The Regimental Church
A unique relationship forged in service.
The South Alberta Light Horse and Holy Trinity Anglican Church
In 1908, the Dragoons were asked to provide their Regimental chaplain to consecrate the newly acquired Regimental colours of the 101st Edmonton Fusiliers. These colours were duly consecrated by the Venerable Archdeacon Gray in 1911. Training for the Dragoons continued in the local Edmonton area and included numerous church parades at Holy Trinity Church. In 1913, the Reverend C. Carruthers was appointed Regimental Chaplain, and with the outbreak of war in 1914, the Dragoons mobilized and departed Edmonton for Camp Valcartier and, ultimately, France.
By 1911, a Regimental Armoury was built at 10310 – 85th Avenue. This proximity to Holy Trinity Church established a long-standing relationship to this day and is reflected by the two Regimental colours and one Regimental flag which have been laid up in this church since 1964.
Following the First World War, the Dragoons continued parading at the Connaught Armouries in Strathcona and at various other locations in Northern Alberta. The depression resulted in a decrease in Federal spending and a resulting decrease in Regimental activities. In 1939, the Regiment provided the guard and escort for the visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. With war again on the horizon, thought turned to mobilization and recruiting up to strength, but ultimately the Dragoons were made dormant and not called up.
On May 3, 1942, the Regimental Flag of the 19th Alberta Dragoons was placed safely in Holy Trinity at a Laying Away of the Colours service under the direction of the Regimental Chaplain, Honorary Captain W. M. Nainby. During the period between the outbreak of the war and 1942, the Regiment recruited more than 75 officers and 1000 other ranks for service with the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
In 1946, the Dragoons were brought back to life and joined with Edmonton’s infantry regiment, the Edmonton Fusiliers. The Regiment retrieved its Regimental flag in 1950 from Holy Trinity, with Reverend Captain Nainby overseeing the retrieval. Training continued, with the Dragoons charged with maintaining security on the Alaska Highway as an armoured car regiment. The three Regimental Colours were also trooped down Whyte Avenue in an official parade in 1952.
By the mid-1950s, the post-war peace dividend had arrived, and in 1964 the Dragoons were notified that they were to be made dormant once again — while not struck off the order of battle, the Regiment was reduced to zero strength. In November 1964, the King’s Colour of the 19th Alberta Dragoons, along with the Regimental Colours and King’s Colour of the 101st Edmonton Fusiliers, were laid up once more in Holy Trinity Church. The Regimental Chaplain, Captain the Reverend Canon T. L. Leadbeater, oversaw this ceremony.
In 1978, the Federal Government recognized that Edmonton required its own armoured soldiers, and B Squadron, the South Alberta Light Horse, was stood up to fulfill this requirement. The 2006 amalgamation of the 19th Alberta Dragoons and the South Alberta Light Horse officially linked the history and heritage of these two units under its current name. Though the Dragoons had been dormant for over 40 years, their exceptional history and close ties to Holy Trinity Church remain part of the South Alberta Light Horse lineage today.
Images from Holy Trinity
