Limber Gunners
Who are the Limber Gunners?
The LG is an organization formed to assist with both the current and future acquisition, restoration, maintenance and display of the historic artillery and associated military equipment owned under the umbrella of the Toronto Artillery Foundation (TAF) and on loan to the 7th Toronto Regiment, RCA.
The formation of this organization was a joint effort of the Toronto Artillery Officers Association and the Toronto Artillery Ex-Sergeants Association on behalf of the Toronto Artillery Foundation and its Historic Gun Committee to oversee their combined assets.
A number of interested ex-gunner types got together informally in June 1997 at the request of the Toronto Artillery Foundation Historic Gun Committee to see how the equipment held by the Foundation could be better cared for and displayed to the public. Out of these ad hoc meetings came the Limber Gunners.
Our association has been named the Limber Gunners after the gun number of the gun detachment who was detailed as the “Limber Gunner” to care for the maintenance and preservation of the detachment’s gun which today are the tasks of our association as they relate to the current inventory of the Foundation. Although there is no exact date when the position of Limber Gunner was created, we do know that the rank of Lance Bombardier, the rank that a Limber Gunner was appointed to, has survived (together with the rank of Bombardier) from the old Grenadier Battalions of the British Army that lasted up to disbandment in 1855.
Our first operational asset is the 25 Pounder Field Artillery Gun/Howitzer used by Canadian, British and other Commonwealth Gunners in World War II and the Korean Conflict. It was the most famous artillery piece in both these conflicts. Even today the 25 Pounder can be found on the military strength of a number of third world countries.
The Guns are the Regimental Colours of the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery. They are imprinted with the Royal Cypher of the Reigning Monarch on each barrel at the time of manufacturing.
