the rear upon the pillbox that was holding up the advance. He then arranged the frontal attack, choosing himself to lead a small party of men directly up the slope to the front while the remainder of his men attacked the same front from a different angle. At the word, they went forward, McKenzie leading the forlorn hope on the most exposed front of the attack. He was shot through the head and killed at the moment of the capture of the pill box by the flanking parties he had detailed."

SGT. George Mullin

George Mullin was born 15 August 1892 in Portland, Oregon, USA. He enrolled with the 28th Infantry Battalion, joining the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in the field 1 March 1915. He was promoted to Lance Corporal on 6 May 1915 and to Sergeant 2 June 1916. For his actions during the Battle of Passchendaele on 30 October 1917, he was awarded The Victoria Cross. The Citation accompanying his award reads

"While machine gunners officer Hugh MacKenzie drew the German fire, Sergeant Mullin actually performed the incredible feat of taking the pill box single-handed. He rushed a sniper post in front and destroyed the garrison with bombs and crawling on top of the pillbox, shot the two machine gunners with his revolver. Sergeant Mullin then rushed to another entrance and compelled the garrison of ten to surrender. His gallantry and fearlessness was witnessed by many and although rapid fire was directed in his purpose, he not only helped to save the situation but also indirectly saved many lives."

Sergeant Mullin was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and subsequently struck off the strength of the Regiment in 1918. He died in Regina, Saskatchewan 5 April 1964.

 

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SGT. Robert Spall

Robert Spall was born in Ealing, Essex, England on 5 March 1890. Sergeant Spall originally enrolled in the 90th Infantry Battalion but joined the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in the field on 18 September 1916. During the battle at Parvillers his actions won him the Victoria Cross (posthumously). The Citation accompanying the award reads:

"Sergeant Spall took a Lewis gun and standing on the parapet, fired upon the advancing enemy, inflicting most severe casualties. He then came down the trench directing the men into a gap seventy-five yards from the enemy. Picking up another Lewis gun, he again climbed the parapet and with his fire held up the enemy advance. It was while holding up the enemy at this point that he was killed."

Sergeant Spall deliberately gave his life in order to extricate his platoon from a most difficult situation, and it was owing to his bravery that the platoon was saved.

Presidential Citation

The battalion kitted out with winter gear and a plethora of weaponry moved 50 miles north to Miryang in order to undergo rigorous training until the 15th of February when they would join the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade at Changhowan-ni. Operations would begin with earnest and throughout March and early April the Patricias would conduct several attacks on Chinese-held features. Hills 419 and 532 fell to the Patricia's in March and the advance continued against sporadic enemy resistance on 900 and 1200 meter features until the Brigade went into reserve near the village of Kapyong on the 18th of April.

The enemy had finally managed to stop the advancing UN forces and, on the night of 22 April, let loose the Spring Offensive to recapture Seoul. Under heavy resistance at the front the 6th Republic of Korea Division broke, and 27 British Commonwealth Brigade was called upon to block the advancing Chinese troops. The 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry quickly and efficiently moved their forces onto Hill 677 where they occupied a defensive position. As this was occurring, at the same time, the Australians occupied a defensive position to the east on Hill 504.

The Patricia's and Australians bedded in and awaited the inevitable battle that would commence on the night of the 23rd. The Australians fended off the Chinese attacks for the full day until they were forced to withdraw on the afternoon of the 24th in order to establish a new defensive line. Once the Aussies had fallen back it was left on the shoulders of the 2PPCLI troops to bear the brunt of the Chinese attacks. The Chinese were obviously no match for the skilled and highly trained Canadian troops attacking non-stop for two days with no success. 2 PPCLI was surrounded and low on ammunition, water, and rations but was able fight off the attackers, at one time even bringing artillery fire down on their own positions.

The Chinese plans to attack and recapture Seoul had failed due to the well-trained Canadian and Australian infantry soldiers who never gave up although they were heavily outnumbered. As a result, their efforts were recognized with the award of the United States Presidential Unit Citation, which is proudly worn to this day by the warriors of the 2nd Battalion.

