​After an extensive struggle to breakthrough the Gothic Line in September 1944, the men of the 8th Hussars found themselves halted at Coriano Ridge. Situated just south-east of San Marino in the province of Rimini, Coriano was a small farming town, which once had many similarities to Sussex. However, the area had been plagued by conflict for centuries, and especially during the Second World War. Bombing was heavy and most of the farms and other buildings had been completely destroyed. 

The Hussars were exhausted and had suffered many casualties, but the Germans were in far worse conditions. The battles at the Gothic Line had worn down German troops immensely. The ridge was being held by the few remaining fortified German positions, and a very well-planned attack would be required to advance.
 
The first few days were spent on organization; repairing vehicles and replenishing troops. Many major positions had to be replaced after the battle at the
Gothic Line. The men of the Hussars came back under command of Ian Cumberland's 5th Armoured Division; Captain Lloyd Hill took over 'A' squadron as acting major; Hunter Dunn commanded the new squadron rear link; Tim Ellis was made acting major of the Headquarters squadron; and Ray Neil was promoted to acting captain in 'C' squadron. 

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The weather was working against the men. Torrential rain for days on end caused the rivers to over-flow and the ground to become soft. Hills and mountain sides were subject to mudslides that cut off roads and access points. The poor conditions in the sky halted all air support operations. This delay finally gave the Germans an opportunity to reorganize and replenish their defences. Any advantage the Canadians had when they arrived at the ridge, was lost.
 
The allied attack was undertaken at night on September 13th, 1944. Every tank they had was rushed to front lines. They began crossing the Besanigo River and immediately opened fire on Coriano. They rained 400 shells onto the enemy defence and by morning, 'A' squadron was across the river. 'B' & 'C' squadrons supported the Cape Breton Highlanders in moving up the slopes on the other side. Soon, the Allies surrounded Coriano, allowing for the Irish regiment along with Hussars to advance into the town.  

Inside the town of Coriano was a different type of combat altogether. This was close combat, they no longer had the protection of their Sherman tanks and it seemed all types of enemy fire were coming at the men from all directions. The Hussars and the other regiments proceeded slowly and cautiously but soon realized that the enemy was not as strong as they had thought.  Germany had pulled back and all that remained were scattered snipers. The 8th Hussars had spent 10 days in the worst conditions the regiment had ever seen; but the fight for Coriano was finally over.
 
If you would like to find out more about Coriano Ridge, The Italian Campaign, or the 8th Hussars in general, you can visit the 8th Hussars Museum in the historic Sussex train station. 

​In the late summer and into the fall of 1944, the Allies were fighting to take down the Gothic Line, the last German defence line in Italy. Northern Italy remained under control of the Axis and contained factories and supplies vital to the German war efforts. As well, contained in this area were the cities of Bologna, Modena and Milan where rich agricultural land had been providing food to the Germans and the Axis. Therefore, they fought as hard as they could to make it impossible for the Allies to breakthrough.
 
The regions in Northern Italy that the Germans wished to protect were separated by a natural barrier – the Apennine Mountains. Sitting on this mountain range, the heavily armed Gothic Line stretched approximately from Massa to Pesaro. The mirrored Allied line stretched from approximately Pisa to Fano. The Canadians were situated on the Adriatic coast near Coriano, Italy with the objective of capturing Rimini. 

Coriano was a very important agricultural area for the province of Rimini. It was a small village made up primarily of farmland. The 8th Princess Louise’s New Brunswick Hussars were on the front lines. This regiment based in the small town of Sussex, New Brunswick was made up of mostly farm boys, who were accustomed to the quiet, farming lifestyle. However, amidst the destroyed homes and farms, and the bodies of the dead and wounded, it was hard to tell that Coriano ever held any resemblance to their beloved town.  
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On the night of September 15th, the Canadians had been fighting continuously at Coriano Ridge. Although they were slowly advancing, the Germans were persistent and the sweltering heat was intense. The Canadians felt as if they may never see an end to the fighting. That night, in a moment of silence on the battlefield then men could hear an animal’s cry in distress. They came across a young foal of about 2 or 3 months old pacing around her dead mother. The foal was hungry, injured and confused. It was no question for these young men from New Brunswick that they must save her.

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The 8th Hussars now felt as though they had a purpose. They had a young, distressed animal in need of their help. The responsibility of looking after the foal was given to the mechanics, while this encouraged the soldiers to continue fighting. Gordon Bickerton was one of the mechanics who helped care for her. He recalls that she was very friendly and easy to take care of. When it came time to choose a name for the friendly foal, the men chose Princess Louise, after Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter who had given her name to the regiment in 1882.
 
The fighting continued for another 3 or 4 days before the Canadians took Coriano Ridge. This was one of the bloodiest battles fought in Italy during World War II and was the most action that the 8th Hussars had seen in the history of the regiment. The men had created a banner that said “Princess Louise” on it for the horse to wear on her back. Princess Louise was seen as the inspiration and a morale booster for the Canadians at Coriano Ridge, a true Canadian war hero.
 
