Explore history at The Royal Canadian Regiment Museum

They've got swords, machine guns and more peculiar artifacts than you can shake a stick at; as soon as we walked in the door of the Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR) Museum, I knew the afternoon was a write-off. The museum is an interesting way to learn about war and the RCR's large contribution to Canada with the displays, photos and videos about the RCR's rich history.

The RCR was created in 1883 to provide Canadians with stability in time of national and international conflict. The RCR is comprised of four battalions, each made up of 300 to 1,200 soldiers, stationed throughout Ontario and New Brunswick. The 1st and 3rd Battalions are stationed in Petawawa, Ontario while 2nd Battalion is located in Gagetown, New Brunswick. The 4th Battalion is located at the Wolsley Barracks here in London on the same property as the RCR museum.

The RCR is still going strong today with notable missions like Haiti in 2004, where they created a secure environment for Haitian citizens.

The museum still holds the original three-cell block that was used to detain soldiers who'd been drinking, fighting or who went AWOL (absent without official leave).

Bill Johnston, who works at The Royal Canadian Regiment Museum, said that the men got to shower every three days, and had a hole in floor to use as a toilet. Soldiers who'd committed more serious crimes or were harder to manage were sent up to Quebec to serve their sentence.

The first floor of the museum has information on the Regiment's missions in the South African War, the Cold War, Cyprus and recent missions like Haiti. Most notably there is a painting that depicts the 1900s called The Dawn of Majuba Day by artist R. Caton Woodville. The painting shows the RCR in action in Paardeberg Drift, South Africa. The RCR took the lead in getting the victory over the Boers.

The 1st RCR Battalion arrived in Cyprus in April 1970. With Turkey's last objective being the Nicosia International Airport, elements of the Canadian Airborne Regiment were deployed to the airport, which was a UN-protected zone. Twenty-eight Canadian peacekeepers were lost in the mission.

The second floor is even more interesting than the first! Each section contains soldiers' uniforms, weapons, information about battle techniques and recognition the RCR has gotten, as well as a wide variety of information. The first section looks at all of the peacekeeping missions the RCR has been involved in from 1992 to 2004. This is the Ivey Medal Room. There are also ribbons and medals of some of the soldiers that have been involved, donated by their family members. These missions included China, Vietnam, Cambodia and many more.

After this comes the World War II section. This includes how much transportation has changed within the RCR, showing the chronology from horse to helicopter.

There is also a section on street fighting in Italy from 1943 to 1945, when Canadian forces used a technique called "mouse-holing." The soldiers would enter an occupied row of houses from one end and would use explosives to knock out the wall connecting the homes. Infantry with machine guns would man the broken wall and eliminate enemy targets within the buildings before occupying the unit and continuing down the row with the same technique.

Next is the RCR's contribution in the Korean War. Three Battalions fought in the Korean War from 1951 to 1953. The RCR received one Battle Honor, but all three Battalions had intense missions. Their objective was to force advance closure to the Yalu River before the Chinese counter-attacked and swept them back. Before this, North Korean forces overran a small perimeter of modern-day Busan, Korea after crossing the 38th parallel into South Korea. With the Americans landing at modern-day Incheon, North Korea withdrew, giving the United Nations time to intervene.

Following the Korean War is the Cold War section. In the Cold War (1945 to 1990), the RCR's mission was to make sure the Western world stayed safe against the mounting threat of the Soviets during the decades following World War II and leading up to the Berlin Wall being destroyed and the Soviet Union collapsing in 1989. In this war, RCR play a small but important role by contributing to NATO missions. The RCR had contributed two Battalions: one was a part of the Canadian Army formation stationed in West Germany, and the other was a reaction force stationed in Canada, ready to deploy to NATO's Northern Flank.

After that comes the Current Operations display. Currently, the RCR is in Afghanistan, and have been there since 2006. They have two Battalions there, with the 2nd Battalion from Gagetown and the 3rd Battalion from Petawawa rotating.

Next, the North West Rebellion; the only war ever fought by solely Canadian troops. The Metis had become unhappy with the treatment of their natural resources by the British and began an uprising. The RCR was a part of the government forces that took Batoche in a siege in May of 1885 in Northern Saskatchewan. This was the pivotal victory in subduing the movement.

The last display you come to is about World War II. The RCR was a part of the first Canadian Division that was a part of Operation Husky, the Sicily invasion. They fought through Sicily and the Italian "boot" between 1943 and 1944. They then joined the first Canadian Army in North West Europe in 1945. The RCR earned 19 of its 54 Battle Honors and suffered over 80 per cent of its WWII casualties in Italy.

The Royal Canadian Regiment Museum is currently under construction, which is slated to be completed at the end of this month. While the museum is under construction, admission is free. After the construction has been completed, admission will be $5 per adult, $4 per student and $3 for six to 15 year olds. The museum is located at the intersection of Oxford Street and Elizabeth Street. For more information or to book a tour, visit theroyalcanadianregiment.ca or call 519-660-5102.