HISTORY, CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS
LINEAGE
The Regiment known today as The Windsor Regiment (RCAC) was originally formed on 15 December 1936 with the title The Essex Regiment (Tank). Over the years the unit has undergone numerous changes in title caused by changes in role and changes in regimental seniority. With one exception, the only unchanging feature in the unit title was a set of brackets. The most significant change was that of 1949 when the designation Essex (named for The Regiment’s home county) was changed for Windsor (The Regiment’s home city).
RCAC
Canada had a tank corps for a brief period in 1918. It was not replaced until the year 1940, when the Canadian Armoured Corps (CAC) was raised. It received the Royal designation in 1945 becoming the RCAC (Royal Canadian Armoured Corps).
RCAC, in brackets, is used in the titles of armoured regiments which do not have cavalry titles. This is to prevent them from being confused with infantry regiments with similar sounding names.
Guidon
Every Canadian armoured unit possesses a regimental Colour. The Windsor Regiment (RCAC) has a swallow-tailed Guidon. It is made of crimson silk damask embroidered and fringed in gold, mounted on a lance. In the upper left corner are attached tassels and cords of gold mixed with crimson silk.
Guidons were carried by junior officers until the time of the Napoleonic Wars (1789-1815). It was then that a shortage of junior officers led to the privilege of carrying the guidon being delegated to a senior warrant officer. That tradition continues today as a sign of the confidence an armoured regiment places in its senior non-commissioned ranks.
Guidon In Action
A Regimental Guidon symbolizes the unit’s service in peace and war. It represents the Regiment’s loyalty to Crown and country. It also represents all members of The Regiment who have served under it. For these reasons Regimental Colours, such as our Guidon, are consecrated in a religious ceremony and are given an armed escort when paraded in public. The Guidon is saluted by all military personnel whether they are on parade or not. Military personnel not in uniform are expected to rise to their feet and remove any headdress when any Guidon or Colour passes them.
In years past many lives have been lost trying to capture or defend unit Colours. To lose a unit Colour was the greatest disgrace. To capture an enemy’s Colour was the greatest achievement. It is because of these significant historical connections that unit Colours are no longer permitted to be carried into an operational theatre.
Regimental March
The Windsor Regiment (RCAC) uses ‘My Boy Willie’ as its official march. The use of signature tunes for military units appears to have had its origins in the 18th Century Prussian Army. The Canadian Army did not establish a systematic record of military marches until 1950, although attempts to do so had taken place earlier.
In Britain, the Royal Tank Corps (later Royal Tank Regiment) adopted the French folk tune ‘My Boy Willie’ as its march for two reasons. First, it came from the nation where the first tanks were used in action in 1916. Secondly, one of the prototype tanks developed in 1915 had been nicknamed ‘Little Willie’. When Canada set about creating an armoured force in 1936, the tune was already well associated with armour
Slow March
The Windsor Regiment (RCAC) also uses a traditional slow march: ‘The 6th Dragoon Guards’, commonly called ‘The Carabiniers March’. The tune is associated with the British Regiment that the Windsors became allied with in 1951, the 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of Wales’s Dragoon Guards) now named The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys). This regiment was an amalgamation of the 3rd Dragoon Guards and the 6th Dragoon Guards (The Carabiniers). The Windsor Regiment (RCAC), however, has never sought official approval for this march.
CAMP FLAG
Black is the facing colour of the Windsor Regiment. It is the colour most commonly associated with armoured units around the world. The reasons behind the use of yellow as the second colour are now lost to us. However, one of the regiment’s oldest artefacts is a Camp Flag used in the late 1930s, just after the Regiment’s formation, with the two coloured stripes of black and yellow with black in the upper colour and yellow in the lower. Camp Flags are not carried on parade, are not carried into action, and are not saluted. The can be used to mark locations, boundaries, used as guides, and are even used as part of formal dinner decorations.
CAMP FLAGS HISTORY
Starting in the 18th Century, military units carried with them, as a part of their normal equipment, five square coloured flags which were used for the purpose of laying out the unit’s campsite in the field. First the quartermaster would place a slightly larger camp flag to mark the location of the unit headquarters. Then the four remaining, slightly smaller, camp flags would be placed to mark the corners of the unit lines. These flags made use of the unit’s facing colour for easy identification. A facing colour was originally the lining of a soldier’s coat. When the coat was opened the colour would show. Each unit was expected to have a different facing colour and so this was a quick means of unit identification in the days before badges were developed. Over time the use of camp flags evolved so that they came primarily to mark the location of a unit headquarters either in garrison or in the field. Camp Flags, which were often referred to as Camp Colours, were never carried into action or used within sight of the enemy.
