Permanent Active Militia (PAM), also known as Permanent Force (PF), was the proper name of Canada's full-time professional land forces from 1855 to 1940, when it was reorganized into the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

. PAM was in effect Canada's

standing army A standing army is a permanent, often professional, army. It is composed of full-time soldiers who may be either career soldiers or conscripts. It differs from army reserves, who are enrolled for the long term, but activated only during wars ...

, consisting of one regular

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

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 ...

and two

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

regiments in 1914. The counterpart to PAM was the Non-Permanent Active Militia (NPAM), which referred to the

reserve force A military reserve force is a military organization whose members (reservists) have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional ma ...

of the

Canadian Militia The Canadian Militia is a historical title for military units raised for the defence of Canada. The term has been used to describe sedentary militia units raised from local communities in Canada; as well as the regular army for the Province of Ca ...

. PAM and NPAM were distinct forces from the sedentary militias raised in Canada. Both organizations were reorganized into the Canadian Army in 1940.

History

As the British began to withdraw soldiers from

British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestown, ...

in the decades after the War of 1812, the

Parliament of the Province of Canada The Parliament of the Province of Canada was the legislature for the Province of Canada, made up of the two regions of Canada West (formerly Upper Canada, later Ontario) and Canada East (formerly Lower Canada, later Quebec). Creation of the Parl ...

passed the

Militia Act of 1855 The ''Militia Act'' of 1855 was an Act of Parliament, Act passed by the Parliament of the Province of Canada that permitted the formation of an "Active Militia", which was later subdivided into the Permanent Active Militia and the Non-Permanent ...

, creating the Active Militia. The Active Militia, later split off into the Permanent Active Militia (PAM), the Militia's regular armed unit (although it continued to use the label militia), and the Non-Permanent Active Militia (NPAM), the Canadian Militia's

military reserve force A military reserve force is a military organization whose members (reservists) have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional ma ...

. After PAM's formation, the remaining sedentary militia regiments that made up the

were collectively referred to as the Reserve Militia. Following Canadian Confederation in July 1867, PAM was managed by the Canadian Minister of Militia. PAM was mobilized on a number of occasions in the latter half of the 19th century, including the Fenian raids, the Wolseley expedition, the

North-West Rebellion The North-West Rebellion (), was an armed rebellion of Métis under Louis Riel and an associated uprising of Cree and Assiniboine mostly in the District of Saskatchewan, against the Government of Canada, Canadian government. Important events i ...

, and the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

. The Second Boer War saw more than 8,000 volunteers raised for service in South Africa, from a number of militia regiments in Canada, including PAM.

20th century

A number of administrative reforms were instituted after the war, with the establishment of the Canadian Army Service Corps in 1901, and the

Royal Canadian 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 Canadia ...

, Canadian Army Medical Corps, Canadian Ordnance Corps, and the Signalling Corps in 1903. On 1 April 1914, PAM had an authorized force of 3,110 soldiers of all ranks, and 684 horses. It comprised two cavalry regiments (

Royal Canadian Dragoons The Royal Canadian Dragoons (RCD) is the senior armoured regiment of the Canadian Army by precedence. It is one of three armoured regiments in the Regular Force and forms part of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps. The colonel-in-chief of the ...

, Lord Strathcona's Horse), the

Royal Canadian Horse Artillery The Royal Canadian Horse Artillery is the name given to the regular field artillery units of the Canadian Army. Organization The Regular Force has three RCHA regiments: ; 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery: this is the descendant of ...

, the Royal Canadian Garrison Artillery, and the

Royal Canadian Regiment The Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR) is an infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. The regiment consists of four battalions, three in the Regular Force and one in the primary reserve. The RCR is ranked first in the order of precedence amongst Canadi ...

. PAM was not directly mobilized during

World War I 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 ...

; Canadian soldiers served overseas after enlisting in the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF; French: ''Corps expéditionnaire canadien'') was the expeditionary warfare, expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed on August 15, 1914, following United Kingdom declarat ...

