HMCS Regina, Regina Rifle Regiment honoured with commemorative pedestals

Commemorative pedestals for the HMCS Regina and the Regina Rifle Regiment were unveiled at the Cenotaph in Victoria Park on Aug. 8, 2022. (Katy Syrota/CTV News)

Victoria Park in Regina’s downtown was host to an unveiling ceremony for two commemorative pedestals around the Cenotaph on Monday.

One of the pedestals was dedicated to the HMCS Regina, a Flower-class corvette which took part in escort duties during the Battle of the Atlantic during the Second World War. The HMCS was sunk by a German U-Boat on Aug. 8, 1944.

The other pedestal unveiled was in honour of the Regina Rifle Regiment, an infantry unit that served in northwest Europe during 1944-45. The regiment has been Regina’s infantry regiment for 117 years.

The pedestals are now part of a collection of nine commemorative memorials at the cenotaph, each dedicated to a piece of Saskatchewan’s military history.

“Canadians know that remembrance is about saluting those who fell in Canada’s service, but we’re not sure they actually know the circumstance of what they’re supposed to be remembering,” Brad Hrycyna, president of the Royal United Services Institute of Regina, said in a news release.

“These pedestals are going to be a tool that will help them to understand the sacrifices that servicemen and women have made for our country.”

Pedestals dedicated to the HMCS Weyburn, the South Saskatchewan Regiment as well the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan are set to be officially unveiled on Aug. 19 and Sept. 15.