Queen's York Rangers
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (RCAC) is a
Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), 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 re ...
Primary Reserve The Primary Reserve of the Canadian Armed Forces () is the first and largest of the four sub-components of the Canadian Armed Forces reserves, followed by the Supplementary Reserve, the Cadet Organizations Administration and Training Service (f ...
regiment of the
Royal Canadian Armoured Corps The Royal Canadian Armoured Corps (RCAC; ) is the armoured corps within the Canadian Army, including 3 Regular and 18 Reserve Force regiments,The Regiments and Corps of the Canadian Army (Queen's Printer, 1964) as well as the Royal Canadian Armo ...
. Based in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
and
Aurora, Ontario Aurora ( 2021 population: 62,057) is a town in central York Region in the Greater Toronto Area, within the Golden Horseshoe of Southern Ontario, Canada. It is located north of the City of Richmond Hill and is partially situated on the Oak Ridge ...
, the regiment is part of
4th Canadian Division The 4th Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army. It is currently responsible for Canadian Army operations in the Canadian province of Ontario and is headquartered at Denison Armoury in Toronto. The division was first created as ...
's
32 Canadian Brigade Group 32 Canadian Brigade Group (32 CBG) of the Canadian Army is part of the Land Force Central Area, 4th Canadian Division. It is centred on the Greater Toronto Area, as well as Niagara Region, Ontario, Niagara Region and Brantford, Ontario, Brantfor ...
. The regiment consists of one cavalry squadron (D Squadron), as well as 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; ) 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 Defence Act, the program is administered by th ...
corps and a Royal Canadian Air Cadet 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 regiment traces its 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), C ...
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 re-formed 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 Lieutenant-General (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General John Graves Simcoe (25 February 1752 – 26 October 1806) was a British army officer, politician and colonial administrator who served as the lieutenant governor of Upper Canada from 1791 u ...
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 Am ...
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 The following is a list of lieutenant governors of Ontario and the lieutenant governors of the former colony of Upper Canada. The office of Lieutenant Governor of Ontario was created in 1867, when the Province of Ontario was created upon Confed ...
, he made a stop in New Brunswick, 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. ...
. They became active again during the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
and again during the
Upper Canada Rebellion The Upper Canada Rebellion was an insurrection against the Oligarchy, 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 Lower Canada Rebe ...
in 1837–1838.


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 ''
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. ...
''.


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 R ...
'', 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 b ...
'' and the ''
220th Battalion (12th Regiment York Rangers), CEF The 220th (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 early 1916 in York County, Ontario. After sailing to England in April ...
''.


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 ''
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 R ...
'' 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; ) 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 this division is the Roy ...
'' in France and Flanders until the end of the war. For much of the war, the commanding officer of the battalion was Lieutenant-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 (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...
,
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 attached units against 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-Ca ...
, Passchendaele, and at
Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...
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 in Pont-l'Évêque to the Sensée Canal in Arleux. The French government, in partnership with coal-min ...
in 1918. Two of its members, Lieutenant Wallace Lloyd Algie and Sergeant
Frederick Hobson Frederick Hobson VC (23 September 1873 – 18 August 1917) was a soldier in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest military award for gallantry in the face of the enemy given to British and Commonwealt ...
, were posthumously awarded the
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...
. 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 ''
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 ...
'' 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 ''
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 b ...
'' 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 The 220th (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 early 1916 in York County, Ontario. After sailing to England in April ...
'' 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. 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 representative in Ontario of the monarch, who operates distinctly within the province but i ...
as the unit's
Colonel of the Regiment Colonel (Col) is a rank of the British Army and Royal Marines, ranking below Brigadier (United Kingdom), brigadier, and above Lieutenant colonel (United Kingdom), lieutenant colonel. British colonels are not usually field commanders; typically ...
in perpetuity. The appointment recognizes the regiment's links to
John Graves Simcoe Lieutenant-General (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General John Graves Simcoe (25 February 1752 – 26 October 1806) was a British army officer, politician and colonial administrator who served as the lieutenant governor of Upper Canada from 1791 u ...
, 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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
. The regiment's vehicles now include, according to official sources, the G Wagon - Light Utility Vehicle Wheeled (LUVW); Textron Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicle (TAPV); and the Medium Support Vehicle System (MSVS).


Battle honours

The following list are the battle honours awarded to the battalions and regiments 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. Guidons were presented in 1984 and in 2022. The 2022 guidon is the first to include honours from the War of 1812 and Afghanistan.


Alliances

* -
The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires) The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (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 Queen ...
* - The Royal Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot)


Band

Since the 1970s, the regiment has maintained a volunteer
fife and drums A corps of drums, sometimes known as a fife and drum corps or simply field music, is a traditional European military music formation. Historically, a Corps of Drums' primary role was communication. Today, the primary role of a Corps of Dru ...
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''.


Regimental 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 the
Canadian Museums Association The Canadian Museums Association (CMA; , ''AMC''), is a national non-profit organization for the promotion of museums in Canada. It represents Canadian museum professionals both within Canada and internationally. As with most trade associations ...
, the
Canadian Heritage Information Network The Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN; , RCIP) is a special operating agency within the federal Department of Canadian Heritage that provides a networked interface to Canada's heritage institutions. It is based in Gatineau, Quebec, an ...
, the
Organization of Military Museums of Canada The Organization of Military Museums of Canada (OMMC) is a national organization for the promotion of military museums in Canada. It was established in 1967 by a group of military museums, historians, and military history enthusiasts. The organizati ...
and
Virtual Museum of Canada 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) wi ...
.


Armouries


Notes and references


Further reading

* ''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).


External links

*
Regimental Council websiteVirtual museum of the regiment
{{DEFAULTSORT:Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (Rcac) Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) Military units and formations established in 1775 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 Military units and formations of Canada in World War II