2nd / 10th Dragoons The 2nd / 10th Dragoons ( short - form : 2 / 10 D ) ( in its last incarnation , the 57th Field Artillery Regiment [ 2nd / 10th Dragoons ] , Royal Canadian Artillery or 57 FD REGT RCA ) was a militia regiment of the Canadian Army , based in the Niagara , Wentworth and Brant regions of southern Ontario . It was formed in 1936 by amalgamating the 2nd and 10th Dragoons , both of which had served previously as cavalry units in the Canadian militia . After World War II the regiment was converted into an anti - aircraft artillery unit . In 1962 the regiment was converted into a field howitzer unit and in 1968 amid a downsizing of the Canadian Armed Forces the regiment was reduced drastically before eventually being completely disbanded in the mid - 1990s . History . 2nd Dragoons . In the years prior to the War of 1812 , volunteer cavalry troop s were founded to support the various infantry regiments formed as part of the " sedentary " militia ( only to be called up in times of war ) of Upper Canada ( modern - day southern Ontario ) . On commencement of hostilities against the United States in 1812 , Major - General Sir Isaac Brock organized several troops into an independent " corps " ( equivalent to a modern armoured regiment ) designated The Niagara Light Dragoons , which fought under Brock ' s command in the Niagara and Detroit campaigns . Due to it being a volunteer unit that would only have served one year , the Niagara Light Dragoons were disbanded in 1813 , replaced by the Troop of Provincial Dragoons ( sometimes also called The Niagara Frontier Guides or The Niagara Frontier Guards ) under the command of William Hamilton Merritt , the man who later helped drive the creation of the Welland Canal . The Troop remained in action for the remainder of the war , distinguishing itself in the Stoney Creek and Lundy ' s Lane campaigns in 1813 and 1814 . At war ' s termination , the Troop was disbanded . In the wake of the War of 1812 , volunteer cavalry units remained active throughout the British North American colonies , serving during the Rebellion of 1837 against the forces of William Lyon Mackenzie and in the Fenian Raids in the late 1860s . It was in the wake of the latter conflict that the leaders of the Canadian Militia decided to establish a regiment of cavalry that would support the infantry units in south - central Ontario . The 2nd Regiment of Cavalry was established on 1 May 1872 as a hussar regiment with eight troops of cavalry based as follows : Regimental Headquarters was located at Oak Ridges during the early years of the Regiment ' s existence . The Regiment was transformed to dragoon format in 1887 , thus acquiring its last name before unification with the 10th Dragoons , the 2nd Dragoons . Two years later , 2 and 3 Troops were placed under the command of the Governor - General ' s Body Guard in Toronto . 7 Troop was also taken off - strength . 4 Troop shifted from Grimsby to Saint Ann ' s that same year . The remaining troops then were then made to take letter designations in lieu of numerical ones . Regimental Headquarters was shifted to Saint Catharines in 1892 . Finally , near the turn of the century , the five troops were amalgamated into three squadrons , based in Saint Catharines ( A Squadron , formed from 1 and 6 Troops ) , Saint Ann ' s ( B Squadron , formed from 4 and 8 Troops ) and Burford ( C Squadron , formed from 5 Troop ) . When the Boer War began in 1899 , the Regiment provided a volunteer draft of 16 personnel ( one officer and 15 other ranks ) for service with the 1st Canadian Mounted Rifles . Two of these , the officer ( Lieutenant J . E . Burch ) and one of the men ( Trooper A . Radcliffe ) died during the conflict . In 1909 , C Squadron was detached from the Regiment to form the nucleus of the 25th Brant Dragoons ( " see below " ) , being replaced by a new C Squadron in Hamilton and D Squadron in Welland . During the same year , the Regiment received its hat badge ( a circlet marked 2nd DRAGOONS around the image of Brock ' s Monument in Queenston ) and motto , " Pro Rege Et Imperio " ( For King and Empire ) . The hat badge was also worn in miniature as " collar dogs " on the dress uniform jackets . At the start of World War I , the Regiment ' s A and D Squadrons were tasked to help guard the Welland Canal , a duty it maintained until 1916 . At the same time , the Regiment sent over a thousand volunteers to fight in various elements of the Canadian Corps , including the 4th , 75th and 84th Battalions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force , as well as the 4th and 8th Canadian Mounted Rifles . In 1916 , the Regiment managed to help raised a complete battalion for the CEF , the 176th Battalion , which was dispatched to Europe and later disbanded to allow its members to reinforce the 3rd and 75th Battalions . The Regiment suffered many casualties throughout the conflict . After the war , in 1921 , the Regiment was reorganised into three squadrons : A Squadron ( Saint Catharines ) , B Squadron ( Hamilton ) and C Squadron ( Welland ) . Regimental Headquarters were also located in Welland . Until 1936 , when the Regiment was amalgamated with the 10th Dragoons , the Regiment was only authorised for 100 officers and men , forcing many of its members to parade without pay during this period . 