la, celer et audax, lit=swift and bold , colors = Green and amethyst blue , identification_symbol = , identification_symbol_label = , march = "Braganza" , notable_commanders = , anniversaries = , battles =

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

Upper Canada Rebellion The Upper Canada Rebellion was an insurrection against the oligarchic government of the British colony of Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) in December 1837. While public grievances had existed for years, it was the rebellion in Lower Canada (p ...

Fenian Raids

North-West Rebellion The North-West Rebellion (french: Rébellion du Nord-Ouest), also known as the North-West Resistance, was a resistance by the Métis people under Louis Riel and an associated uprising by First Nations Cree and Assiniboine of the District of S ...

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) *Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see als ...

The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (RCAC) is a

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...

Primary Reserve The Primary Reserve of the Canadian Armed Forces (french: links=no, Première réserve des Forces canadiennes) is the first and largest of the four sub-components of the Canadian Armed Forces reserves, followed by the Supplementary Reserve, the ...

Royal Canadian Armoured Corps The Royal Canadian Armoured Corps (RCAC; french: links=no, Corps blindé royal canadien) is the armoured corps within the Canadian Army, including 3 Regular and 18 Reserve Force regimentsThe Regiments and Corps of the Canadian Army (Queen's Printe ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

based in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

. The regiment is part of

4th Canadian Division The 4th Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army. The division was first created as a formation of the Canadian Corps during the First World War. During the Second World War the division was reactivated as the 4th Canadian Infantr ...

's 32 Canadian Brigade Group. The regiment consists of one cavalry squadron (D Squadron), and the Headquarters and Training Squadron. The regimental family also includes The Queen's York Rangers Band (volunteer) along with two

Royal Canadian Army Cadet The Royal Canadian Army Cadets (RCAC; french: Cadets royaux de l’Armée canadienne) is a national Canadian youth program sponsored by the Canadian Armed Forces and the civilian Army Cadet League of Canada. Under the authority of the National D ...

corps and a

Royal Canadian Air Cadet The Royal Canadian Air Cadets (french: Cadets de l'Aviation royale du Canada) is a Canadian national youth program for young individuals aged 12 to 18. Under the authority of the National Defence Act, the program is administered by the Canadian F ...

squadron. The unit mottos are "remembering their glories in former days" and "swift and bold." Among its own members and those of other regiments, the unit is referred to as the Rangers. The name is abbreviated as QY Rang, and sometimes pronounced .

Lineage

Pre-Confederation

The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (RCAC) trace their direct origins to

Robert Rogers Robert Rogers may refer to: Politics * Robert Rogers (Irish politician) (died 1719), Irish politician, MP for Cork City 1692–1699 *Robert Rogers (Manitoba politician) (1864–1936), Canadian politician * Robert Rogers, Baron Lisvane (born 1950), ...

and his Rangers in 1756 during the

French and Indian Wars The French and Indian Wars were a series of conflicts that occurred in North America between 1688 and 1763, some of which indirectly were related to the European dynastic wars. The title ''French and Indian War'' in the singular is used in the U ...

. Disbanded after seven years of hard service, Rogers reformed the Rangers in 1775 and they soon were carried on the British Army list as The Queen's Rangers, First American Regiment. The Rangers were particularly distinguished under

John Graves Simcoe John Graves Simcoe (25 February 1752 – 26 October 1806) was a British Army general and the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada from 1791 until 1796 in southern Ontario and the Drainage basin, watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior. ...

in 1777 at the

Battle of Brandywine The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American Continental Army of General George Washington and the British Army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777, as part of the Ame ...

and were shipped to New Brunswick at the end of the war in 1783. When Simcoe was appointed as the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, he made a stop in New Brunswick and raised the Queen's Rangers again and brought them with him in 1793 to Upper Canada. The Rangers were stood down again in 1802 and became the

York Militia The York Militia was a volunteer militia unit in Upper Canada formed after the passage of the Militia Act of 1793. Members of the York Militia were drawn from the settlers of York County, an area mostly made up of present-day Greater Toronto. Th ...

. They became active again during the

and again during the

in 1837-38.

The York Rangers

The York County Militia was reconstituted again on 14 September 1866 as the ''12th "York Battalion of Infantry"''. It was redesignated as the ''12th Battalion of Infantry or "York Rangers"'' on 10 May 1872, as the ''12th Regiment "York Rangers"'' on 8 May 1900 and, following the Great War, as ''The York Rangers'' on 1 May 1920. On 15 December 1936, it was amalgamated with ''The Queen's Rangers (1st American Regiment)'' and redesignated ''The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (MG)''. It was redesignated as the ''2nd (Reserve) Battalion, The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment)'' on 5 March 1942, as ''The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (Reserve)'' on 15 September 1944, as ''The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment)'' on 30 November 1945, as the ''25th Armoured Regiment (Queen's York Rangers), RCAC'' on 19 June 1947, ''The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (25th Armoured Regiment)'' on 4 February 1949, ''The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (RCAC)'' on 19 May 1958, ''The Queen's York Rangers (RCAC)'' on 3 September 1985 and ''The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (RCAC)'' on 12 November 2004.

