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The Auroran https://www.newspapers-online.com/auroran/duke-of-york-visit-carries-on-historic-tradition/ Export date: Sat Dec 27 9:51:18 2025 / +0000 GMT |
Duke of York visit carries on historic tradition By Brock Weir After the Duke of York comes into the area this Thursday, June 5, for a special luncheon at Oakview Terrace to celebrate the Queen's York Rangers and help unveil the commemorative plaque for Aurora's Diamond Jubilee Park, it will be off to Toronto for a very special ceremony. Prince Andrew, the Queen's son, will present new battle honours to the Queen's York Rangers, presenting the Regiment, of which he is Colonel in Chief, with new colours. These new colours, the traditional flag carried by a Regiment in battle, will incorporate four new battle honours granted to the Regiment in honour of their efforts in the War of 1812, as well as for their valiant work in Afghanistan in a conflict which has not even begun to drift into the realm of memory. The original colours honoured by the Queen's York Rangers are thought to be the oldest existent colours currently held by a North American Regiment. According to The Colours of the Queen's York Rangers, published by the Regiment in the 1970s, the “ancient colours” of the Queen's York Rangers, have their roots in the 1770s during the American Revolutionary War. Early historians peg the original colours, which now hang in honour in the officers' mess at the Fort York Armoury, as the very ones hoisted by John Graves Simcoe during the Revolutionary War “to put the fear of God into the revolutionaries.” The colours were rediscovered in plain sight hanging in the home of the Simcoe family in the early 1900s by collector and newspaper publisher John Ross Robertson and he began the process of repatriating what he felt was a very important piece of “Canadiana.” He purchased the flags from the Simcoe family, and they eventually found their way to the Toronto Public Library, but not before they were restored by the Royal School of Needlework at Hampton Court Palace. Further restoration work was carried out in 1974 by the Royal Ontario Museum. “The ROM experts found that neither the King's Colour nor the Regimental Colour were in one piece,” notes the official history. “Each colour was in many pieces. The first step was to remove the fragile colours from their backing. Then they were measured, photographed and drawn. Each colour was then hand washed between nylon screens to protect them and make it easier to handle the very heavy, wet mess.” After drying, the original fabric was remounted and further examination was able to zero in on their true age. “Two aspects of the design of the colours help to date them,” notes the history. “They carry the title ‘1st American Regiment,' awarded to the Regiment in general orders May 2, 1779. There is no sign of this title being added to the colours, so they could not have been made earlier than mid-1779. And neither colour carries a Cross of St. Patrick, which was not ordered added to the Union Flag until 1801, so the colours are older than that.” Following the latest restoration job, the restored and newly mounted colours were officially unveiled at Fort York by Pauline McGibbon, then Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, in April, 1975. “The Queen's York Rangers inherit the regimental traditions of many earlier British and Canadian units, dating back as far as Rogers' Rangers (1756), the Queen's Rangers of the Revolutionary War (1776 – 1783), the Queen's Rangers in Upper Canada (1791 – 1802), the York Militia, the Queen's Rangers of 1837, and the 12th York Rangers (1866 – 1936). “The Queen's Rangers were formed again in 1925 in Toronto by an amalgamation of the West Toronto Regiment and the 2nd Battalion of the York Rangers. In 1936, these Queen's Rangers and York Rangers, were amalgamated to form the Queen's York Rangers, the name of the present-day reserve unit.” |
| Excerpt: After the Duke of York comes into the area this Thursday, June 5, for a special luncheon at Oakview Terrace to celebrate the Queen’s York Rangers and ... |
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Post date: 2014-06-04 16:31:38 Post date GMT: 2014-06-04 20:31:38 Post modified date: 2014-06-18 16:56:25 Post modified date GMT: 2014-06-18 20:56:25 |
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