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The Lincoln & Welland Regiment is based in St. Catharines, Ontario,
Canada.
The Lincoln &
Welland Regiment is our "family regiment".
Brief history of the regiment. Click on small photos to enlarge
them.
In 1906 my
Grandfather (William Arnott Stevens) joined the 19th St. Catharines Regiment ,
which became the 19th Lincoln Regiment, and later the Lincoln & Welland
Regiment (named after the counties it recruited from). He served with the Lincs
& Wincs until the 1950s. I have his uniforms, sword
etc. from circa 1907.
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| Plate marked with the crest of the 19 St. Catharines
Regiment c. 1906. Marked on back:
BISHOP & STONIER
HANLEY ENGLAND
HARD ROCK
Rd. 11562 (?)
Souvenir of Captain William Arnott Stevens. Owned by Colin Stevens. |
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| Cane presented to my grandfather. It is
engraved:
Capt. W. A. Stevens
From
"The Boys" No 1 Section
"CANAL GUARD"
1915
The handle is gold over a plaster core. Unfortunately the head was
broken off by children playing with it. Owned by Colin Stevens. |
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| Buttons from Captain William Arnott Stevens of the 19th
Regiment.
Bottom row, left to right:
 | CANADA MILITIA with crown in centre, King's crown. Mfg: THOMAS
CARLYLE ASTON BIRMINGHAM ENGLAND |
| CANADA MILITIA with beaver in centre, King's crown. Mfg J. R. GAUNT
& SON LONDON |
Top row, left to right:
| 19 ST CATHARINES REGIMENT, King's Crown. Mfg: J. R. GAUNT & SON
LTD MONTREAL |
| 19 LINCOLN REGIMENT, King's crown. Mfg J. R. GAUNT & SON LONDON
ENGD |
| THE LINCOLN REGIMENT, King's crown. Mfg J. R. GAUNT & SON LONDON
ENGD |
| THE LINCOLN REGIMENT, King's crown, painted brown, presumably for
field uniform in 1920s. Mfg J. R. GAUNT & SON LONDON MADE IN
ENGLAND. |
Owned by Colin Stevens. |
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| Shoulder or collar badges for the 19th Regiment - Ex-Captain
W A Stevens. Owned by Colin Stevens. |
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| 19th Lincoln Regiment collar badge made by J. R. GAUNT,
MONTREAL and LINCOLN shoulder title marked on back "ELLIS & CO
LTD 1922" - Ex-Captain W. A. Stevens. Owned by Colin Stevens. |
His Sam Browne belt was worn by three generations. My paternal grandfather
wore it in WWI, my father wore it in WWII (the leather was replaced in the UK
during the war), and I wore it in the 1970s in the Militia. I would have worn
the family sword as well, except that the highlanders carry a different pattern
sword - the Claybeg (i.e. a small sword which is incorrectly called a Claymore
which was in effect a 'great sword' - a two handed monster.)
The helmet and helmet plate that were given to me by Albert Earl
O'Loughlin, formerly of the Lincoln & Welland Regiment. He could not remember
if it was his or my grandfather's (who was his brother-in-law). Neither of
their names is in it however. Pencilled inside are initials (probably of a
solider) "MOL" and "AW". Maker's stamp is CHRISTY'S
LONDON (circular rubber stamp). Red "21" on white paper glued inside
above capital letter "R" inside a circle. Inside sweatband is the
number 4 over an X. The helmet plate is still held on as it was originally by
matchsticks! The helmet is missing the chinstrap, thought strangely enough, my
Grandfather saved his chinstrap (Officer's with golden linked chain over
leather) and two helmet spikes! I have these also.
The two helmet spikes are heirlooms from Capt W A Stevens of the 19th St.
Catharines Regiment. Owned by Colin Stevens.
His brother-in-law (Eric Gardner)
also served in the unit and
commanded one of the battalions. I have a 19th Regiment greatcoat
that I suspect was his.