10th Dragoons . In 1909 , C Squadron of the 2nd Dragoons was removed from its parent regiment and redesignated as the heart of the 25th Brant Dragoons , with headquarters shifting to Brantford from Burford . While a squadron was maintained at Burford , new squadrons were formed at Brantford and Paris . A fourth squadron was later formed in Cainsville , but was later shifted to Brantford . A regimental hat badge was also designed , composed of the head of a Native American warrior with full head dress over the scroll BRANT DRAGOONS and the number 25 , that in all surmounting a bow and a quiver of arrows . The Regiment ' s motto was " Sagitari " ( from the Latin " sagittarii " , literally " The Bowmen " ) . During World War I , the Regiment was never tasked for home guard duties , thus freeing it to dispatch volunteers to fill out the ranks of the 4th , 75th , 84th , 125th and 215th of the CEF , as well as the 4th and 7th Canadian Mounted Rifles . In 1921 , the Regiment received its final pre - unification designation , 10th Brant Dragoons . With squadrons based in Brantford , Paris and Burford , it wore the same hat badge save for a change of number to 10 from 25 . 2nd / 10th Dragoons . In 1936 , as part of wide - sweeping changes in the Canadian Militia at that time , the 2nd Dragoons and the 10th Brant Dragoons were amalgamated into one single regiment , the 2nd / 10th Dragoons . The Regiment ' s hat badge was a variation of the 10th ' s hat badge , with the scroll now marked SECOND - DRAGOONS - TENTH , while a variation of the 2nd ' s " collar dog " badges ( with the inscription there now reading 2nd / 10th DRAGOONS ) was used as the collar badges of the new Regiment , thus allowing the Regiment to keep both " Sagitari " and " Pro Rege Et Imperio " as its official mottos . The new Regiment ' s squadrons were based at Saint Catharines , Hamilton and Brantford . At the start of World War II , the Regiment was not mobilised for war service right away , thus forcing many of its personnel to seek out other units to serve overseas . Eventually , an Active Force regiment ( an infantry battalion ) was organised in 1942 as part of the 7th Canadian Infantry Division , serving in the Atlantic region of Canada . The Active unit was disbanded in late 1943 when the need to have home defence troops was seen as no - longer necessary . The Reserve regiment remained in place , ready for use when required , parading at nearly full strength for an armoured reconnaissance unit throughout the war period . As this went on , many personnel eventually transferred to the Active Force . Of special note , 151 of the Regiment eventually came to serve with the active battalion of The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry ( Wentworth Regiment ) and another 206 joined The Royal Canadian Dragoons for overseas service . From cavalry to artillery . In the wake of World War II , the Regiment was , along with other units , completely removed from the list of militia units of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps and transformed into a light anti - aircraft unit of the Royal Canadian Artillery , taking on the new designation 57th Light Anti - Aircraft Regiment ( 2nd / 10th Dragoons ) RCA . Three brand - new batteries of the Artillery were founded to flesh out the new unit : Regimental Headquarters was located in Welland . The Regiment was tasked during these years in several roles , including supporting Canada ' s civilian response to the Cold War . The Regiment became the district headquarters for the Emergency Measures Organization ( Civil Defence ) , which had its equipment garage at the Welland Airport west of the city in Pelham Township , as well as enough emergency food supplies to support 25 , 000 people . Also during this time , the Regiment trained relentlessly in its primary task on using the Bofors 40 millimetre anti - aircraft gun , usually at summer camps held at the Royal Canadian School of Artillery ( Anti - Aircraft ) , located at Picton . The final years . In 1962 , the Regiment found itself re - formed yet again into a field artillery regiment ( as 57th Field Regiment [ 2nd / 10th Dragoons ] , RCA ) , its anti - aircraft guns being replaced by the 105 millimetre C1 Howitzer . Two years later , on the disbandment of the 44th Field Regiment RCA , one of its sub - units , 10th Field Battery , RCA ( based in Saint Catharines ) , was transferred over and made part of the 57th Regiment ' s order of battle . This year also saw the disbandment of the 170th Battery and the shifting of Regimental Headquarters to Niagara Falls to reside alongside the 172nd Battery . Despite the changes , the Regiment ' s officers and men served with great distinction throughout this period , both on the field and in ceremonial parades , sometimes also held alongside the Lincoln and Welland Regiment . Among the latter was the granting of Freedom of the City to the Regiment by the city council of Niagara Falls . In the wake of the unification of the Canadian Forces in 1968 , a strong movement got underway to downsize , disband and concentrate units of the Army reserve to better save up on spending . The Regiment fell victim to this process , being reduced to nil strength in the winter of 1970 and transferred to the Supplementary Order of Battle . Only 10th Battery and F Troop of 172nd Battery survived the disbandment , both units being shifted as part of the 56th Field Regiment ( Dufferin and Haldimand Rifles of Canada ) RCA in Brantford ( F Troop becoming part of the 69th Field Battery RCA , based in Simcoe ) . In 1980 , F Troop was shifted to become part of the 10th Battery as B Troop , eventually being disbanded when the Niagara Falls Armoury closed in the mid - 1990s . Lineage of the 57th Field Artillery Regiment :