Calgary Regiment Grouping – Captain A.J. Miller

Very interesting WW2 Calgary Regiment uniform grouping, named to Captain A.J. Miller. This grouping consists of the Battle Dress tunic and Service Dress with a pair of trousers, Military Training Pamphlet 1940 with his name and a Newspaper Article. Captain Miller joined the Calgary Regiment as Lieutenant from 2nd Battalion Edmonton Regiment  on 16th July 1940. Miller was promoted to Captain as he is listed as such on 17th July 1942. After the casualties at Dieppe, he was made Acting Major CO of C Squadron 20th August 1942. He was made Troop Leader 13th February 1943 and recorded as being Admin Officer as of August 1943. By 1944 he was not with the unit, which explain the 5th Armourd Division patches instead of 1st Brigade. He was attached to HQ 5th Canadian Armoured Division and as such would have likely retained the shoulder title of his last unit. On 16th January 1945 he rejoined the Calgary Regiment as Major. Interesting is the rosette on the 39-45 Star medal ribbon as this was worn by the RAF, I have been told this might have something to do with the Dieppe Raid 1942.
The Battle Dress is maker marked All America Garment Company (US war aid). The US made battle dress tunics were made for the British and Canadian troops and worn by Canadians who served with the 1st CID and 5th CAD (and other units). The tunic is in good used condition, all badges are original wartime applied. Dated 1943 with size 10. The Service Dress and trousers are maker marked Hawkes & Co Ltd and named to Captain A.J. Miller. The Service Dress having very rare Calgary OSD chocolade brown collar badges!

The 14th Army Tank Regiment –  Calgary Regiment.
On 20 June 1941, the unit, known as the junior tank battalion of the 1st Army Tank Regiment, left Canada and embarked on a ship bound for the United Kingdom. Over the next few months, the Regiment moved to various locations overseas and trained intensely. More than one year passed, however, before the Regiment actually saw a battle with the enemy. On 19 August 1942, the Calgary Tanks, as the Regiment became known, found themselves committed to Operation Jubilee, the Dieppe Raid. Though the Regiment was supposed to be timed to follow an air and naval bombardment, the soldiers were put to shore 10 minutes too late, leaving the infantry without support during the first and most critical minutes of the battle. As the tanks came to shore on the beach at Dieppe, they were not only brought to a halt by German fire, but found themselves immobilized due to the rough condition of the shingle banks and sea-wall. Despite this fact, the immobilized Calgary Tanks continued to support the infantry and managed to withdraw many soldiers from the battle. In the end, however, most of the tank crews were either captured as prisoners of war or died in action. The raid at Dieppe proved fatal for some 13 soldiers of the Calgary Regiment, two of which were officers. Thirty-three others were wounded, and 138 taken prisoner. After the raid on Dieppe, The 14th Army Tank Regiment (The Calgary Regiment (Tank) went into history as the first tank regiment of the Canadian Army to go into battle with the enemy as well as the first engaged in amphibious assault during the Second World War. As the next few years passed, the Regiment received necessary reinforcement, reorganization, and training while supporting other regiments in battle. Finally, in 1945, after various administrative moves, the Calgary Regiment returned home to Canada where they were disbanded on 15 December 1945, and made the transition back to reserve status.