The Windsor Regiment paraded through the city’s downtown on Saturday afternoon as part of the commemoration of its 90th anniversary. Regimental members, along with residents and dignitaries, gathered at City Hall Square for the Freedom of the City event. They held a wreath-laying ceremony before an inspection parade. Lt. Colonel Wayne Finkle, Commanding Officer of the Windsor Regiment, told CTV News the ceremony served as a celebration of their history. “We today get to celebrate our 90th anniversary of being here, and not only for where we’ve been in the past, but even to where our soldiers have been going, be it domestic operations or deployments overseas,” Finkle said. Freedom of the City is an exercise where the regiment is given the honour of marching through the community with drums beating, Colours flying and bayonets fixed. As part of the ceremony, the regiment knocks on the doors of City Hall to request permission from the mayor. Established in 1936, it was initially known as the Essex Regiment (Tank), before later being renamed the Windsor Regiment. In September, the city proclaimed Oct. 19 to 25 as Windsor Regiment Week to mark the anniversary. “There’s a lot of history that sits on these soldiers, who wear these uniforms, and to think that 90 years ago, soldiers were here doing this exact same thing and they’re continuing that,” Finkle said. The reserve regiment is a unit from the Canadian Forces 31 Canadian Brigade Group and is used to bolster Canada’s military. Finkle said it’s important for the regiment to be connected to the community and show its presence. “We want the community to know that it’s people that are living next door, the reservists that go to work during the week, and they train on Thursday nights or on weekends to go out and stand to defend Canada,” Finkle added. Throughout its history, it’s estimated that about 8,000 people have served in the regiment. -With files from AM800’s Rusty Thomson.
