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The Guidon
 The
word Guidon is derived from the french term "Gayd-homme " or guide man. Every
regiment of
the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps has in its
possession either a Regimental Standard (in the
case of a guards a regiment) or a Regimental
Guidon. These banners bear the unit's battle
honours and symbols denoting its historical lineage. The
Guidon is treated as the Regiment's most precious
possession.
Description
Our Guidon is
almost identical to that used by the British
cavalry. The Guidon is made of crimson silk
damask cloth, measuring 27 x 41 inches,
curving to a swallow-tail fly. The fringe is
made of gilted thread and the cord and tassels are
woven with
gold and crimson.
The
regimental badge is the centre device with white
rams occupying the upper left and lower right
corners of the Guidon. The ram was one of the
original symbols used to denote the units of the
Royal Canadian Armoured Corps. Roman numerals
denoting 116 and 34 adorn the
bottom left and top right corners of the banner,
paying homage to 116th and 34th Battalions, the
Regiment's principal predecessors.
 A selection of the Regiment's most significant
battle honours are positioned in vertical rows
of gold scrolls on either side of the cap badge.
The regimental motto, Fidelis et Paratus,
appears in gold on a gold-edged crimson scroll
below the wreath of maple leaves. The gilded
finial atop the Guidon's staff is comprised of a
lion statant gardant royally crowned,
surmounting a crown cast in gilt.
The
Ontarios' Guidon was consecrated and presented
by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 5 July 1967
during an impressive ceremony on Parliament
Hill in Ottawa. The Guidon Sergeant Major was MWO (SSM) James Parsons CD of Oshawa.
The parade was organized as part of Canada's
Centennial Year celebrations. Other units who
received colours that afternoon included
The First Hussars, The Sherbrooke Hussars, two
battalions of the Canadian Guards, and the
Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa. Prior to 1967,
the Regimental colours were comprised of the
Sovereign's Colour and the Regimental Colour, in
the infantry tradition (owing to the Regiment's
infantry heritage. During a ceremony in 1968,
these colours were laid up at St. George's, the
Regimental church, in downtown Oshawa.
The Guidon Party
 The Guidon Party consists of the Bearer, two
Escorts and an Orderly or
Encasing NCO. The Bearer or Guidon Sergeant
Major is a position held by the Ontarios' Senior
Crewman Master Warrant Officer. The two Guidon
Escorts are Crewman Sergeants (or Warrant
Officers) of the Regiment. The Guidon Orderly is
normally held by a Crewman Sergeant.
The current Guidon Party
is comprised of the Guidon Bearer: MWO (SSM) DJ
Munroe CD and Escorts Sgt R Spratley CD and Sgt
P Mockford CD.
Handling, Care
and Display
 The
Guidon is stored for safekeeping in the
officers' mess, entrusted to the care of the
Regiment's junior officers.
During transport, the Guidon must be safely
stored in a case and personally escorted by the
Orderly.
The Ontarios'
Guidon is paraded on occasions such as a change
of command ceremony, Remembrance Day, the
funeral of certain former senior appointments,
regimental church services, the Regiment's
anniversary (September) or any other significant
occasion.
On several
occasions during the 1980s, the Guidon was
paraded in mounted format using three ferrets of
Museum. A more formal ceremony known as the
Trooping of the Colour has taken
place during the Regiment's centennial
celebration (Oshawa, 1966) and its 125th
anniversary celebration (Whitby, 1991).
The Guidon is always paraded by itself or with
other military colors only. It may not be
paraded with other flags or ensigns.
The
Retired Regimental Colours
Several sets
of colours were carried by the Regiment between
1866 and 1966.
Owing to the unit's infantry
origins, these consisted of two banners: a
Sovereign's flag and a Regimental flag denoting
the battle honours earned during the two World
Wars. The Ontarios' colours
were deposited at the Regiment's spiritual home, St. George's
Memorial Church in downtown Oshawa, prior to the
unit's departure for England in 1940.
 After
the Guidon was presented in 1967, these colours
were laid up at St. George's in 1968. The colours were
later moved to the McLaughlin Branch of the
Oshawa Public Library where they hang directly above the
main entrance (visible on exit).
The old
colours were borne by two lieutenants and
escorted by a Colour Sergeant Major and two
Senior NCOs. These unit's infantry colours were last paraded in
1966 during the colourful Trooping of the Colour and mounted roll past held at
the GM headquarters in
Oshawa.
