Standing Orders - Appendix 17, Annex A, Ch 10
30th Field Artillery Regiment, RCA
Ottawa, ON

The first elements of 30th Field Artillery Regiment, RCA, formed as the 2nd Volunteer Militia Field Battery of Ottawa by the Militia Act on September 27, 1855. It’s nickname, “The Bytown Gunners”, derives from its affiliation with Ottawa when the city was known as Bytown, in honour of Colonel John By, the builder of the Rideau Canal.

Members of the unit served before the turn of the century by assisting in the collection of taxes from unruly farmers, and the suppressing of riots and civil disturbances. Members of the unit served during the Fenian Raids of 1860 and 1870, the North-West (Riel) Rebellion of 1885, and also sent volunteers to serve as part of the Second Canadian Contingent of the South African War of 1899-1902. Many awards for gallantry and meritorious service were won by unit members during these conflicts.

The regiment was authorized on 9 May 1905 as ‘8th Brigade of Field Artillery, CA’. It was mobilized in Ottawa at the beginning of the First World War as the 1st Brigade Canadian Field Artillery (1 CFA), and consisted of the 2nd and 23rd Batteries, and saw service throughout the conflict. The Bytown Gunners were present at many battles.

Among them were; Flanders, Ypres, Festubert, Sanctuary Canal du Nord, and Mons. During the conflict, Ottawa Gunners won eight Distinguished Service Orders (DSO’s), 13 Distinguished Conduct Medals (DCM’s), 61 Military Medals (MM’s) as well as 18 foreign decorations. It was while serving with 2nd Battery of 1 CFA as a medical officer that Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae wrote the famous poem “In Flanders Fields”.

In 1939, at the outbreak of the Second World War, two batteries from Ottawa were mobilized, the 2nd Field Battery, which fought through Normandy, the Scheldt, the Reichswald, and into Germany, and the 51st Anti-Tank Battery, which saw action in Sicily, Italy and Holland. In 1941, the 1st Battery was formed as a light anti-aircraft battery and saw action in NorthWest Europe. Later in the war, the 25th Battery was formed as a training battery and remained in Canada throughout the war.

In 1946, the unit received its present designation as the “30th Field Regiment, RCA”, incorporating the 1st, 2nd and 25th Batteries. Since World War II, members of the unit have seen active service in the Korean conflict, and have served in UN Ops around the world as Reservists with Regular units and most recently fighting the flood in Manitoba and the ice storm in Eastern Ontario, as well as providing personnel for augmentation of Regular Force units within Canada.

Today, the regiment consists of Regimental Headquarters (RHQ) Battery, 1st (Training) Battery, and 2nd (Operational) Battery. In addition to regular training responsibilities, the special occasion such as the Queen’s Official Birthday, Canada Day, Remembrance Day, the opening of Parliament, and the arrival and departure of important dignitaries.

The regiment is proud of its tradition of service to Canada and the community of Ottawa, a tradition which has continued unbroken since its inception 1855.