The 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry, has a unique distinction. This battalion received the Distinguished Unit Citation from the President of the United States to recognize its stand near Kapyong, Korea, in April 1951. Equating to a battle honour, the Citation is represented by a streamer four feet in length and two and three-quarter inches in width, bearing the name of the action, attached to the pike of the regimental Colour. The use of this streamer in accordance with American practice was authorized by King George VI. In addition to the streamer, the Presidential Citation is also worn on the uniform. It is a small royal blue bar with gold trim. Although battle honours are awarded on a regimental basis, and the whole of the PPCLI carries Kapyong on its colours, the distinction of bearing this streamer belongs to 2 PPCLI alone, and is carried on the battalions regimental colour. The badge is also unique to 2PPCLI.

The Commander-in-Chief's Unit Commendation

The Commander-in-Chief's Unit Commendation was created in July 2002 by the Governor General to recognize the outstanding service of Canadian Forces in times of conflict under direct enemy fire. 2PPCLI is the second unit commendation to be presented by our Commander-in-Chief, the first being received by the 1R22eR Battle Group for their actions in Sarajevo in 1992.

BY ORDER OF HER EXCELLENCY THE RIGHT HONOURABLE ADRIENNE CLARKSON, CC, CMM, COM, CD

The 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Battle Group (2PPCLI BG) is awarded the Commendation for courageous and professional execution of duty during the Medak Pocket Operation in the Former Yugoslavia in September 1993. Under conditions of extreme peril and hazard, facing enemy artillery, small arms and heavy machine gun fire as well as anti-tank and anti-personnel mines, the members of the 2PPCLI BG held their ground and drove the Croation forces back. The exemplary action of the 2PPCLI BG caused the Croation Army to cease their ongoing tactics of "ethnic cleansing" in the sector, without question saving many innocent civilian lives

Traditions

The Military Christmas Dinner

Tis not the season to talk of Christmas as the snow has just departed and summer is at our door steps but then when a question arrises one must accept the challenge and find the answer.

Traditions come from somewhere and it takes a little reading and research to find out how one tradition started and where it came from. As for the tradition of the military Christmas dinner, its origins stem back to Roman times.

The custom of role reversal is a rather odd tradition for the military. The youngest member of the unit will switch tunics with the commanding officer for the day and in turn the officers and and senior NCOs will serve dinner to the enlisted members of the unit. The Roman customs of Saturnalia is where these activities originate. The festival of Saturnalia varied during the course of Roman times. It generally began as a feast for Saturn around December 17 and 18 and during the empire period it extended to a week.

The festival falls at the same time as other religions are celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice and Kwanzaa. As with Christmas, garlands, wreaths and tree ornaments abound. The idea of the celebration was to promote merry making, rest and relaxation and to help the less fortunate. Food abounded and everyone shared.

During the celebrations of Saturnalia, children and slaves had the opportunity for a role reversal. They were entitled to be the parents/masters for a time. The parents and masters jokingly played the part of children and slaves. The biggest part of Saturnalia was the attitude and the children and slaves were allowed to make decisions and lead the rituals. It was all in fun and any decisions were reversed at the end of the day. Slaves weren't really free to make decisions and children weren't allowed to enter into contracts as the role reversal was only for minor privileges.

Before the introduction of mechanization of military units, enlisted personnel spent most of their time occupied by tedious tasks. In order to boost morale and overcome boredom, their officers took it upon themselves to arrange celebrations for the men. This included the organization and preparation of a Christmas dinner; the best Christmas dinner possible. Officers and senior NCOs not only prepared the meal but served it as well. Their task not complete until all was cleaned up.

As with Roman times, the Canadian Forces today practices a role reversal for minor privileges in a spirit of good cheer. During festive times, the Commanding officer will switch roles and tunic with the youngest member of the unit. The soldier becomes the honorary commander for the day.

The tradition of the Christmas dinner is a long standing one. It reinforces unit cohesion, fosters mutual respect and lets the troops know that their efforts throughout the year are appreciated. For these reasons, the tradition continues today.