32nd Regiment

The 32nd Bruce Battalion of Infantry was officially formed on September 14, 1866 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Sproat.  The Battalion formally merged six independent Bruce County volunteer militia companies (Southampton, Paisley, Kincardine Village, Kincardine Township, Tara, and Walkerton.)   Their first training took place in July 1868 at Southampton where they drilled for 12 days in a large, temporary building.

After the Battalion was formed, the women of Bruce County raised $600 to purchase a set of colours from England.  The two flags were presented to the Battalion at Kincardine on June 19, 1872.

The early militia and 32nd Battalion forces were at the ready, in the early days, during times of conflict, including the Red River Rebellion, the North-West Rebellion and the South African (Boer) War.

In 1870, during the Red River Rebellion, three volunteers from each company of the 32^nd were requested to assemble with other volunteer forces, and travel to Manitoba. In each company, more than three men volunteered and had to be selected.  Like the Fenian Raids, this skirmish ended with no blood shed for the men of the 32nd and they returned home. In 1855, the 32^nd Regiment was again called to duty, this time in response to the North-West Rebellion. Again, the troops were at the ready, waiting to be deployed from Southampton, but again were not required and were sent home. It is interesting to note that several Bruce men, not under auspices of the 32^nd, played roles in the North-West Rebellion.

At some point, the 32nd Battalion became referred to as the 32nd Regiment.  By 1906, the Regimental Headquarters was located at Walkerton, and the eight companies of the Regiment were:  1. Southampton, 2. Kincardine, 3. Lucknow, 4. Paisley, 5. Walkerton, 6. Tara, 7. Wiarton, 8. Teeswater.

Through the years, it was the annual custom for the Companies of the 32nd Regiment was to attend training camp for two weeks each summer, generally rotating through various towns throughout the County.

At the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, the Regiment began to fulfil one of its prime functions:  to recruit men for the Canadian Expeditionary Force.  When the C.E.F. was mustered at Valcartier, Quebec in September 1914, the 32nd Regiment had recruited 72 volunteers for the 1st Canadian Battalion.  Its robust recruitment program resulted in volunteers soon also attached to the 18th, 33rd, 34th, 70th, and finally to the 160th Battalions.

Between the First and Second World Wars, the 32nd Regiment was disbanded and reorganized as artillery, with the parent unit 21st Field Brigade, later known as the 21st Field Artillery Regiment.  Headquarters and “B” Company of the Bruce Regiment became the 97th (Bruce) Field Battery R.C.A. and “A” Company became the 98th Field Battery R.C.A.

Sources:

a)  McLeod, Norman.  “The History of the County of Bruce 1907-1968”, vol 2, Bruce County Historical Society, 1969.  Print.  (Chapter 4:  “In Defence of Country”)

b) Robertson, Norman.  “The History of the County of Bruce and of the minor municipalities therein.” Toronto:  William Briggs, 1906.  (Chapter 10: “The Militia and Volunteers of Bruce”)

For more photographs and information about the 32nd Regiment, visit Bruce County Museum’s Online Collections Site: 32nd Regiment, Bruce County Museum Online Collections