Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps Corps royal canadien des munitions | |
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Active | 1919–1968 |
Country | Canada |
Branch | Canadian Army |
Type | administrative corps |
Role | Supply chain management, transportation, human resource management, finance, and food services, movements, postal, and ammunition |
Size | Corps |
Garrison/HQ | Montreal |
Motto(s) | Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense (French, "Shame to Him Who Thinks Evil of It"; from the motto of the Order of the Garter) |
March | The Village Blacksmith |
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The Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps (RCOC; French : Corps royal canadien des munitions, CRCM) was an administrative corps of the Canadian Army. The Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps RCOC can trace its roots back to the Canadian Stores Department. Formed in 1871, the Canadian Stores Department was a civil department of the Canadian Government. This civil service was charged with control of forts, ammunition, stores, buildings and an ordnance depot left by the departing British Military.
On 1 July 1903 the responsibilities of the Canadian Stores Department were transferred to the Ordnance Stores Corps. In 1907 it was renamed the Canadian Ordnance Corps (COC). [1] [2]
In the First World War the COC, in conjunction with the CASC, was supporting 400,000 men, 150,000 French civilians and 25,000 horses. In 1919, for recognition of outstanding service during the War, King George V authorized the “Royal” designation. [1]
The Militia component of the now-Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps was not authorized until 1912, and redesignated with the Royal prefix in 1936 (probably on 29 April 1936). [3]
During the Second World War, the corps had a strength of 35,000 military personnel, not including the thousands of civilian personnel employed at corps installations. They procured all the material goods required by the Army, from clothing to weapons. Up until 1944, the RCOC was responsible for maintenance and repair. Ordnance Field Parks, that held and stored everything from spare parts to spare artillery, supported field formation including the divisions and I and II Canadian Corps. [1]
The Canadian Ordnance Corps was redesignated The Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps on 22 March 1948. It reverted to the previous name on 18 April 1955. [4] [ incomprehensible ] In 1960, 1 Ordnance Field Park moved from Edmonton to Calgary and in 1968 merged with the Base Supply organization to become the Supply Company of 1 Service Battalion. [1] A memorial in Cobourg, Ontario dedicated to the personnel who served as part of 26 Central Ordnance Depot, Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps consists of a large depiction of the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps badge. [5]
When the Army, Royal Canadian Navy, and Royal Canadian Air Force were merged in 1968 to form the Canadian Forces, the administrative Corps of the Army were deactivated and merged with their Naval and Air Force counterparts to form the Canadian Forces' personnel branches.
The Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps was combined with the transport and supply elements of the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps to form the Logistics Branch.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada was the last colonel-in-chief of the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps. King George V, Edward VIII, and George VI have all served as previous colonels-in-chief of the corps.
King George VI granted the RCE the same mottoes as the Royal Army Service Corps, which was one of its British equivalents. Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense (French, "Shame to Him Who Thinks Evil of It") was the motto used since 1937. It originated from the era of the inception of the Order of the Garter, an order of chivalry which was the original user of this motto. The motto is also used by the Grenadier Guards, the Royal Army Service Corps, the Royal Australian Army Service Corps, and the Hauraki Regiment.
The Canadian Ordnance Corps was redesignated the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps on 3 Nov 1919. As a matter of honour, King George V, the Canadian monarch bestowed on the organization the right to use the prefix royal before its name. [4]
The badge of the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps consists of a belt, with a Kings Crown on top, with the text "Honi Soit qui mal y pense" with six maple leaves around the edge. At the centre of the belt is a shield superimposed with three cannonballs and three cannons. At the bottom the text "Royal Canadian Army Service Corps" is written on a ribbon. [1]
The RCOC maintained a military band in its ranks up unit the Corps dissolution in 1968. The band was established as a unit of the Canadian Army in 1956 with an establishment of 55 musicians based at Longue-Point (later CFB Montreal). Among its members included Gérald Gagnier, a bandmaster and composer who served in the band from 1956 until his death in 1961. Gagnier's uncle J.-J. Gagnier was notably the founder of the Canadian Grenadier Guards Band. [6] Other notable members included Charles Villeneuve and Laurence Henry Hicks. In mid-June 1944, the band performed in Normandy following the D-Day landings, during which the director of music recalled that "we were mobbed by the troops particularly after we played the Colonel Bogey March which everyone enjoyed". [7] In 1958, the band took part in a concert with American composer Morton Gould, who conducted the band which was standing directly on the Canada–United States border. [8] In September 1959, the band performed the Vice-Regal Salute for Georges Vanier during his swearing-in as Governor General of Canada in Ottawa. [9] In 1967, the band was one of 17 Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy, and Royal Canadian Air Force to take part in the Canadian Armed Forces Tattoo 1967 in honor of Canada's centennial year celebrations. [10] [11]
The Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps Association was a Defence Association authorized on 9 March 1945 and was recognized by the Conference of Defence Associations in early 1946. It was established as many senior RCOC officers recognized the desire for a post-World War association for former officers who had served in the RCOC and had no intent on continuing in the regular force. Its constitution was adopted on 20 April 1948 and Major General J. H. McQueen was elected as its first president. [12]
The 48th Highlanders of Canada is a Canadian Forces Primary Reserve infantry regiment based in Toronto, Ontario, parading out of Moss Park Armoury. The regiment is part of 4th Canadian Division's 32 Canadian Brigade Group.
