Royal Newfoundland Regiment

Royal Newfoundland Regiment
The badge of The Royal Newfoundland Regiment.
Active	1949–present 1939–1946 1914–1919 1803–1816 1795–1802
Country	Great Britain (1795–1801)  United Kingdom (1801–1907)  Newfoundland (1907–1949)  Canada (1949–present)
Branch	Canadian Army
Type	Line Infantry
Role	Light Infantry
Size	Two Battalions
Part of	5th Canadian Division
Garrison/HQ	RHQ – St. John's 1st Battalion – St. John's 2nd Battalion – HQ & A COY Corner Brook B COY – Grand Falls-Windsor C COY – Stephenville
Nickname(s)	The Blue Puttees
Motto(s)	Better than the Best
Colors	Scarlet and White
March	Quick – The Banks of Newfoundland Slow – The Garb of Old Gaul
Mascot(s)	Sable Chief - Newfoundland Dog
Anniversaries	ANZAC Day – 25 April Memorial Day – 1 July
Engagements	War of 1812 First World War Second World War War in Afghanistan
Battle honours	Detroit Maumee Defense of Canada 1812-1814 Somme, 1916 Albert (Beaumont-Hamel) 1916 Le Transloy Arras, 1917 Scarpe, 1917 Ypres, 1917,1918 Langemarck, 1917 Poelcappelle Cambrai, 1917 Lys Bailleul Kemmel Courtrai France and Flanders, 1916-18 Gallipoli, 1915-1916 Egypt, 1915-16
Commanders
Current commander	1st Bn: LCol Lawrence Hatfield, CD 2nd Bn: LCol Lawrence Hatfield, CD
Colonel-in-Chief	The Princess Royal
Honorary Colonel	Her Honour, The Honourable Joan Marie Aylward, ONL
Notable commanders	Lt. Col Thomas Skinner Lt. Gen John Skerrett Lt. Col Arthur Lovell Hadow, CMG Col James Forbes-Robertson, VC, DSO*, MC, DL Col. Joseph O'Driscoll, CD

The Royal Newfoundland Regiment (R NFLD R) is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. It is part of the 5th Canadian Division's 37 Canadian Brigade Group.

Predecessor units trace their origins to 1795, and since 1949 Royal Newfoundland Regiment has been a unit of the Canadian Army. During the First World War the battalion-sized Newfoundland Regiment was the only North American unit to fight in the Gallipoli campaign of 1915. Later in the war the regiment was virtually wiped out at Beaumont Hamel on July 1, 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme, but was rebuilt and continued to serve throughout France and Belgium until the armistice, serving as part of the British Army of the Rhine in 1919. In December 1917, George V bestowed the regiment with the right to use the prefix "Royal" before its name. It was the only military unit to receive this honour during the First World War.

During the Second World War, the Newfoundland Militia was raised for defence and renamed the Newfoundland Regiment in 1943. The regiment remained in a home-defence role and also trained recruits for the two regiments of the Royal Artillery that were recruited in Newfoundland for overseas service. In 1949, Newfoundland joined Canada as the latter's 10th province and part of the Terms of Union required the re-creation of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment as the primary militia unit for the province. The regiment is ranked last in the Canadian Armed Forces order of precedence.