Korean War - The Royal Canadian Regiment Questions

[Wes_Robinson]

I'm curious what was the jump company and under which battalion of The RCR was it during the Korean War, was it M Coy, 3RCR, then as well, and also during the same ear, what was the special service or special forces battalion of The RCR, I ask cause my grandfather was a paratrooper with The RCR during that time and I'm curious of which battalion he was in, and his brother was also in The RCR around the same time, but serving in the Special Forces or Special Services, I'm sure the Coy's, Bn., and exact terms have been come confused, misnumbered, and or misspelled within in the information passed down from my family. I just want to get it all straight.

 

[Michael OLeary]

In the 1950s entire battalions of infantry were parachute qualified. In those days parachuting was just one way that infantry might use to get onto the battlefield, rather than a purpose unto itself as it seemed to become later.  There was no specific "jump company" in that era.

It was also before the adoption of sequentially lettered companies across the battalions of the Regiment, so each battalion had an "A" Company, "B" Company, etc.

See also this timeline chart for regimental organization, garrison locations and more: http://thercr.ca/history/RCR_timeline_20nov07_1MB.jpg

 

[Wes_Robinson]

so which of the battalions was jump qualified, and which battalion was tasked or caled special service/forces. I've contacted LAC but they said they have no info on the two men below. i'm wondering if theres a nominal roll for each of the battalions of The RCR. I'm just looking for their battalion number, if lucky company.
Private Vincent Baxter Robinson SF13609 (Grandfather)
Private Marvin Sanford Robinson F800188 (Great Uncle)

 

[Michael OLeary]

As far as I know, all battalions after the Korean War sent platoons of soldiers to parachute training.  The parachute qualification was a general infantry skill and NOT tied to being in a specific battalion/company/platoon during that period.

None of the battalions (or companies)  were labeled "special service/forces"; you are looking for a label that just wasn't there at the time, even if someone has been using it since then in connection with that skill.

I have nominal rolls for both the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of The RCR as they deployed to Korea.  I do not see your grandfather or uncle on either of those lists.  They may have deployed later as a replacement, or deployed with the 1st Battalion.  (Your great-uncle's service number indicates an early enlistment for the Korean War (the 2nd Battalion, which deployed first of the three battalions was mostly x80xxxx service numbers).  Your grandfather's service number appears to indicate an enlistment earlier (Regular Force maybe?) or later than the initial CASF enlistment rush in 1950/51.)

Have you requested copies of their service records from the LAC?  Those records will specific exactly which units they served in at what times.

 

[Wes_Robinson]

hmmm simply put but still puzzeling on my end, I've contacted LAC and they said they dont have the records. my grandfather enlisted in jan 1950 and his brother aug 1950 but was soon medicaly discharge from a car accident before his battalion was deployed but he was apart of special forces/ services (from what i was told) i did some research and from what i gather a new active service force / special service  was raised to go to Korea. i understand that to be a brigade, that The RCR was apart of, as for my grampy i don't know if he was deployed or not to many stories it's hard to say, but he was RCR, and jump qualed. where else would be a good place to search for this infomation. thanks again for clearing things up, sorry im slow to pick up, i guess im too busy comparing new info to family info and what've researched.
wes

 

[Michael OLeary]

From the second volumes of the regimental history of The RCR (Stevens, 1967), pp. 218:

". . . August 7th, 1950, when the Department of National Defence announced that a Special Force would be recruited for service under the United Nations and that Second Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment, would be a constituent of such force."

BUT, it is imperative to understand that this use of the term "Special Force", is NOT, repeat NOT, equivalent in context to the modern use of the terms "Special Forces."

From pp. 220:

"Special Force was a temporary recruitment of 25th Canadian Brigade for eighteen months service - a period which was deemed adequate to deal with the Korean emergency.

 

[Wes_Robinson]

that's it, same wording and all just from a different publication, thanks again. i was aware of the difference in terms between then and now, thats why i'm trying to make sure i have the wording down. wouldn't want to make a mistake such as that.