REGIMENTAL COLOURS AND THE KIRK
(Compiled from information supplied by W. R. Burnett, Gordon Stewart and Mrs. L.E. Prowse.)
The presence of the Officers and Members of the Prince
Edward Island Regiment this morning draws attention to the flags which flank
the Chancel here in the Kirk of St. James. As Mr. Burnett has expressed it,
"They are steeped in Island military history and tradition".
In 1875 two infantry battalions were established in
Charlottetown. They were known as the "Queen's County Provisional
Battalion of Infantry" and the "Charlottetown Provisional Battalion
of Infantry". In 1876 these two were amalgamated and were designated the
"82nd Queens County Battalion of Infantry". About 1907 the name was
changed to "82nd Abegweit Light Infantry".
Early in 1908 King's and Regimental Colours were purchased,
due largely to the leadership of Captain V. L. Goodwill. These were consecrated
by the Rev. T. F. Fullerton, D.D. (Minister of the Kirk of St. James and
Chaplain of the Regiment) at an impressive ceremony in Victoria Park on July 4th,
1908.
The King's Colour was presented by Mrs. MacKinnon, wife of Lieutenant Governor D.A. MacKinnon, and the Regimental Colour by Mrs. Stewart, wife of Lieutenant Colonel D. Stewart, then commanding the Regiment. Colonel Stewart, Mrs. Stewart, and Captain Goodwill, mentioned above, were active members of the Kirk.
Both flags bear the inscription "Abegweit Light
Infantry" and the Roman Numeral "LXXXII". The Regimental Colour
bears the motto, "Semper Fidelis".
On Sunday, August 6th, 1922, the 82nd Colours were borne to
the Kirk by Captain A. R. B. Duck and Major T. Edgar MacNutt, accompanied by an
Escort. Church authorities accepted the Colours for safe keeping "in honor
of the regiment, as a memorial to those who had fallen, and as an inspiration
to the living".
On the 16th July, 1925, Major MacNutt, acting on authority
from Ottawa requested the Church authorities to hand the Colours to him, so
that they could be formally handed over to the Prince Edward Island Regiment,
the successors of the 82nd Battalion. This being done with proper ceremony
outside the Church building the Colours were then returned to the Church where
they still hang.
In 1928 the "Prince Edward Island Regiment" became
officially known as "The Prince Edward Island Highlanders", and
became affiliated with the famous Scottish Regiment, "The Black
Watch". Following World World II it was known as the "17th
Reconnaissance Regiment" and now once again bears the designation
"The Prince Edward Island Regiment".