The Queen's Rangers (1st American Regiment)

''The Queen's Rangers (1st American Regiment)'' was formed in Toronto, Ontario on 15 January 1921 as ''The West Toronto Regiment''. On 1 August 1925, it was amalgamated with the ''2nd Battalion (35th Battalion, CEF), The York Rangers'' and redesignated ''The Queen's Rangers''. It was redesignated ''The Queen's Rangers (1st American Regiment)'' on 1 December 1927. On 15 December 1936, it was amalgamated with The York Rangers.

Lineage chart

Perpetuations

War of 1812

The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (RCAC) perpetuate the '' Battalion of Incorporated Militia of Upper Canada'' and the 1st and 3rd Regiments of ''

''.

The Great War

The regiment perpetuates the ''

20th Battalion (Central Ontario), CEF The 20th Battalion (Central Ontario), CEF was a unit of the First World War Canadian Expeditionary Force. Service history The battalion was composed of volunteers from militia units in central Ontario. Much of the unit was drawn from the 12th Y ...

'', the ''

35th Battalion, CEF The 35th Battalion, CEF was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the Great War. History The 35th Battalion was authorized on 7 November 1914 and embarked for Britain on 16 October 1915. The battalion was redesignated ...

'', ''

127th Battalion (12th York Rangers), CEF The 127th (12th York Rangers) Battalion, CEF was a unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the unit began recruiting in late 1915 in York County. After sailing to England in August 1916, the ...

'' and the '' 220th Battalion (12th Regiment York Rangers), CEF''.

Commanders

In 2011, the Minister of National Defence approved the ''ex officio'' honorary appointment of the

Lieutenant Governor of Ontario The lieutenant governor of Ontario (, in French: ''Lieutenant-gouverneur'' (if male) or ''Lieutenante-gouverneure'' (if female) ''de l'Ontario'') is the viceregal representative in Ontario of the , who operates distinctly within the province bu ...

as the unit's

Colonel of the Regiment Colonel (Col) is a rank of the British Army and Royal Marines, ranking below brigadier, and above lieutenant colonel. British colonels are not usually field commanders; typically they serve as staff officers between field commands at battalion ...

in perpetuity. The appointment recognizes the regiment’s links to

, the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada and the regiment's commander during the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

Operational history

North-West Rebellion

The 12th Battalion of Infantry (York Rangers) mobilized four companies for active service on 10 April 1885. The companies served with the ''York and Simcoe Provisional Battalion'' in the Alberta Column of the North West Field Force. The companies were removed from active service on 24 July 1885.

First World War

The ''

'' was authorized on 7 November 1914 and embarked for Britain on 15 May 1915. It disembarked in France on 15 September 1915, where it fought as part of the ''4th Canadian Infantry Brigade,

2nd Canadian Division The 2nd Canadian Division (2 Cdn Div; french: 2e Division du Canada) is a formation of the Canadian Army in the province of Quebec, Canada. The present command was created 2013 when Land Force Quebec Area was re-designated. The main unit housed ...

'' in France and Flanders until the end of the war. For much of the war, the commanding officer of the battalion was Lieutenat-Colonel C.H. Rogers, a descendant of Robert Rogers. The battalion performed particularly well at the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

Vimy Ridge The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions of ...

Hill 70 The Battle of Hill 70 took place in the First World War between the Canadian Corps and five divisions of the German 6th Army. The battle took place along the Western Front on the outskirts of Lens in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France b ...

, Passchendaele, and at

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

and

Canal du Nord The Canal du Nord (, literally ''Canal of the North'') is a long canal in northern France. The canal connects the Canal latéral à l'Oise at Pont-l'Évêque to the Sensée Canal at Arleux. The French government, in partnership with coal-min ...

in 1918. Two of its members, Lieutenant

Wallace Lloyd Algie Wallace Lloyd Algie, (10 June 1891 – 11 October 1918) was a Canadian Expeditionary Force officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonweal ...

and Sergeant Frederick Hobson, were posthumously awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

. The 20th Battalion was disbanded on 30 August 1920. Altogether, 4,310 officers and men had served in the battalion; 843 were killed in action or died of wounds (often having been wounded earlier) and 1,855 were wounded—often several times. Some 22 members of the battalion had been taken prisoner during the war with the largest haul being when nine were taken when evacuating casualties at Passchendaele. The ''