The Royal Logistic Corps provides logistic support functions to the British Army. It is the largest Corps in the Army.
Honi soit qui mal y pense is a maxim in the Anglo-Norman language, a dialect of Old Norman French spoken by the medieval ruling class in England, meaning "shamed be whoever thinks ill of it", usually translated as "shame on anyone who thinks evil of it". It is the motto of the British chivalric Order of the Garter, the highest of all British knighthoods, except in Scotland.
The Royal Regiment of Canada is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. The regiment is based in Toronto, Ontario, and forms part of the 4th Canadian Division's 32 Canadian Brigade Group.
The Canadian Grenadier Guards (CGG) is a reserve infantry regiment in the 34 Canadian Brigade Group, 2nd Canadian Division, of the Canadian Army. The regiment is the oldest and second-most-senior infantry regiment in the Primary Reserve of the Canadian Army. Located in Montreal, its main role is the provision of combat-ready light infantry troops in support of Canadian regular infantry. It is a Household Foot Guard regiment and also provides soldiers for public ceremonial duties, performing similar ceremonial duties as the Guards regiments of the British Army. This primarily entails mounting the guard at Government House, the King's and Governor General's residence, and performing the "Changing the Guard" ceremony on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, a task it shares with Canada's senior Household Foot Guard regiment, the Governor General's Foot Guards of Ottawa. The Canadian Grenadier Guards is an allied regiment to the British Grenadier Guards.
The Canadian Guards was an infantry regiment of the Canadian Army that served in the same role as the five regiments of foot guards in the British Army. The regiment was formed on 16 October 1953, by Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds, the Chief of the General Staff of the Canadian Army, with the redesignation of four separate battalions:
The Royal Montreal Regiment is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army based in Westmount, Quebec. It is part of the 2nd Canadian Division's 34 Canadian Brigade Group.
1 Service Battalion is a deployable field unit of the Canadian Forces. It provides second- and limited third-line combat service support to units throughout the 3rd Canadian Division. Located at Steele Barracks, Canadian Forces Base Edmonton, 1 Svc Bn is composed of the battalion headquarters and four functional companies: Transportation, Supply, Maintenance, and Administration. Administration Company is distinct in that it provides first-line support to the battalion itself, while the remaining companies provide second- and limited third-line support to units across the 3rd Canadian Division.
The Queen's York Rangers (RCAC) is a Canadian Army Primary Reserve Royal Canadian Armoured Corps regiment based in Toronto and Aurora. The regiment is part of 4th Canadian Division's 32 Canadian Brigade Group. The regiment consists of one cavalry 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 corps and a Royal Canadian Air Cadet squadron. The unit mottos are pristinae virtutis memor – 'remembering their glories in former days' – and celer et audax – '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 KWY-rang.
The Canadian Military Engineers is the military engineering personnel branch of the Canadian Armed Forces. The members of the branch that wear army uniform comprise the Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers.
The Music Branch is a personnel branch of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). It is primarily composed of band musicians, and also deals with the selection and musical training of its recruits. The branch encompasses all the military bands in service in the Canadian Armed Forces. It is roughly the equivalent to the British Army's Royal Corps of Army Music (CAMUS).
The Royal Canadian Infantry Corps is the infantry corps of the Canadian Army and includes regular and reserve force regiments.
The Royal Canadian Army Service Corps (RCASC) was an administrative and transport corps of the Canadian Army. The Canadian Army Service Corps was established in the Non-Permanent Active Militia in 1901 and in the Permanent Active Militia in 1903. The Canadian Permanent Army Service Corps was redesignated The Royal Canadian Army Service Corps on 3 Nov 1919.
The Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps (RAAOC) is the Corps within the Australian Army concerned with supply and administration, as well as the demolition and disposal of explosives and salvage of battle-damaged equipment. The Corps contains clerks, operator supplies, petroleum operators, parachute riggers and ammunition technicians. Members of the Corps are nicknamed Roaches.
The Royal Garrison Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army that formed in 1901 and disbanded in 1908.
The Royal Australian Engineers (RAE) is the military engineering corps of the Australian Army. The RAE is ranked fourth in seniority of the corps of the Australian Army, behind the Staff Cadets, Armoured and Artillery Corps. The corps was formed by the amalgamation of the various colonial engineer corps of the states and territories of Australia in 1902 and since then has served in various conflicts including World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War. The corps has also served on numerous peacekeeping operations and was heavily involved in the Australian contribution to the war in Afghanistan.
5 Service Battalion, or 5e Bataillon des services in French, is a deployable field unit of the Canadian Forces. It provides second and limited third line Combat Service Support to units throughout 2nd Canadian Division. Located at CFB Valcartier, 5 Svc Bn is composed of a battalion headquarters and four functional companies: Transportation, Supply, Maintenance, and Administration. Administration Company is unique in that it provides first line support to the battalion itself, while the remaining companies provide second and limited third line support to units across 2 CA Div.
The Army Ordnance Corps is an active corps of the Indian Army and a major formation responsible for providing material and logistical support to the Indian Army during war and peace.
The Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps (RNZAOC) was a Corps in New Zealand until 1996. It concerned itself with the provisioning of troops with the means to fight; specifically uniforms, weapons and equipment. Ordnance functions go back hundreds of years; the first Ordnance Officer in the British military appeared in the year 1299. Designated "Keeper of the King's Wardrobe", his duties included the care and accounting of heavy equipment such as battering rams and catapults.
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