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| Jacket crest for the Lincoln & Welland Regiment, from
the effects of Lieutenant Arnott Hume Stevens. Probably dates from
1939-1942. Owned by Colin Stevens. |
Lieutenant A H Stevens, Lincoln & Welland Regt. in Newfoundland circa
1942 with his Harley-Davidson WLC.
My father Lieut. Arnott Hume ("Pete") Stevens (1919-1985) joined up with them in the
1930s as a drummer boy and in
September 1939 was Adjutant, and he swore in many of the soldiers. He did not
have a bible handy as I recall him saying so he used another book for the
swearing in ceremony, and later joked with some of the veterans that they were
not 'legally' ever sworn into the army!
Dad also went
with the Lincoln & Welland Regiment to Nanaimo, BC and later overseas with
them to Newfoundland. In Newfoundland he was appointed as Aide de camp to
General Page, the General Officer Commanding the Canadian Army in Newfoundland.
Interestingly, Dad's future wife's uncle, Air Vice Marshall F. Vernon Heakes,
was the Air Officer Commanding in Newfoundland about this time.
In 1943 Dad transferred to the Essex Scottish after the Dieppe Raid
(Aug 42) as they had lost
their officers in the attack and Dad wanted to see action. He was later wounded
in action while attached to No. 4 Commando in late 1943.
Lieutenant Colonel
Arnott Hume Stevens wearing his 'mess kit' of the Lincoln & Welland Regt.
After the war he became a doctor and rejoined the
Militia and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Canadian Army
Medical Corps, though he retained his loyalty to the L&W as you can see by
the collar dogs on his mess kit.
The
L&W Regiment has opened a new museum in 2000 in Butler's Barracks, King St.
& Mary St., Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. It may be closed in the winters. It
was open 10:00 am to 5:00 pm Wednesday to Sunday.
Phone (905) 329-8220
LINKS
Unofficial (i.e. not DND) Regimental web page by Major Allan
Wooley awoolley@iaw.on.ca
http://www.iaw.on.ca/~awoolley/lincweld.html
CONNECTIONS TO LINCS & WINCS
===
2002 Aug. 8
Re: George Day, L&W 1969-1977
Hi My name is George Day and I was a member of the
Lincs & Winks from 69-77. Haven't heard from any of the old troops for a
while. Wondering if any are still around. daygsgt@hotmail.com
===
Re: Lt Col Dandy, CO L&W
My parents were married at Basingstoke England on March 17,
1945 while dad recuperated from a wound and mom was a Canadian army
nurse. Dad was in the Lincoln and Welland. He eventually commanded
the regiment after the war and was the former commanding officer who laid a wreath
on Pte. Howie's grave in 2000.
You may have seen him in news clips during that time.
Thanks for your reply.
===
2002
Re: Lorne Gordon Smith, WWII vet, WIA
Hello! my name is Adam G. Smith and i found your website on the lincoln
and welland very informative, but i would like to ask if you have any
information on the "C" company during the second world war?
My grandfather served with lincoln and welland "C" company and
i'm having a little trouble finding info! any info you could supply
me with would be much appreciated! Thanx ... My grandfathers name is Lorne
Gordon Smith he died before i was born but he survived the war, the
story i'm told is that he was seriously injured by the shrapnel of a grenade,
disfiguring his face and blinding him! ... is there anyway to get a copy of the
regiments history from the regiment?? because i'd really like a copy! Gran also
says that he had a copy but it was destroyed when her basement flooded! balalamazon@yahoo.ca
===
Major Allan Woolley awoolley@iaw.on.ca
(2003 May)
===
LtCol Bill Smy bill_smy@yahoo.com
(2003)
===
SOME LINKS:
HQ BADGES http://badges-hq.com/armybadges
CANADA HQ http://canada-hq.com/canadianarmy/
UNIFORMS.NET http://uniformsnet.com/crestuniforms
Counter added 2002-12-17 
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Lieutenant A H Stevens, Lincoln & Welland Regt. in Newfoundland circa
1942 with his Harley-Davidson WLC. 
