The Lincoln and Welland Regiment The Lincoln and Welland Regiment is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces based in St . Catharines and Welland , Ontario . The Regimental Colonel - in - Chief is The Countess of Wessex and the regimental motto is " Non Nobis Sed Patriæ " , " Not for ourselves but for our country " . History . Revolutionary War period . The history of the regiment can be traced to the raising of Butler ' s Rangers on 15 September 1777 . Major John Butler , an officer in the Indian Department , was a Loyalist from the Mohawk Valley in New York . After the Battle of Oriskany , he convinced Sir Guy Carleton that a Ranger unit should be raised to fight on the frontiers in conjunction with the Indians . He eventually raised ten companies and some 800 men served in the Rangers . The Corps fought on the frontiers of New York , Pennsylvania , New Jersey , West Virginia , Ohio and Kentucky . On disbandment at Fort Niagara on 24 June 1784 , it had ten companies with a strength of 469 all ranks . John Butler , now a prominent leader in Niagara , was appointed Commanding Officer of three battalions of Nassau Militia . Nassau ( later Home District ) was one of the Districts of Upper Canada , Niagara being only part of the district . By 1791 the battalions had a strength of 835 all ranks . 19th Century . With the reorganization of the province into sixteen counties in 1792 , Lincoln County ( with 20 townships ) came into existence . The militia was renamed and the Lincoln Militia , with three battalions came into being , some 849 strong . By 1794 , Butler was a full Colonel with four battalions reporting 976 all ranks . Most of the officers and a great many of the NCOs and men had served in the Rangers and had received land grants in Niagara for this service . By 1808 , there were five regiments of Lincoln Militia . 1st Regiment , commanded by Col . Ralfe Clench and Lieutenant - Colonel Robert Kerr , drawn from Niagara , Louth and Grantham townships . 2nd Regiment , commanded by Lieutenant - Colonel Peter Ball , drawn from Stamford , Thorold and Pelham . 3rd Regiment , commanded by Lieutenant - Colonel Henry Warren , from Crowland , Willoughby and Bertie . 4th Regiment commanded by Lieutenant - Colonel Johnson Butler from Grimsby and Clinton . 5th Regiment commanded by Colonel Peter Hare and Lieutenant - Colonel Andrew Brandt from Ancaster , Barton , Saltfleet , Glanford and Binbrook . At the outbreak of the War of 1812 , flank companies ( limited to three officers and 38 men ) , composed mostly of volunteers , of those regiments took the field in all major engagements from Niagara to Detroit including the battles of Queenston Heights , Lundy ' s Lane , Stoney Creek and Fort Detroit . The flank companies took the field together with Militias raised by various former officers including Colonel Isaac Swayze and did most of the militia ' s fighting . In all cases they were a credit to their country . From the regiment ' s association with Major General Sir Isaac Brock comes the scallop shell on the cap badge . It is taken from the coat of arms of Brock ' s family on the Isle of Guernsey . During the rebellion of 1837 , units of the Lincoln Militia were called out to quell rebel uprisings in the Niagara Peninsula and the 2nd Lincolns were warned for duty in Toronto . In 1838 , the 2nd conducted marches into the Short Hills to subdue rebel activity there . In 1846 , Lincoln County was divided and Welland County was formed with three battalions of militia . The militia " regiments " were renamed " battalions " . In 1863 , the Lincoln and Welland Battalions were reorganized and renamed the 19th Battalion Volunteer Militia ( Infantry ) , Canada with 10 companies , and the 20th Battalion Volunteer Militia ( Infantry ) , Canada with six companies . Both had headquarters in St . Catharines . In May 1866 , eight companies of the 19th and 20th Battalions were called out to repel the Fenian invasion of the peninsula . They formed part of Colonel Peacocke ' s field force . As a result of the Fenian Raids , the 44th " Welland " Battalion of Infantry was raised . It took over companies from both the 19th and 20th Battalions . The 20th was redesignated the 20th " Halton " Battalion , and moved to Milton . Between 1866 and 1914 there were various name changes and reorganizations . In 1914 , the 19th Lincoln Regiment , with headquarters in St . Catharines , had eight companies , as did the 44th Lincoln and Welland Regiment , with headquarters in Niagara Falls . Although not mobilized , the regiments contributed troops to contingents for the North - West Campaign and the Boer War . First World War . During the Great War , the two Regiments contributed over 5 , 000 men to various Canadian Expeditionary Force battalions , particularly the 81st , 98th and 176th . At the conclusion of the War , the CEF battalions ceased to exist . It was decided to award battle honours which a CEF battalion had won to militia units which had contributed 200 or more men to that battalion . Both the 19th and 44th trained under extreme difficulties between the wars . An example of the little training done is that of the 19th which trained 12 days in 1920 , 9 days a year between 1922 and 1927 , 12 days a year from 1928 to 1931 and 10 days a year from 1932 to 1936 . On 15 December 1936 , the two units were reorganized into The Lincoln and Welland Regiment with an establishment of 467 all ranks . Second World War . The day before the Second World War began , the regiment was called out and posted to guard the Welland Ship Canal . It was mobilized in December 1939 and almost 500 men immediately volunteered with Toronto units . In June 1940 , the 1st Battalion , Lincoln and Welland Regiment was mobilized for active service . The 2nd Battalion was to remain