Service Force on 1 September 1939, reinforced from the 2nd Battalion at the regiment's home station, which began recruiting for home defence in early 1940. In November 1940, the active service battalion was redesignated the 1st Battalion, RHLI. The 1st Battalion was assigned to the 4th Infantry Brigade in the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division. The battalion saw combat for the first time at Dieppe on August 19, 1942. Of the 582 soldiers who landed that morning, only 102 (18 percent) were not among the casualties: 197 killed, 174 captured and 194 wounded (including 85 also captured). The Dieppe survivors suffered great physical trauma and psychological distress as a result of the battle and the loss of so many of their friends and comrades in a battle that lasted only about eight hours. The most highly decorated member of the battalion was the chaplain, Honorary Captain the Reverend John Foote, who remained at Dieppe with his wounded and captured comrades rather than accept evacuation to Britain. Padre Foote was nominated for the Victoria Cross while still a prisoner of war; the award was made after VE Day. The 2nd Canadian Division came under command of the newly formed II Canadian Corps in Britain, and after almost two years of training after Dieppe, returned to France after D-Day to fight through the Battle of Normandy from early July onwards. During Operation Spring, the Rileys earned the distinction of being the only assault unit to hold their objective (the village of Verrières). During the winter of 1944-45, the Rileys fought through the Battle of the Scheldt and the Rhineland, and on V-E Day was deep into Germany. History 1945–1999 In the post-war period, the regular battalion was demobilized and the reserve battalion consequently lost its number. It looked like the RHLI would revert to the genteel neglect of the interwar period, until the Cold War interrupted. Some Rileys served in the United Nations Special Force in the Korean War and in 1955 the regiment was represented in the 27th Brigade that served on NATO duty in West Germany. At home, its armoury was renamed in honour of Padre Foote, VC. In 1978, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was appointed colonel-in-chief of the regiment, an appointment he held until his death in 2021. The RHLI, formerly part of the Hamilton Militia District, became part of Land Force Central Area's 31 Canadian Brigade Group in