The colours
of Ontario County Volunteers and the 34th
Regiment (above left) now hang in the Regimental
Museum.
Battle Honours
The
Ontarios have earned a long list of
battle honours during active duty in two
World Wars.
World War I
Somme, 1916; Arras, 1917;
Vimy, 1917; Hill 70;
Ypres, 1917; Passchendaele;
Amiens; Arras, 1918; Scarpe,
1918; Drocourt-Queant;
Hindenburg Line, Canal du Nord;
Cambrai, 1918;
Valenciennes;
France and Flanders, 1916-18.
World War II
Pursuit to Messina;
Sicily, 1943; Colle d�Anchise;
The Gully; Casa Berardi;
Ortona; Point 59; Cassino II;
Gustav Line; St Angelo in Teodice;
Liri Valley; Aquino;
Trasimene Line; Sanfatucchio;
Arezzo; Advance to Florence;
Italy, 1943-45; Arnhem, 1945;
North-West Europe, 1945
The
bold-faced battle honours were selected
to emblazoned on the Regimental Guidon.
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Regimental Marches
Dismounted
March
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John Peel
(Traditional)
D�ye ken John Peel and his coat so
gay?
D�ye ken John Peel at the break of
day?
D�ye ken John Peel when he�s far,
far away?
Or his hounds and his horn in the
morning?
For the sound of his horn brought me
from my bed,
And the cry of his hounds which he
oftime led,
Peel�s �View, Halloo!� could awaken
the dead,
Or the fox from his lair in the
morning.
Yes, I ken John Peel and his Ruby,
too!
Ranter and Ringwood, Bellman so
true!
From a find to a check, from a check
to a view,
From a view to a kill in the
morning.
John Peel
(c.1776-1854) was a farmer and
huntsman who lived in Cumberland,
England. The subject of this
traditional 18th century English
folk melody, Peel was renowned for a
pack of fox hounds he kept on his
farm.
Mounted
March
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My Boy Willie
(Traditional/T.L.
Wallace)
O, where have you been all the day,
My boy Willie?
O, where have you been all the day,
Willie, won�t you tell be now?
I�ve been all the day, courting a
lady gay,
But she is too young to be taken
from her Mammy.
O, can she brew, and can she bake,
My boy Willie?
O, can she brew, and can she bake,
Willie, won�t you tell be now?
she can brew, and she can bake,
and she can make a wedding cake,
But she is too young to be taken
from her Mammy.
O, can she knit, and can she spin,
My boy Willie?
O, can she knit, and can she spin,
Willie, won�t you tell me now?
She can knit, and she can spin,
and she can do �most anything,
But she is too young to be taken
from her Mammy.
O, how old is she now,
My boy Willie?
O, how old is she now,
Willie, won�t you tell me now?
Twice six, twice sev�n,
Twice twenty and eleven,
But she is too young to be taken
from her Mammy.
My Boy Willie
was also adopted as the march of the
Royal Canadian Armoured Corps.
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Regimental Band
 During
the nineteenth century, bands played a
very prominent role in the life of Canada's regular
and militia army units.
Since
1866, the 34th Battalion and its
successor units through to the 116th
Battalion, 182nd Battalion, and the
Ontarios maintained excellent brass
marching bands. The band was awarded top
national honours in 1948 at the Canadian
National Exhibition in Toronto. The
band's primary patron, Col RS
McLaughlin, funded the band's
instruments and uniforms for several
decades. Col McLaughlin went so far as
to build a band shell at Oshawa's
Memorial Park to provide the bandsmen
with their own venue to entertain the
citizens of Oshawa.
The
Regiment maintained its award-winning
band
until 1968 when, due to a reorganization
of the Canadian Army and the
newly-branded Canadian Armed Forces, the
unit's band establishment was eliminated
by the federal Liberal government of the
day.
 Not one
to miss a
beat, Capt Bill Askew, a naval veteran
of World War II and officer with the
1913 Ontario Regiment Cadet Corps helped
refashion the bandsmen into
the present-day Oshawa Civic Band.
Many
of the Regiment's bandsmen have would
play with the Civic Band over the next
three decades. Some former bandsmen
including Capt Askew and other veterans,
continue to perform with the Civic Band
at concerts in Oshawa's Memorial Park
and, from to time, at military functions
such as the Regimental Ball (held each
May) and the Regiment's annual Parkwood
Promenade.