 

​Princess Louise became the mascot of the regiment, as well as emerging as a sort of celebrity. She was saluted by soldiers and marched in parades. The men of the 8th Hussars continued to care for her, and she travelled with them for the remainder of the war. Since they weren’t allowed to take any animals out of Italy, this meant putting her in trucks or hiding her while they were travelling from place to place. They even created a stall in a three-ton truck which they concealed with their army kits and baggage to carry Princess Louise through France, Belgium and Holland.
 
At the end of the war, Princess Louise was not able to travel home with the men on the troop ships. She remained in Britain for about 3 months with the British Army’s Royal Army Veterinarian Corps, before being shipped to New York aboard the Dutch liner Leerdam. She then travelled by train from New York to Saint John, New Brunswick where she was met by cheering crowds.
 
She was later reunited with the 8th Hussars, the men who cared for her throughout the war. She was met with an honour guard in Saint John and marched in a parade with full regalia. She was wearing her service medals which included the 1939-1945 Star, The Italy Star, The France and Germany Star, The Canadian Volunteer Service Medal, and 3 wound stripes. People came from all over to welcome the beloved war hero. School children in Rothesay were even given the day off from school to attend the parade.
 

​Princess Louise became Canadian equine royalty. She was transported to Hampton where she was made a free woman of King’s County and the Community of Hampton. She was also made a naturalized Canadian and given a bale of hay, a bag of oats and a shovel. She was granted the “God given right to trample and eat from any and all vegetable gardens at will, or even from supplies at Sharp’s feed store.” As a final honour she also became a member of the Hampton branch of the Royal Canadian Legion by marking the membership form with her hoof print.
 
Princess Louise served as the Regimental Mascot for 27 years. Throughout her career she participated in ceremonies, church services, Remembrance Day parades and met various dignitaries. On her 25th birthday, a party was held in her honour complete with a large cake. The beloved mascot died at age 29 in 1973. She had 3 foals, Princess Louise II and 2 sons, Prince and Hussar. Princess Louise II took over for her mother after her death.
 
Gordon and Mary Bickerton cared for Princess Louise for most of her life in Canada, and were referred to as the horse’s parents. They recalled that the horse wasn’t only friendly, but was a comic as well. She enjoyed eating cigarettes and drinking whisky and beer. Sometimes during parades Princess Louise would fall asleep and Bickerton remembers having to tug on her ear and yell “Princess Louise, wake up!” 

 The Second World War is the largest armed conflict in recorded history and it encompassed the entire world in one way, or another. Fighting took place in North Africa and the Pacific, but with the largest concentration of fighting in Europe. Cities and farmland alike had been obliterated and transformed into battlefields. Some civilians were killed, others were armed and forced to fight. Soldiers endured the worst conditions possible, and by the beginning of 1941 the number of casualties had already surpassed that of the First World War.
 
            Unaware of the details of these conditions on the home front, the members of the 8th Hussars were eager to see action overseas. They had been mobilized as the 4th Canadian Motorcycle Regiment and patiently waited together at Camp Sussex for a call to battle. One officer particularly interested in the regiment seeing the front lines was Howard Keirstead. He is quoted saying "I think 99 percent of us want to see action and naturally we want to be together... can you tell us anything that will give us some hope & make us feel better?"
 

In the winter of 1940-1941 the decision was finally made in Ottawa to establish two armoured divisions and two independent tank brigades. The 8th Hussars would become part of the first of the two armoured divisions as the 5th Armoured Regiment. This news meant an end to the 4th Canadian Motorcycle Regiment and a return to the tank role that they had previously anticipated. They would move to Camp Borden in Ontario to be informed of what they should expect before going overseas. 


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​Quartermaster Sergeant Howard Keirstead disembarked on October 20th 1941 in Ogbourne, St.George, England with a total of 647 other Hussars for training. Equipment for the regiment was scarce due to primary focuses on Dunkirk and North Africa. 1943 saw division remodelling. QMS Howard Keirstead was promoted to Major and the regiment arrived in the Mediterranean November 24th. By January 19th, 1944, 48 Sherman tanks had arrived on strength. The men were familiar with Shermans from having practiced with them in Britain.  They were impressed with the design of the tanks that gave thought to the crew and the operation, noted in the roomy turret and improved driver’s compartment. By January 28th, they were moving up the front and Major Howard Keirstead was given command of the tank group that went first.

The Hussars had already travelled through much of Italy, they had become seasoned soldiers and had familiarized themselves with the land. When Howard Keirstead and his men arrived at Ceprano May 27th 1944, they were detained by a river. They were informed that boats would be there to help them but there was none in sight. The Irish had been situated 500 yards beyond the other side of the river, and so when movement was seen on the other side, they did not expect it was an enemy.
 
