When the first foreign Protestants came to Lunenburg in 1753, Nova Scotia's now famous port was not a particularly hospitable place.

 With Britain and France engaged in what seemed like endless conflict, and the Mi'kmaq and French close allies, attacks on English settlements were a constant possibility.

 During their formative years in Lunenburg, those first settlers remained under the protection of British regular troops. It wasn't long, however, before they formed their own militia unit, consisting of one infantry company and one artillery company whose job it was to protect the town and surrounding area from attack.

 That group was referred to simply as "The Militia" until 1808 when the name was changed to the 23rd Battalion, Nova Scotia Militia.

 In 1870, the group was reorganized and renamed the 75th Lunenburg Battalion of Infantry, a moniker which remained in effect until May 1, 1923, when a second reorganization resulted in the name again being changed, this time to the Lunenburg Regiment.

 During the First World War, the regiment served with the Canadian army's 16th Battalion, earning battle honours for engagements at Arras, Hill 70, Ypres, Amiens, the Hindenburg Line and the Pursuit to Mons.

 Sixteen years after the war ended, on December 14, 1936, the Lunenburg Regiment was amalgamated with the Annapolis Regiment to form the West Nova Scotia Regiment, a unit that also served Canada with valour and distinction during the Second World War.

 On June 23, 1937, the Lunenburg Regiment's colours, consisting of the Queen's colours and the regimental colours, were deposited at St. John's Anglican Church in Lunenburg where, after surviving the devastating fire in 2001, they remain on display in a special cabinet presented by veterans of the West Nova Scotia Regiment in 1992.

 Today, the West Nova Scotia Regiment still serves and protects Canadians from their regimental headquarters in Aldershot, under the motto adopted by their Lunenburg forebearers, "Semper Fidelis - Always Faithful."

posted on 11/11/08