DAY 1 of Three-Day General Auction
Lot 495:
A fine example of the North West Canada Medal 1885, with clasp ‘Saskatchewan’; named to: Pte J Preston 90th Regt (Winnipeg Rifles). The Royal Winnipeg Rifles were established in Winnipeg, Manitoba on 9 November
1883, when the 90th & Winnipeg Battalion of Rifles was authorized to be formed. The Battalion was mobilized for active service in the North West Campaign on 10
April 1885 and served as part of Middleton’s Column of the North West Field Force, in which government forces combatted uprisings by the Métis People under Louis
Riel and the Cree and Assiniboine of the District of Saskatchewan. They gained the Battle Honours: ‘Fish Creek’, ‘Batoche’, and ‘North West Canada 1885’. The
battalion was removed from active service on 18 September 1885. The Regiment’s badge incorporates a symbolic black devil carrying a trident and offering a chalice, which preserves the legend that during the North West Rebellion the soldiers were
referred to by the opposing forces ‘little black devils’ because of their almost black (dark rifle green) uniforms. Hence, the adoption of the regiment’s Latin motto
‘Hosti Acie Nominati’ which means ‘named by the enemy force’.
The Regiment saw further active service in South Africa and in both World Wars. As the 1st Battalion The Royal Winnipeg Rifles it was mobilized for active service on 24
May 1940 and embarked for Great Britain on 28 August 1941. It landed in Normandy on D-Day, 6 June 1944, as part of the 7th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Canadian Infantry
Division, and fought throughout the campaign in North-West Europe until the end of the war.
Today, The Royal Winnipeg Rifles (Little Black Devils) is a Primary Reserve Infantry
Unit located in Minto Armouries, Winnipeg, Manitoba and is Western Canada’s oldest serving Infantry Regiment. From 2002 to 2014, the Royal Winnipeg Rifles reinforced various CAFunits deployed to Afghanistan.
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