, colours = Gold and scarlet , battle_honours =

First Anglo-Dutch War The First Anglo-Dutch War, or simply the First Dutch War, ( nl, Eerste Engelse (zee-)oorlog, "First English (Sea) War"; 1652–1654) was a conflict fought entirely at sea between the navies of the Commonwealth of England and the United Province ...

* Kentish Knock, 1652 * Portland, 1653 * Gabbard, 1653 Franco-Dutch War * Texel, 1673

American Revolutionary War 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 ...

* St. Lucia, 1778 * The Saints, 1782

World War I 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 ...

* Jutland, 1916 HMCS ''Nonsuch'' is a naval reserve division (NRD) located in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

, Alberta. Dubbed a

stone frigate A stone frigate is a naval establishment on land. "Stone frigate" is an informal term that has its origin in Britain's Royal Navy after its use of Diamond Rock, an island off Martinique, as a 'sloop of war' to harass the French in 1803–04. ...

, HMCS ''Nonsuch'' is a land-based naval establishment for part-time sailors as well as a local recruitment centre for the

Canadian Forces Naval Reserve The Naval Reserve (NAVRES, french: link=no, Réserve navale) is the Primary Reserve component of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). The primary mission of the NAVRES is to force generate sailors and teams for Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) operations, in ...

. It is one of 24 naval reserve divisions located in major cities across Canada.

Operations

''Nonsuch'' is properly referred to as a ship, being commissioned into the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack submar ...

. She is part of the Reserves, and therefore operations are usually held on weekdays and certain weekends. However, her sailors may participate in any operation run by the Canadian Armed Forces year round, if they so choose.

History

His Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) ''Nonsuch'' was founded on 9 April 1923, as a Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve half-company. On 1 November 1941 she was commissioned as a tender to , now part of

CFB Esquimalt Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt (CFB Esquimalt) is Canada's Pacific Coast naval base and home port to Maritime Forces Pacific and Joint Task Force Pacific Headquarters. , 4,411 military personnel and 2,762 civilians work at CFB Esquim ...

. She was commissioned as the independent unit, HMCS ''Nonsuch'', on 1 September 1942. During World War 2, over 3500 sailors, and 114 officers were enlisted at ''Nonsuch''. After the war she transitioned into a peacetime force, and was paid off on 30 November 1964. She was recommissioned on September 26, 1975. ''Nonsuch'' has two historic naval weapons outside of the building. One is a mark 12 5"/38 calibre gun, from the United States. It was originally to be used on a US Navy destroyer; however, the Second World War ended before the ship was built. The gun comes from a pair handed over to Canada for testing. The two guns were used to fire various ammunition in

CFB Suffield Canadian Forces Base Suffield (also CFB Suffield) is a Canadian Forces base, host to the largest military training area in Canada. It is located in southeastern Alberta, north-northwest of Suffield, northwest of the city of Medicine Hat and sou ...

, in southern Alberta. When they were deemed to have completed their jobs, they were turned over to HMCS ''Nonsuch'' and , located in Calgary. The second weapon ''Nonsuch'' has is a Bliss-Leavitt Mark 9 torpedo from the Second World War, as would have been launched from Canadian destroyers.

Battle honours

HMCS ''Nonsuch'' carries on the

battle honour A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In European military t ...

s of 11 Royal Navy ships bearing her name in the past.

Pre-First World War

* Kentish Knock, 1652, *

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, 1653 * Gabbard, 1653 *

Texel Texel (; Texels dialect: ) is a municipality and an island with a population of 13,643 in North Holland, Netherlands. It is the largest and most populated island of the West Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea. The island is situated north of Den ...

, 1673 *

St Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindi ...

, 1778 * The Saints, 1782

First World War

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

, 1916

Badge

Description

''Or a beaver rampant proper gorged with a collar Gules edged Or upon which a roundel displaying the device of St. George.''

Etymology

''Nonsuch'' name comes from the French phrase meaning "of no equal". Besides being used as a name for many former RN warships, ''Nonsuch'' was also the first overseas ship into Hudson Bay, in 1688.

References

{{Royal Canadian Navy Canadian Forces Naval Reserve Organizations based in Edmonton