A commemorative envelope features a photo of Princess Patricia.

ILLUSTRATION: CANADA POST CORPORATION

Canada Post Corporation unveiled a commemorative envelope at Ottawa City Hall March 17 marking the first of a series of events for the the 100th anniversary of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.

Canada Post Vice-President Mary Traversy introduced the envelope and presented the first one to former chief of defence staff and member of the PPCLI, John de Chastelain.

The envelope features a unique printed stamp and collection of historical images of the regiment. The black and white photograph on the front shows Princess Patricia placing a gilt silver wreath on the Regimental Colour in February 1919. The stamp shows the PPCLI band at the former Currie Barracks in Calgary. The cancellation shows a coronet and the letters VP for Victoria Patricia.

Shortly after the declaration of war in 1914, wealthy Montreal businessman Hamilton Gault
offered $100,000 to the federal government to raise and equip a battalion for immediate overseas service. The regiment was named after Princess Patricia, the daughter of the Duke of Connaught, a son of Queen Victoria and Canada’s governor general at the time.

Eight days after recruiting posters were issued, the regiment was at full strength with 1,098 men. Landsdowne Park in Ottawa was allocated as the first barracks and, as a result, Ottawa is considered the regiment’s birthplace.

The PPCLI left Ottawa for Europe in August 1914 and was the first Canadian combat unit into battle. The unit fought in every major Canadian action during the war and was retained in Canada’s permanent military force where it has served in the Second World War, the Korean War, on peacekeeping missions, with NATO and in Afghanistan.