The 104th Regiment Westminster Fusiliers of Canada was placed on active service on 6 August 1914 for local protection duties.

[5] A member of the 47th Battalion, Corporal Filip Konowal, received the Victoria Cross for his single handed destruction of a German machine gun position.

The unit took part in the Battle of Monte Cassino, holding the line near the villages of Vallirontonda and Aquafondata, starting on April 11, 1944.

[28] The advance through the Liri valley included the Westminster's most famous action, the assault water crossing at the Melfa River.

The Officer Commanding, "A" Company at the Battle of the Melfa River, Major Jack Mahony, was awarded the Victoria Cross for his gallantry and leadership under fire during that action fought in conjunction with the tanks of Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians).

[29] The entire division was relieved from the line on May 30, 1944, and carried out "rest and refit" duties near the villages of Baia and Latina.

[30] By August 1944 the Anzio Bridgehead force had broken out, Rome had fallen and the advance to the Po River commenced.

They were assigned to pass over the Uso River bridgehead held by the Princess Louise Dragoon Guards and take the village of San Mauro.

The attack commenced on September 23, 1944, with the bypassing of San Giustina, which had not been captured and was held by stiff German resistance.

[39] On September 25, the order was received to continue the advance and cross the Rubicone River, this time with the tanks of the Governor General's Horse Guards in support.

This ad hoc formation was intended to work with Popski's Private Army and Italian partisans in the forward area south of Ravenna.

[42] The regiment advanced through patrol actions across the Ronco River to the Scolo Lama canal, where bitter German resistance was encountered.

[43] Consolidating the advances by November 26, 1944, the Westminster's held a line of 7,000 yards (6,400 m), a very long front for a unit of this size in this type of warfare.

[46] The regiment was employed as part of the I Canadian Corps which was given the role in the winter of 1944 of assaulting over the Montone River, capturing Ravenna and the surrounding area, all with the aim of reducing pressure on the Fifth US Army operating near Bologna.

[48] After a month in continuous combat the unit was put under command of 11th Canadian Infantry Brigade and crossed the Lamone River in a night attack.

[52] Early in the New Year the regiment was sent to fill a gap in the line at Conventello and bore the brunt of a German counterattack in that area with the aim of recapturing Revenna.

The result was that the Westminsters in cooperation with the Strathconas' tanks and the Irish Regiment of Canada held the line and 200 wounded and prisoners were taken, with over 200 German dead.

[55] The Westminsters were dispatched to Livorno on February 21, 1945, and from there embarked on United States Navy shipping and conveyed to Marseilles, France.

[58] On April 5, 1945, the regiment was deployed to an area between the Waal and the Neder Rijn in conjunction with two companies of the 2nd Belgian Fusiliers.

During the attack Lt Oldfield won the Military Cross for the action of his "A" Company Scout Platoon in clearing a German position and taking 40 prisoners.

The armoured drive continued against intense German opposition in fluid mobile operations, by-passing points of resistance to clean them up later.

When the operation had ended on April 18, 1945, the unit had covered 33 miles (53 km) and participated in cutting off thousands of German troops in the Amsterdam area.

[62] The unit commenced coast watching and patrolling near Groningen to prevent the escape or infiltration of German forces still holding the islands off shore.

[64] The battery's 128 mm guns controlled the whole area and the operation was hampered by the lack of artillery and air support.

The unit was repatriated after a long wait for sea transport and passed through New York City, Toronto and finally to Vancouver by train.

[69] In May and June 1948, The Westminster Regiment (Motor) provided aid to the civil power during the Fraser River Floods.

[71] The Royal Westminster Regiment has provided personnel for many United Nations missions such as Cyprus (UNFICYP), Egypt (UNEF II) 1973–79, Golan Heights (UNDOF) 1974–present[69] and the former Yugoslavia (UNPROFOR) 1992–1993.

[citation needed] The museum acquires, identifies, preserves and exhibits a permanent collection of military artifacts and memorabilia from the experience of the Regiment and its antecedents.