For Sale: Battledress 8RCA - 5CAD

[Jordy M.]

Battle-Dress of the 8 Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA) within the 5th Canadian Armoured Division.
The tunic is maker marked by the company Master Craft Uniform Co. Reg'D. Dated 1944 with size 10.
The tunic is has printed/canvas 8RCA titles, CANADA titles and 5th Canadian Armoured Division patches. Embroidered overseas chevrons and Signalman-Instructor patch. The tunic has an open collar. Shows normal traces of usage, shows some dirt on the right sleeve.

The 8th Field Regiment (Self Propelled), 5th Canadian Armoured Division took part in liberation of Italy and the Netherlands.
All original!

Forum price: €290euro - $430cad

Shipping in Europe 18euro
Shipping to Canada 26,80euro - $40cad

Please contact me at jmmilitaria@gmail.com

[Jordy M.]

War Diary, during the liberation of the Netherlands:

April 15 1945: A Canadian Air OP and one battery from 3 Medium Regt were placed under command 8 Field Regiment RCA. The advance was rapid and met only scattered resistance. The 2IC Major E.M.Hodson and the advance party prepared a gun position near Deelen Airfield in the afternoon. In addition to the normal preparations they also capture the "de-souvenired" 120 prisoners including a Lieutenant-colonel and his lady. Before the gun group arrived, the advance party had moved in again to prepare another position and the guns followed along. At dusk the Regiment occupied a position about 4 miles south of Otterloo. During the deployment in the dark, Lieutenant S.M. Macsymic mistook, what the prisoners reports the next day indicated the depature of a German Panzer Company, for the arrival of his own battery guns, unsuccesfully dashes across the field shouting at the top of his voice and flasing a light. Fortunately their lone pursuer, the tanks got away.

April 16 1945: The chase by 5 Canadian Air OP was replaced by a British Squadron which kept planes in the air continually but the observers were only able to spot a few targets The Regiment took another 80 prisoners during the day and uncovered two American fliers and a British Secret Agent. In the evening several souvenirs collectors from RHQ made contact with the enemy about a mile behind the gun position and were forced to send for help to extricate themselves. The paymaster, Captain S.F.Donnelly gallantry led his RHQ Commander to the rescue. Captain Evans working as FOO with 8NBH, saw activity and brought fire to bear, necessitating a slew of 185 degrees from zero line. The final result was 5 men from RHQ and attached RCCS signal section wounded, the 2IC half track bazookas and the paymaster and one OR spending a cold night in the long grass hugging mother earth. Souvenir hunting away from gun position ceased after this episode.

April 18 1945: Thanks of 8NBH reached the Zuiderzee north-west of Putten. In three and half days, 5 Canadian Armoured Division with 5 Canadian Armoured Brigade setting the pace had advanced 50 miles and fought off a determined counter attack on Divisional HQ on Divsional HQ . The guns of the Regiment were always close behind the leading tanks and ready to answer calls for fire or any point of the compass.

April 19 1945: The Regiment fored a salute of 3rd rounds salvo and 5 rounds gun fire in memory of personnel of the Regiment who had fallen in battle. Presuamably there were to be the last shots to be fired by the Regiment in WOII. Ten minutes later the Regiment took post and fired in anger at the enemy.

April 23 1945: The Regiment cmae under command 5 CAB and moved to Northern Holland. Due to the lack of bridges it was a long roundabout journey of over 150 miles. Through. Apeldoorn, Zuthpen, Assen and Groningen. The Regimental Advance party prepared a gun position near Wierden in the afternoon and wheeled vehicles of F echelon arrived in the evening. The guns and tanks travelling in a later convoy from Putten arrived on the gun position during the night.As the Westminster Regiment sector was out of rangeof our Rep and FOO had to call on 17 Canadian Field Regiment RCA for fire. The Delftzijl Garrison was surrounded by flat open flooded country across which armour could not move.The divisional plan was changed and the available forces were regrouped.

April 25 1945: The German fire was accurate and frequent. The weather was very wet. Daily we over expeneded our ammunition allotment on targets ontargets for Reps and FOOs, the Air OP and HQ RCA. Slowly the size. Slowly the size of the pocket decreased due to the unrelentless efforts of the three infantry regiments of 11 CIB and the Westminster Regiment.

May 2 1945: The Commander of the Delftzijl garrison surrendered to the CO of the Irish Regiment. However the war was not ended for the Regiment. 61 Battery moved to Bierum to cover the Ems Estuary. 107 Battery came under command of HQ 5 CAB and deployed north of Roode school facing the North Sea.

May 4 1945: The Active service in Battle of the Regiment ended.

[Jordy M.]

Sexton SP guns of the 8th Field Regiment, R.C.A., firing 21 gun salute to celebrate VE Day, Groningen, Netherlands, 8 May 1945.