The City of Windsor is honouring a local reserve unit that’s marking its 90th anniversary this year. The city is proclaiming October 19 to 25 as “Windsor Regiment Week” to mark the anniversary. The week will include a flag-raising ceremony in City Hall Square on October 19. There will also be a meet and greet on October with historical displays at the Major FA Tilston Armoury on Sandwich Street, and on October 24 there will be a regimental wreath laying ceremony and Freedom of the City Inspection Parade in City Hall Square. Master Warrant Officer Mathew Smith says after 90 years of service, they’ve seen several generations of soldiers come through, and everyone is a volunteer in the defence of freedom. “We still have those timeless values in service to the community, a sense of pride in what we do, pride in our values, and that sense of service-that’s timeless. Same as it was in the 1930s, same as it is today, and the same as it’s going to be 100 years from now,” he says. The Windsor Regiment is a land force reserve reconnaissance regiment, a unit from the Canadian Forces 31 Canadian Brigade Group, which is tasked with augmenting Canada’s military by providing trained armoured reconnaissance soldiers. The Windsor Regiment was established on December 15, 1936, first as the Essex Regiment (Tank) before being renamed the Windsor Regiment in 1949. Major Kyle Kellam recently served in Latvia as part of Operation Reassurance. “I met people from Windsor or who had important ties to Windsor almost every day. Windsor has a strong culture of service, duty, and stepping up when Canada calls,” he says. Major Kellam says it makes him very proud to put on his beret because it makes him think of home. “I’m not just representing Canada, the Canadian Armed Forces. I’m representing the Windsor Regiment, through our name-sake city, representing the City of Windsor,” he says. “It’s a little bit of extra pride and gives me a little extra pep in my step every day to represent my home.” Members of the regiment presented Windsor City Council during Monday’s meeting with a historical montage and a regimental camp flag in honour of the city’s support. An estimated 8,000 people have served in the regiment in missions around the world.
