31 Combat Engineer Regiment (31 CER or "The Elgin's"), is a

combat engineer A combat engineer (also called pioneer or sapper) is a type of soldier who performs military engineering tasks in support of land forces combat operations. Combat engineers perform a variety of military engineering, Tunnel warfare, tunnel and l ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

of the

Canadian Military Engineers The Canadian Military Engineers (CME; ) is the military engineering personnel branch of the Canadian Armed Forces. The members of the branch that wear army uniform comprise the Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers (RCE; ). The mission of the Canadi ...

. It is part of

31 Canadian Brigade Group 31 Canadian Brigade Group (31 CBG; ) is part of the 4th Canadian Division, under the Canadian Army. It encompasses the southwestern portion of Ontario, and is headquartered in London, Ontario. The 31 CBG area of responsibility stretches from Ha ...

of the

4th Canadian Division The 4th Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army. It is currently responsible for Canadian Army operations in the Canadian province of Ontario and is headquartered at Denison Armoury in Toronto. The division was first created as ...

. It consists of two squadrons: 48 Engineer Squadron in

Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo (formerly Waterloo County, Ontario, Waterloo County). Waterloo is situated about west-southwest of Toronto, but it is n ...

, and 7 Engineer Squadron in

St. Thomas, Ontario St. Thomas is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It gained its city charter on March 4, 1881. The city is also the seat for Elgin County, although it is independent of the county. At the time of the 2021 Census, the population of the city w ...

History

31 CER perpetuates the Provincial Corps of Artificers, a unit associated with the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. The regiment existed before the

Confederation of Canada Canadian Confederation () was the process by which three British North American provinces—the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick—were united into one federation, called the Dominion of Canada, on July 1, 1867. This process ...

, tracing its origin to 1866 when the Militia Act officially created the 25th, Elgin, Battalion of Infantry from five local militia companies. It became the 25th Elgin Regiment in 1900, but was then disbanded in 1903, but re-formed the next year. In 1915 the 91st Battalion (Elgin), CEF was raised in

, and went to fight in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. It became the

Elgin Regiment The Elgin Regiment (RCAC) (previously known as The Elgin Regiment until 1954) was an armoured regiment of the Canadian Army Reserve. It was first raised in the 1860s as an infantry regiment, and contributed heavily to the 91st Battalion (Elgin), ...

in 1920, and was expanded to two battalions in 1921, the 1st Battalion ''(perpetuating 91st Battalion CEF),'' and the 2nd (Reserve) Battalion. After the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1939, the regiment was converted to armour in 1942 as the 25th Armoured Regiment (The Elgin Regiment). The Elgin Regiment was awarded the battle honours Somme, 1916; Arras, 1917; Ypres, 1917; and Amiens after the

.Appendix to General Order No. 71 of 1930, page 7 The honours "Arras" and "Amiens" were selected to be borne on colours and appointments. After the conversion to an engineer regiment in 1997, these honours became dormant, being replaced by the CME's honorary distinction . During Canadian combat operations in Afghanistan, 31 CER sent members to augment Regular Force units for deployments while also acting as a "feeder" unit, training Reserve Force members who could then take full-time contracts with Regular Force combat engineer regiments.

Afghanistan rotations

Perpetuations

* Provincial Corps of Artificers * 91st Battalion (Elgin), CEF * 1st Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment - Canadian Forces General Message 089/23, 23 May 2023: "the perpetuation of the 1st Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment by 31 Combat Engineer Regiment (The Elgins) is approved"

Alliances

* -

The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (often referred to as, "The Fusiliers") is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division. Currently, the regiment has two battalions: the 1st Battalion, part of the Regular Army, is an ar ...

References

{{Worthington Trophy Engineer regiments of Canada Military units and formations established in 1997 1997 establishments in Canada St. Thomas, Ontario Military units and formations of Canada in World War I Military units and formations of Canada in World War II