Black Beret
During May 1937, The Windsor Regiment (then named The Essex Regiment (Tank) was the first Canadian Army Regiment to adopt the black beret and first to adopt using a beret instead of a forge cap. Beret usage in the Commonwealth started during the 1920's due to forge caps being impracticable in armoured vehicles. The beret was very practicable as it has no rim and could be used by gunners inside their armoured vehicles and stems from the adoption of a black beret as the most appropriate headgear for armoured soldiers, because it doesn't show grease or dirt. During the Second World War the black beret became highly prized and The Windsor Regiments' (RCAC) black berets continue to be a source of Regimental Pride
The Cap Badge
The St Edward’s Crown represents service to the Sovereign. The tank (based on the Mark IV) represents the regiment’s origins as a tank battalion. The crossed carbines represent the Windsor’s past alliance with the 3rd Carabiniers. Officers of The Regiment wear a brass and silver version (bi-coloured metal officers’ badge is common throughout the Armoured Corps) while non commissioned personnel wear a brass version.
SEMPER PARATUS
Latin is a common language for mottos and was widely used by Canadian military units in the 19th Century. Although the official translation is ‘Always Prepared’, it can also be translated as ‘Always Ready’ and other variants on this theme. In the case of The Windsor Regiment (RCAC), SEMPER PARATUS was a deliberate tribute. When The Essex Regiment (Tank) was formed on 15 December 1936, its original cadre of officers and non-commissioned officers was taken from The Essex Scottish Regiment (previously named 21st Essex Battalion, 1885). For this reason, The Windsor Regiment (RCAC) and now named ‘The Essex and Kent Scottish’, share the motto Semper Paratus.
Badges
A Canadian soldier will wear either the badge of his/her unit or that of their Corps. Armoured Corps personnel who have not been allocated to a unit wear the Corps badges (cap, collar and shoulder). These people include the Colonel Commandant, The Director of Armour, the RCAC (School) Commandant as well as the Corps and School Regimental Sergeants-Major. Armoured officer cadets and crewmen under training may also wear the Corps insignia. Once posted to a unit they begin wearing regimental insignia even when they are not actively serving with their regiment.
COLLAR BADGES
Small changes were made to the collar badges when The Regiment was renamed. The Tudor Crown was replaced by the St Edwards Crown. Note that the spaces between the bottom of the maple leaf and the top of the ribbon were filled in. Collar badges (commonly called collar dogs) are now made of anodized brass.
The Essex Regiment (Tank) collar badges were made of brass and produced by Scullys of Montreal. The design was a maple leaf with a ribbon below carrying the Regimental motto, SEMPER PARATUS. Superimposed on the leaf was a Great War-era tank and above all the Tudor Crown.
Honouring Past Alliances
The Windsor Regiment (when named the 22nd Reconnaissance Regiment) was formally allied with the 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of Wales Dragoon Guards). The crossed carabiniers on The Regiment's cap badge honours this past affiliation. Through a process of amalgamations, The 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of Wales Dragoon Guards) amalgamated with the Royal Scots Greys (2nd Dragoons), forming the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) in 1971.
Alliance from 1951 to 1958.
The 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of Wales Dragoon Guards) have Battle honours dating from 1857.
The 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of Wales Dragoon Guards) almaginated with the Royal Scots Grey (2nd Dragoons) in 1971.
The Royal Scots Greys (2nd Dragoons) was a cavalry regiment of the Army of Scotland (established 1678) that became a regiment of the British Army in 1707 upon the Union of Scotland and England. Their Battle Honours date from 1704.
Royal Scots Grey (2nd Dragoons)
are famously commemorated in oil paintings including the 'Fight for the Standard' by Richard Ansdell , 'The Eagle of the French 45th Ligne', painted by Stanley Berkeley and depicting the famous charge of the Scots Greys at Waterloo is the painting: 'Scotland Forever!' by Elizabeth Lady Butler .