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The Grey and Simcoe
Foresters
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The
Grey and Simcoe Foresters a regiment of
infantry formed in the Canadian Army that later converted to
both artillery and
armour, and ended the 20th Century as an infantry unit of the
Reserve Force.
Lineage
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On 14 September 1866 the
31st Grey Battalion of Infantry was authorized, and
formed from five independent companies. It was
redesignated 31st Grey Regiment on 8 May 1900 and The
Grey Regiment on 1 May 1920
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On 14 September 1866 The
35th Simcoe Battalion of Infantry was authorized, and
formed from seven independent companies. It was
redesignated 35th Battalion The Simcoe Foresters on 5
April 1867, 35th Regiment Simcoe Foresters on 8 May 1900
and The Simcoe Foresters on 1 May 1920
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On 15 December 1936 The Grey
Regiment and The Simcoe Foresters were amalgamated to
become The Grey and Simcoe Foresters
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The regiment was converted
and redesignated 45th Anti-Tank Regiment (Grey and
Simcoe Foresters) Royal Canadian Artillery on 1
April 1946
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The regiment was
redesignated 45th Anti-Tank Regiment (Self-Propelled)
(Grey and Simcoe Foresters) on 19 June 1947
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On 1 October 1954 the unit
amalgamated with the 55th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment,
RCA, converted to armour, and was redesignated The
Grey and Simcoe Foresters (28th Armoured Regiment)
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On 19 May 1958 the unit's
designation was changed to The Grey and Simcoe
Foresters (RCAC)
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On 1 May 1970 the unit
reverted to the infantry role and was redesignated
The Grey and Simcoe Foresters1
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The
Grey and Simcoe Foresters |
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Headquarters:
Owen Sound, ON
Predecessor: none
Perpetuates: 147th, 157th, 177th and 248th Battalions, CEF
Created: 15 December 1936, by amalgamation of
The Grey Regiment and The Simcoe Foresters
Status 1 Jan 2000: Infantry
Regiment in the Canadian Forces Reserve |
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History
The 35th Battalion
"The Simcoe Foresters"
contributed four companies for service in North West Canada during
the 1885 Rebellion, comprising part of the York and Simcoe
Provisional Battalion. Both the 31st Grey Battalion of Infantry and
the 35th Battalion "The Simcoe Foresters" sent individual volunteers
to the Canadian contingents that fought in South Africa in
1899-1902.
The 31st Grey
Regiment provided volunteers to the 15th Battalion, C.E.F. at the
outbreak of the First World War and recruited for the 147th and
248th Battalions, both of which were broken up for reinforcements
for the Canadian Corps. The 35th Regiment "Simcoe Foresters" was
placed on active service for local protective duty at the outbreak
of the First World War and provided volunteers to the 4th Battalion,
C.E.F., and later recruited for the 157th and 177th Battalions,
which likewise were broken up for reinforcements for the Canadian
Corps.
On 24 May 1940, The
Grey and Simcoe Foresters, CASF was mobilized as an active service
battalion of the regiment. The unit was redesignated 26th Army Tank
Battalion (The Grey and Simcoe Foresters) and converted to armour on
26 January 1942. On 15 May 1942 the unit was redesignated 26th Army
Tank Regiment (The Grey and Simcoe Foresters). The unit embarked for
the United Kingdom on 16 June 1943, and it disbanded there on 1
November 1943 after a reorganization of Canadian armoured units. A
2nd Battalion served in the Reserve Army in Canada.2
Battle Honours
The Battle Honours
held by the regiment as of 1 January 2000 were (Battle Honours in bold were selected for
emblazonment):
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Northwest Canada, 1885 |
Arras, 1917, '18
Ypres, '17
Hindenburg Line |
Hill 70
Amiens
Pursuit to Mons |
Insignia
The cap badge is
described as follows:
A pomme charged with a stag lodged on a mount within a circle of
autumnal maple leaves proper overall on either side a scroll
Vert inscribed GREY and and SIMCOE in letters Argent, the whole
surmounting a Maltese cross pommé Argent ensigned by the Royal
Crown proper and resting on a scroll Vert inscribed FORESTERS in
letters Argent.
The symbolism of the badge is further
described there as thus:
The maple leaves represent
service to Canada, and the Crown, service to the Sovereign. The
badge of the regiment is styled on that of their former British
allied regiment The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and
Derbyshire Regiment) (now, through amalgamation, The Mercian
Regiment), whose badge, in turn, was based on that of the 95th
(Derbyshire) Regiment, which featured a Maltese cross (based on
the insignia of the Royal Guelphic Order), and that of the 45th
(Nottinghamshire - Sherwood Foresters) Regiment, which featured
a stag. The words "GREY and SIMCOE" and "FORESTERS" are a form
of the regimental title.3
References
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The Regiments and Corps of the Canadian Army (Queen's
Printer, Ottawa, ON, 1964)
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Hampson, William C. A Catalogue of Twentieth-Century Canadian
Military and Metal Shoulder Titles 1900 to 1999 Part II: Royal
Canadian Armoured Corps (William C. Hampson Publishing, Calgary,
AB, 1999) ISBN 0-9685714-1-7
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Mazeas, Daniel Insignes de la Milice Canadienne - Canadian
Militia Badges Pre 1914
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Mazeas, Daniel Insignes Canadiens 1920-1950 - Canadian
Badges Revised Edition
Notes
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Regiments and Corps of the Canadian Army, p.60
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Ibid
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A-AD-267-000/AF-003
Official Lineages, Volume 3, Part 1: Armour,
Artillery and Field Engineer Regiments – Armour Regiments.
Directorate of History and Heritage. June 11, 2010 accessed
online at
http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/his/ol-lo/vol-tom-3/par2/gsf-eng.asp
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