'' was authorized on 7 November 1914 and embarked for Britain on 16 October 1915. The battalion was redesignated the ''35th Reserve Battalion, CEF'' on 9 February 1915, and it provided reinforcements to the Canadian Corps in the field until 4 January 1917 when its personnel were absorbed by the ''4th Reserve Battalion, CEF''. The battalion was disbanded on 8 December 1917. The ''

'' was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Britain on 21 August 1916. It provided reinforcements to the Canadian Corps in the field until 20 November 1916 when it was reorganized as a railway battalion. It disembarked in France on 13 January 1917, and was redesignated the ''2nd Battalion, Canadian Railway Troops, CEF'' on 3 February 1917, where it provided special engineering services to the British Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders until the end of the war. In April 1918 as the second great German offensive of the year rolled back over the old Somme Battlefield, the 127th was pressed into service as infantry near Amiens. Although initially trained as infantry, the battalion had not been employed as such but the men were apparently eager to show they could fight even if they were only armed with rifles. Combing through the chaos of Amiens, a large number of 'surplus' Lewis guns were 'acquired' and the battalion entered the line with considerably more firepower than might have been expected. At any rate, the German advance was being slowed up by exhausted troops and the usual logistical problems created in moving over World War I battlefields. The attempt to dislodge the 127th was not a determined one and the battalion's inordinate firepower debarred further attempts. The position they secured remained the Allied front line until the Amiens Offensive of 8 August 1918. Once relieved, the 127th returned to its previous duties. The battalion was disbanded on 23 October 1920. The '' 220th Battalion (12th Regiment York Rangers), CEF'' was authorized on 15 July 1916 and embarked for Britain on 26 January 1917, where its personnel were absorbed by the ''3rd Reserve Battalion, CEF'' on 7 May 1917 to provide reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field. The battalion was disbanded on 1 September 1917.

Second World War

Details from the regiment were called out on service on 26 August 1939 and placed on active service on 1 September 1939 for local protection duties until disbanded on 31 December 1940. The regiment subsequently mobilized the ''1st Battalion, The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment), CASF'' on 5 March 1942.40 It served in Canada in a home defence role as part of Military District No. 2, until disbanded on 15 October 1943. Altogether, over 2,000 Rangers served in the Second World but those who went overseas did so in other regiments.

Battle honours

The following list are the battle honours awarded to the battalions perpetuated by the Rangers as well as to the Rangers themselves. They are organized by the campaign. Battle honours in small capitals are for large operations and campaigns and those in lowercase are for more specific battles. Bold type indicates honours emblazoned on the regimental guidon.

Alliances

* -

The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires) The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (or PWRR, also known as 'The Tigers') is the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, second in the line infantry order of precedence to the Royal Regiment of Scotland and part of the Qu ...

* - The Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot)

Order of precedence

Band

2008 Toronto Santa Claus Parade IMG 0047 (3036144943)

Since the 1970s, the regiment has maintained a volunteer fife and drums band. Over the years, the number of bandsmen were lowered until the unit was reduced to nil strength. The Streetsville Pipes and Drums were formed in 1986 and in 2009, made an arrangement with the regiment that they would adopt a second persona as the ''Regimental Band of The Queen’s York Rangers''.

The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (RCAC) Museum

The museum preserves and displays the history of The Queen’s York Rangers (1st American Regiment) and its several predecessors for the benefit of both the members of the Regiment and the public at large.A-AD-266-000/AG-001 Canadian Forces Museums –Operations and Administration 2002-04-03 The museum is affiliated with: CMA,

CHIN The chin is the forward pointed part of the anterior mandible (List_of_human_anatomical_regions#Regions, mental region) below the lower lip. A fully developed human skull has a chin of between 0.7 cm and 1.1 cm. Evolution The presence of a we ...

, OMMC and

Virtual Museum of Canada The Digital Museums Canada (DMC; , ''MNC'') is a funding program in Canada "dedicated to online projects by the museum and heritage community," helping organizations to build digital capacity. Administered by the Canadian Museum of History (CMH) ...

Armouries

Media

* The Queen's York Rangers: An Historic Regiment by Stewart H. Bull (1984) * The Queen's Rangers in the Revolutionary War by Colonel C.J. Ingles, D.S.O., V.D. (1956) * Queen's Rangers: John Simcoe and his Rangers During the Revolutionary War for America by John Simcoe (1787)

References

External links

Regimental website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (Rcac) Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) Ranger regiments of Canada Armoured regiments of Canada Military units and formations of Ontario British colonial regiments Regimental museums in Canada Infantry regiments of Canada in World War II