            Keirstead and his men climbed out of their tanks to stretch and make tea. They were taken by surprise and endured 45 minutes of ceaseless fire. Five men were killed in the attack and eight wounded. When Keirstead was informed there was no way to cross the river, he decided to move his squadron to a less exposed spot. They could still see the German vehicles moving away to safety and orders remained that they were not to be touched. After 8 days of combat the ban was finally lifted. Keirstead’s ‘B’ Squadron reported “a pathfinder destroyed, a self-propelled gun damaged, an 88 knocked out and its crew captured, several machine guns and an ammunition dump captured or destroyed.”

​Not long after their ambush at Ceprano, the Hussars would face the Gothic Line; the last major German defence that remained in Italy. The heavily armed human-shield was situated along the Apennine mountain range, cutting the allies off from Northern Italy. The Germans used over 15,000 slave-labourers to create a wall of approximately 2,000 machine gun nests, bunkers, artillery positions, and anything else they could institute to repel the allied forces.              
 The 8th Hussars fought in the battle of Coriano on the Adriatic coast of the Gothic Line. Major Keirstead & Sergeant Fisher became separated from the others after moving down the Besengo slope to confront the enemy infantry. They endured heavy fire and were forced to drive into a deep, dry stream bed to take cover. It gave them temporary protection, but it also trapped them. The enemy crawled toward them, forcing the tanks to return fire. During the hours of the day the tanks could prevent bazookas from advancing close enough to inflict damage. The other allied tanks became pinned and were unable to help. Sergeant Fisher advised his crew to go out through the escape hatch beneath the tank and leave.
 
            September 3rd, 1944. Major Howard Keirstead’s crew remained firm, convinced that they could wait out the attack. Germans approached with the bazookas and open fired, causing the men to abandon their tanks and race for cover. However, the enemy was waiting and as they ran for shelter they were peppered with bullets. Gunner Charlie Stevens was paralysed from the waist down and their driver E.R. Hilchey was killed. Keirstead fell, crippled with two bullets in his left arm and seven in his thigh. Lance-Corporal John Wentworth attempted to crawl towards him but was shot in the lower leg and forced to continue back to the bank where he was wounded again above his right knee.
 

​Wentworth, Stevens and Stevenson contemplated possible escape plans. They agreed since Stevenson was unharmed he would go and try to make it back to the Canadian lines for help. They heard gunfire after he left but what they did not realize was that the Sergeant had attempted to gain radio contact with Regimental Headquarters and he had headed toward the tank instead of immediately departing. In the morning they found his body lying half-in and half-out of the turret.
 
            Keirstead decided that although he was badly injured, he would attempt to make it back to the Canadian lines himself as Stevens and Wentworth were too severely injured to attempt it. September 4th, after hundreds of yards of painful progress, Keirstead heard the sound of approaching mortar shells and flattening out, he waited. The explosion caused shrapnel to tear three fresh wounds in his right leg, one in his shoulder, another in his head, and caused paralysis in his right arm. He continued to crawl but realized he was lost. He decided to make his way to a nearby farmhouse. However, the Italian family living there refused to treat his wounds as they did not want to show preference to either side.
 
            He continued to crawl until he reached the next house. Unlike the first family, the Italian peasants occupying the second house helped him inside and cared for him. They were caught off-guard by the sound of footsteps as three Germans walked in. But, rather than shoot Keirstead, they cleaned him up, diluted wine to clean his wounds, fed him chicken broth and checked his temperature. They then carried him to an adjoining cow shed and placed him in bed. The three men were in fact German deserters. They cared for him as they all had the same wish – to arrive safely at the Canadian lines. However, on September 6th the Italian family intercepted an Irish ally jeep and they took the Germans prisoner and Keirstead to the Canadians.
 
            Meanwhile, Sergeant Fisher had found Stevens and Wentworth. Stevens had suffered four bullets in the back and was given a shot of morphine. He did not even recognize Fisher when he came to his aide. Wentworth’s legs were both badly injured and Fisher quickly attended to them. He buried Hilchey but he could not reach Stevenson’s body as enemy fire continued. Help finally arrived on the night of September 9th. Wentworth was able to recover after months of medical attention but Stevens was not as fortunate. Major Howard Keirstead recovered after months of hospitalization. He was awarded a Mention in Dispatches to commemorate him for his outstanding service. Sergeant Fisher received the Military Medal for “highest devotion of duty” before the King in Buckingham.
 
            Howard Keirstead returned to his home of Hampton, New Brunswick after the war. He continued his work with the family company and started a family of his own. He married Dorothy Patricia Cavanaugh on June 6th 1946 and they had two children; Charles Howard Keirstead, born April 4th, 1947; and Gregory Wayne Keirstead, born April 23rd, 1951. Howard Keirstead became the first elected Mayor of the Village of Hampton from 1967 to 1969. As well he was President of the Hampton Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion. He passed away on February 12th, 2002 at 85 years old, a Canadian War Hero.
           
If you would like to find out more about the Major Howard Keirstead or about the 8th Hussars in general, stop by the 8th Hussars Museum located in the historic Sussex Train Station along Broad Street.