Patricia Lake was dedicated to all those who served, and those who are still serving in the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Regiment by the Canada Lands Company on June 23, 2004, as part of their redevelopment of Edmonton’s former Canadian Forces Base (Griesbach Barracks).
Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry was founded for service in the First World War on August 10, 1914, and paraded for the first time at Lansdowne Park, Ottawa, Ontario, on August 23, 1914. Hamilton Gault, a prominent Montreal businessman, raised the regiment out of his own funds, making the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry the last privately raised regiment in Canada.
The regiment was named after Princess Patricia of Connaught, the daughter of the Governor General at the time. Princess Patricia maintained close ties with the regiment throughout her life, and her handsewn original Regimental Colour, the Ric-a-Dam-Doo, was carried into the frontline on almost every occasion the Patricias were engaged in battle.
Over four years of fighting in Belgium and France, the Regiment established a reputation for excellence, never losing a ground on the battlefield. Vimy, Passchendaele, Ypres, Amiens, and Frezenberg stand out in history books as places where the Patricia’s demonstrated outstanding skill at arms, tenacity and courage. All three battalions have continued to train to fight, while also undertaking domestic and international operations at the behest of Canada. Domestically, the Regiment has provided battalions for service during the Winnipeg floods of the 1950s and the 1990s ice storms in Quebec, security to the G8 Summit in Kananaskis, and fighting forest fires in Alberta and British Columbia. Internationally, the Patricia’s have provided battalions for operational duty ensuring basic security and helping with humanitarian assistance. These battalions have seen service in Germany, Cyprus, the former Yugoslavia, the Middle East, Congo, Rwanda, Central America, Vietnam, Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, and Afghanistan.