(CEF), a separate force managed by the Ministry of Overseas Military Forces. However, the Royal Canadian Regiment, an infantry regiment under PAM, was deployed to the

Imperial fortress Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, Lord Salisbury described Malta, Gibraltar, Bermuda, and Halifax as Imperial fortresses at the 1887 Colonial Conference, though by that point they had been so designated for decades. Later histor ...

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

in order to relieve the 2nd Battalion, The Lincolnshire Regiment from garrison duty. The members of the regiment were later redeployed to France in November 1915, where its members were integrated with the CEF. It was replaced at Bermuda successively by the 38th Battalion (Ottawa), CEF, 77th Battalion, CEF, and 163rd Battalion (French-Canadian), CEF. As World War I drew to a close in 1918, and the CEF expected to disband, plans to re-organize the Canadian Militia were initiated under the

Otter Commission The Otter Commission, or Otter Committee, was established after the First World War to tackle a problem created by the chaotic mobilization of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. In 1919, units of the CEF, intended as a wartime expeditionary force, ...

. The Commission proposed that PAM field a force of six infantry divisions and one cavalry division, supplemented by personnel from NPAM. Additionally, the Otter Commission saw links of perpetuation created, for

battle honour A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or Military operation, operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In ...

s earned from units of the CEF with units of the Canadian Militia. Following the results of the

, two more infantry regiments were integrated into PAM, 22nd Battalion (French Canadian) of the CEF (later renamed the

Royal 22nd Regiment The Royal 22nd Regiment (R22R; ) is an infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. Known colloquially in English as the Van Doos (representing an anglicized pronunciation of the French number twenty-two, ) or in French as , the mostly francophone re ...

), and

Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI, generally referred to as the Patricias) is one of the three Regular Force infantry regiments of the Canadian Army of the Canadian Armed Forces. Formed in 1914, it is named for Princess Patrici ...

. In the midst of demobilization after the end of World War I, PAM strength was reduced to nearly its pre-World War I levels, with 381 officers, and 3744 soldiers of other ranks. The force would maintain this relative size until the eve of

World War II 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 1923, PAM was tasked with the operation of the Northwest Territories and Yukon Radio System. In the

Interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, PAM was occasionally mobilized in order to maintain "peace," between strikers and business owners during strikes. From 1932 to 1936, PAM was involved in the operation of unemployment camps, jointly with the Department of Labour. At the outbreak of World War II in 1939, PAM fielded a force of 455 officers, and 3,714 soldiers of all other ranks. During World War II, the Permanent Force was renamed the Canadian Army (Active); it later became known as the Canadian Army Active Force, Canadian Army (Regular), and Force Mobile Command following Unification on February 1, 1968. On July 8, 2013, by order of the Minister of National Defence, the name reverted to the Canadian Army.

Equipment

Lee–Enfield The Lee–Enfield is a bolt-action, magazine-fed repeating rifle that served as the main firearm of the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century, and was the standard service rifle of th ...

(SMLE) Mark III – 1916–1943 *

M1911 pistol The Colt M1911 (also known as 1911, Colt 1911, Colt .45, or Colt Government in the case of Colt-produced models) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered primarily for the .45 ACP cartridge. History Early histo ...

* Smith & Wesson 2nd Model "Hand Ejector" Revolver * Lewis machine gun *

M1919 Browning machine gun The M1919 Browning is a .30-06 Springfield, .30 caliber medium machine gun that was widely used during the 20th century, especially during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The M1919 saw service as a light infantry, coaxial weap ...

Bren light machine gun The Bren gun (Brno-Enfield) was a series of light machine guns (LMG) made by the United Kingdom in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1992. While best known for its role as the British and Commonwealth forces' primary infantry LMG in Worl ...

References

External links

canadiansoldiers.com article on lineage of the Canadian Army
Canadian Militia Military units and formations established in 1867 Military units and formations disestablished in 1940

History

20th century

Equipment

See also

References

Further reading

External links