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7th Canadian Division
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7th Canadian Division
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Authorized:
12 May 1942 (GO 309/42)
Disbanded: 15 October 1943 (GO 15/44) |
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The 7th Canadian
Division was an active formation of the Canadian Army that
served as a home defence organization in the Second World War.
Mobilization
In July 1941 the Cabinet
War Committee authorized the formation of three brigade groups into a
6th Division for the purposes of home defence. By November 1941, while
planning for the upcoming year, the Chief of the General Staff,
Lieutenant General Crerar, did not feel any "factor in the existing situation warranting
the mobilization of an additional division", but noted in his
recommendations for the 1942 Army Programme that if conditions worsened,
he would recommend the completion of the 6th Division and mobilization
of the brigade groups of a 7th. By February 1942, after the attack on Pearl Harbor
and British possessions in the Far East,
Canadian entry into the war against Japan, and the disaster at Hong
Kong, it was felt that the situation warranted mobilization and on 16
March 1942, Lieutenant General Stuart, the new CGS, recommended formally
that the Minister of National Defence proceed.1
During 1941, several
formations and units were raised for home defence; in early 1942 it was
decided to group these units into divisional organizations. The 16th,
17th and 18th Infantry Brigades were raised in March 1942, and assembled
into brigade groups with supporting arms attached.
 In
May 1942, the Division was formally created and organized along
divisional lines during the months of May and June. Headquarters of the
Division was established in Debert, NS, with the divisional artillery
grouped under Division Headquarters.
The brigades were shuffled, and 7th Canadian Division ended up with the
15th, 17th and 20th Infantry Brigades. Artillery regiments were also
moved, and the Divisional artillery became the 20th, 23rd and 26th Field
Regiments, with the 8th Anti-Tank and 10th LAA regiments remaining with
the Division.
In September 1942, the Essex Regiment was replaced with 24th
Reconnaissance Battalion (Voltigeurs de Quebec), and 23rd Field Regiment
departed the Division in October.
Infantry units rotated in and out of the Division, and the Voltigeurs
left in January 1943, leaving the Division without a recce regiment
until disbandment. In May 1943 The 8th Anti-Tank Regiment disbanded and
converted to become 28th Field Regiment, remaining with the Division.
In June 1943, the 10th LAA Regiment was reduced to three batteries, with
8th LAA Battery converting to become 63rd AA Battery and moving to
coastal defence duties.
In July 1943, 20th Brigade moved to the 6th Division.
In August, a battery of 10th LAA Regiment provided defence for the
Quebec Conference.
At the end of 1943, 15th and 20th Brigade moved to 6th Canadian Division
as well. In October, most of the Division's units disbanded, including
Divisional Headquarters, the divisional defence and employment platoon,
divisional intelligence section, divisional headquarters of the
artillery and engineers, the RCASC and signals units, the 16th and 18th
brigade headquarters and defence platoons, and the 22nd, 27th and 28th
Field Regiments.
In November 1943, the headquarters of the 17th Infantry Brigade, 26th
Field Regiment and 10th LAA Regiment all disbanded, as did the brigade
defence platoon. December saw the remainder of divisional units
disbanded.2
Order of Battle May
1942
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17th Brigade
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The Victoria Rifles
of Canada
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2nd Battalion, The
Black Watch (RHR) of Canada
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The Dufferin and
Haldimand Rifles of Canada
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No. 17 Defence
Platoon
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18th Brigade
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The Sault Ste. Marie
and Sudbury Regiment
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The Rocky Mountain
Rangers
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1st Battalion, Irish
Fusiliers of Canada (Vancouver Regiment)
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No. 18 Defence
Platoon
Units of the supporting arms
included:
Plus units of the RCASC,
RCAMC, RCOC, CPC, etc.
The three home
defence divisions, the 6th, 7th and 8th, were never complete in all
arms and services. They did not need to be, for they were designed
to operate within the framework of a static organization already
existing. This meant that the services of the Commands and Military
Districts were available to assist them; it also meant that the
artillery of the fixed defences, and other permanent installations,
could support them in operations. Thus their establishments were
never as complete as those of field divisions. Nor were the
establishments ever quite full. On 17 April 1943, the 7th Division
was deficient 97 officers and 3738 other ranks; the 6th and 8th
Divisions were short approximately 1200 and 1100 all ranks
respectively.3
Commanders
The Division only had one General Officer Commanding during its
existence:
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Name
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Dates in Command
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Bio and Destination on Leaving
Appointment |
| Major General P.E. Leclerc, CBE,
MM, ED |
20 May 1942 - 15
Oct 1943 |
Had commanded a
Canadian infantry brigade overseas before commanding the 7th
Canadian Division in Canada. |
Uniform Insignia
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At the start of
the Second World War, it was felt that colourful unit and
Formation Patches would be too easily seen, and a very austere
set of insignia was designed for the new Battle Dress uniform,
consisting solely of rank badges and drab worsted Slip-on
Shoulder Titles. In 1941, however, the trend was reversed, and a
new system of Formation Patches, based on the battle patches of
the First World War, was introduced. However, the use of
lettered unit titles (at first won as Slip-on Shoulder Titles
and later, as more colourful designs worn directly above the
divisional patches) was also introduced - a privilege previously
extended only to the Brigade of Guards in England, and in the
Canadian Army to just four units: Governor General's Foot
Guards, Canadian Grenadier Guards, Princess Patricia's Canadian
Light Infantry and the Canadian Provost Corps.
The new formation patches were made from three materials mainly;
felt and wool being most common, and canvas patches were adopted
in the late war period as an economy measure.
Members of various corps serving in support units originally
wore formation patches with letters added directly to the patch
(or in some cases a plain coloured shape, such as the Royal
Canadian Army Medical Corps (RCAMC)) |
The hexagonal patch of the Canadian Army Pacific Force applied
overtop of the formation patch indicated a volunteer for the
CAPF.
As did the 6th Canadian Division, the 7th Canadian Division also
utilized previously used colours in the design of their
formation patch, this time combining the colours of the 3rd and
4th Divisions. The wide end of the French-Grey triangle was
always worn facing the wearer's front. |
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Artifacts and
photo at left courtesy of Bill Alexander. 7th Division RCCS
flashes at right courtesy of Joe Costello. |
Notes
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Stacey, C.P.
Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War:
Volume I: Six Years Of War (Queen's Printer, Ottawa, ON,
1956), pp.166-171
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Falconer, D.W. Battery Flashes of
W.W. II (D.W. Falconer, 1985) ISBN 0-9691865-0-9 pp. 387-388
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Stacey, Ibid, pp.183-184
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