The
band of the 1913 Ontario Regiment Cadet
Corps has, for the past 30 years,
provided the Regiment with its marching
music at public events including the
annual Remembrance Day parade, Change of
Command ceremonies and Oshawa's annual
Fiesta Week parade.
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Regimental Camp Flag
 The
Regiment's Camp Flag was officially
approved by the Director of Armour in
January 2004.
The flag features a modified double
blue/gold colour scheme with a
superimposed gold cap badge. Click on
the flag image to download a full-size
version.
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Ceremonial Dress
Since
the early 1950s, the Regiment has worn a
uniform described as 'blues' or 'patrol
dress' as its Number 1 order of dress.
These uniforms are entirely financed by
private (non-public) funds raised by
generous benefactors including unit's
honorary appointments, the Regimental
Foundation and retired or serving
members. in 2004, a modest grant from
the City of Oshawa assisted with the
purchase of several new uniforms.
For
several decades, neither the CF or DND
have supported purchase of ceremonial
dress for regular or reserve regiments.
Sadly, owing to a lack of private funds
and the expense entailed with dress
uniforms (often $1000-$2000 each), many
Canadian army units have abandoned their
ceremonial dress altogether.
The
wearing of the dark blue (soldiers and
NCOs) and midnight blue (RSM and
officers) began in the 1950s. The blue
serge, complete with chain mail on the
tunic and distinctive yellow cavalry
stripe on the breeches, was adopted by
most units of the Royal Canadian
Armoured Corps.
Owing
to the Regiment's pre-1936 infantry
tradition, officers wore scarlet waist
sashes as opposed to the current white
buck leather crossbelt. Also owing to
the unit's infantry lineage, only
officers of field rank wore spurs.
In
the early 1960s, only the CO and RSM
wore the distinctive white crossbelt.
However, during preparations for the
Presentation of the Guidon by Queen
Elizabeth II in 1967, several sets of
new uniforms and regalia were purchased
by the foundation with the assistance of
Col RS McLaughlin. The unit's officers
and regimental sergeant major adopted
formally adopted crossbelt and spurs,
discarding the last remnants of infantry
tradition.
While
Canada's armoured regiments employ a
range of distinctive wire or
wire/leather combination crossbelts, the
Ontarios have always maintained the
standard pattern white buck version
complete with silver (chrome) pickers
and cartouche pouch.
Non-commissioned Members
Soldiers and Senior NCOs wear a dark
blue serge with a single wide gold
stripe on each trouser leg (denoting the unit's cavalry
or armoured designation). Standard issue
parade boots complete this order
of dress.
Warrant
Officers do not wear the crossbelt but
do, however, wear a sword sling mounted
under their tunic. As is the tradition
in many other armoured units throughout
the Commonwealth, the
shoulders of the Ontarios' tunics are
adorned with chain mail. Properly
attired Warrant Officers wear George
boots (no spurs) vice the standard issue
parade boot. (Unlike their cousins in
Canadian infantry units, Senior NCOs of
the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps do not wear
a crimson
sergeant's sash.)
Officers and Regimental Sergeant Major
All
Officers and the Regimental Sergeant
Major wear a midnight blue (virtually
black) version of the serge, accompanied
by a white leather cross belt and sword
sling, mounted under the tunic. All
officers and the RSM are entitled to
wear spurs on their George boots.
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Motto
Fidelis
et Paratus (Latin). Translated: Faithful
and Prepared.
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Mascots
The
Regiment has employed a variety of
official and non-official mascots during
active and peacetime duty. Several
different dogs
appear in photos of the Regiment
during both world wars.
In a nod to the tradition of the Ontarios'
allied unit, the Royal Regiment of
Wales, a male goat named Tearloch was purchased by the
recruit training course (summer
1975) and presented to a
newly-appointed Regimental Goat Major.
Tearloch was quartered on the farm of
Major Bill Clarke in Newtonville (east
of Oshawa) but was later moved to a pen
near the regimental tank hangar at the
Oshawa airport for bad behaviour. A wily
animal at the best of times, Tearloch
paraded with the unit on a number of
occasions during the 1970s but succombed
to poor health
in 1979.
Tearloch's noseplate still hangs in the Junior
Rank's Mess
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