in reserve . The 1st Battalion arrived in the United Kingdom in July 1943 and on 19 August became a part of the 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade of the 4th Canadian Armoured Division . At the 6th of June 1944 ( " D - Day " ) , Canadian Troops landed at Juno Beach and suffered heavy losses . By the end of D - Day , 30 , 000 Canadians had been successfully landed , and the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division had penetrated further into France than any other Allied force . Operation Neptune was a part of the Normandy landings ) . The regiment formed part of II Canadian Corp ' s " long left flank " of the Allied advance . For the next nine months , it fought its way through Belgium and the Netherlands into Germany . This was some of the bitterest fighting of the war , consisting largely of clearing built - up areas and canals . The highest and most distinguished award for valour , the Order of the Bronze Lion was bestowed upon the regiment ' s Sergeant Wallace Edmond Firlotte . From Tilly - la - Campagne on 31 July 1944 until Bad Zwischenahn on 1 May 1945 , the regiment distinguished itself in many actions . Over 1500 men of the regiment were casualties . Of the original men who enlisted in 1940 , only three officers and 22 men were on parade in St . Catharines in 1946 when the 1st Battalion was dismissed . Postwar . In the years since the Second World War , the Regiment has busied itself with the many tasks traditionally entrusted to the Canadian Militia during peace time . Ceremonial parades have been attended and Guards mounted , most notably the visits of HRH The Princess Elizabeth ( now HM Queen Elizabeth II ) and HRH The Prince Philip to Niagara Falls in 1951 and HM Queen Elizabeth , The Queen Mother to Niagara - on - the - Lake in 1981 . During the Blizzard of 1977 in the Niagara Peninsula the Regiment was called out to provide assistance to the civil authority . It rescued over 1500 stranded school children and provided assistance to countless residents during the emergency . For this assistance , the Regiment received a vote of thanks from the House of Commons . More recently , the Regiment has provided volunteers to assist during the 1997 Floods in Manitoba and the 1998 Ice Storm in Eastern Ontario and Quebec . The year 1994 marked the 200th anniversary of the Regiment and was commemorated in many ways . The Trooping the Colours , presentation of Freedom of the Town of Fort Erie and the dedication of the Regiment ' s Memorial Garden all served to remind the Regiment and the community of the service and sacrifice of two centuries . Due to an administrative oversight , two battle honours earned in north - western Germany during the final weeks of the Second World War had not been awarded to the Regiment , but after Royal approval , National Defence Headquarters finally authorized the awards . In October 1995 , at the Regiment ' s annual Church Parade , scrolls commemorating the battles of Küsten Canal and Bad Zwischenahn were presented by members of the Regimental Association . In 2012 , as part of the Diamond Jubilee tour of Canada , Sophie Countess of Wessex presented new regimental colours to the regiment which included the Battle Honour NIAGARA based on the regiment ' s perpetuation of the Battalion of Incorporated Militia of Upper Canada . The Regiment also perpetuates the 1st , 2nd , 3rd , 4th & 5th Regiments of the Lincoln Militia as well as " the Coloured Corps " from the War of 1812 thus linking the Regiment to the Battles of Detroit , Queenston Heights and the Niagara campaign . Battle honours . The regiment has 31 battle honours , 16 of which ( italicized ) are emblazoned on the regimental colours : War of 1812 : Detroit , Queenston , " Niagara " , Defence of Canada – 1812 – 1815 First World War : " Ypres , 1915 " , ' 17 , Festubert , 1915 , " Somme , 1916 " , " Arras , 1917 , ' 18 " , Hill 70 , " Amiens " , Hindenburg Line , " Pursuit to Mons " Second World War : " Falaise " , Falaise Road , " The Laison " , Chambois , The Seine , 1944 , " Moerbrugge " , " The Scheldt " , Breskens Pocket , " The Lower Maas " , " Kapelsche Veer " , " The Rhineland " , " The Hochwald " , Veen , " Twente Canal " , Friesoythe , Küsten Canal , Bad Zwischenahn , " North - West Europe " , 1944 – 1945 Alliances . The regiment is also connected with cadet corps in St . Catharines and Fonthill , and with Robert Land Academy in Wellandport . The website British Regiments . org reports its lineage as from Butler ' s Rangers 1777 - 1784 Music . " Old Niagara waltzes " by Maud Schooley was " dedicated to the 44th Lincoln and Welland Regiment , Canadian Infantry by special permission of Lt . Colonel Cohoe and officers of the Regiment " . It was published in Toronto by Canadian - American Music , circa 1905 " 19th St . Catharines Regiment " march was not carried over as this regiment changed from 19th and 20th Battalions of Volunteer Militia ( Infantry ) Canada to : the 19th Lincoln Regiment ( 1912 ) ; Lincoln Regiment ( 192 ) and Lincoln and Welland Regiment ( 1936 ) . Instead the Regimental march became " The Lincolnshire Poacher " . Lincoln and Welland Regimental Museum . The Lincoln and Welland Regimental Museum , located in Butler ' s Barracks in Niagara - on - the - Lake , features the history of the Lincoln and Welland Regiment . Exhibits include displays and artifacts from the 18th through the present , and include uniforms , weapons , medals , photographs , regimental band instruments , and other memorabilia . The displays show the regiment ' s participation in area military engagements in the 18th and 19th centuries , and overseas in World War I , World War II , for peacekeeping and other operations . The Museum is affiliated with : CMA , CHIN , OMMC and Virtual Museum of Canada .