Collectivité

Canada. Army. Canadian Heavy Siege Battery, 2nd.

The 2d Canadian Heavy Siege Battery was established in June of 1915 in response to efforts by Lt.-Col. Arthur G. Peake and other Prince Edward Island militia officers. It was to be a four gun unit with 6 inch howitzers and, after basic training in Charlottetown, was to proceed overseas with an authorized strength of 220. The majority of recruited men came from Prince Edward Island, with a few from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Great Britain and the United States. Before leaving for overseas a draft of regulars from the Royal Garrison Artillery were attached to the unit. From June until late fall the battery was stationed in tents on the Armoury grounds, Brighton Road, Charlottetown and introduced to army discipline and routine. On 26 November the Unit left Charlottetown on the Hochelaga for Pictou, N.S. and then travelled by train to Halifax where the men boarded the S.S. Lapland. Upon arrival at Plymouth Sound on December 5, they transferred to Roffey Camp at Horsham, Sussex for four months of training, followed by firing practice at Lydd. On May 31, 1916, the Battery crossed the Channel into France to join battle at the Somme, Vimy Ridge, Hill 70, and Passchendaele, moving on through Belgium and into Germany in late 1918. The Battery began its trek home from Mehlem, Germany, February 4, 1919, arriving in Halifax on 9 May.

27 June 2003. Copied from PEIAIN 7 July 2015.