Royal Canadian Dragoons
The Royal Canadian Dragoons (RCD) is the senior armoured regiment of the Canadian Army by precedence. It is one of three armoured regiments in the Regular Force and forms part of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps.
The Royal Canadian Dragoons
1883–present
Canada
One regiment (4 squadrons and headquarters squadrons)
Audax et celer
"Monsieur Beaucaire"
"Light of Foot" (Dismounted)
See § Equipment
See § Battle honours
Major-General Dean Milner, CMM, MSC, CD (Retired)
Lieutenant-Colonel N. Forsyth, CD
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RCD
The colonel-in-chief of The RCD is Charles III, King of Canada. The colonel of the regiment is Major-General Dean Milner, CMM, MSC, CD (Retired). The commanding officer is Lieutenant-Colonel N. Forsyth, and the regimental sergeant major is Chief Warrant Officer C. Leblanc. The regiment is composed of Regimental Headquarters, "A", "B", "C", "D" and Headquarters Squadrons. "A", "B" and "D" Squadrons, based at CFB Petawawa, are light cavalry squadrons. "C" Squadron is based at CFB Gagetown, and the squadron consists of both Dragoons and members of 12e Régiment blindé du Canada. Headquarters Squadron, based in Petawawa, provides first-line combat service support to the regiment.
History[edit]
Formation[edit]
Formed on December 21, 1883 as the Cavalry School Corps, The Royal Canadian Dragoons is the senior cavalry regiment in the Canadian Army and was Canada's first professional, full-time cavalry unit. It was originally organized as a troop (the then-company-sized British Army cavalry maneuver sub-unit, today regarded as a squadron) and was commanded by Captain (Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel) J.F. Turnbull of Quebec City's Queen's Own Canadian Hussars. The first Regimental Sergeant-Major was Sergeant-Major George Baxter, recruited by Lt.-Col. Turnbull from the British Army's 4th Dragoon Guards at Aldershot along with two other British Army Sergeant-Instructors from the 7th Dragoon Guards and the 15th The King's Hussars.[2]
North-West Rebellion[edit]
The Cavalry School Corps mobilized A Troop on 10 April 1885 for active service during the North-West Rebellion. It served with the Alberta Column of the North-West Field Force until it was removed from active service on 18 September 1885. A Troop patrolled the Touchwood Hills in Saskatchewan to secure lines of communication and saw no active combat.
Springbok cap badge[edit]
The cap badge of The Royal Canadian Dragoons since 1913 features a springbok in recognition of the regiment's service in South Africa.
In the Second Boer War (1899–1902) during the advance to Pretoria, the RCD set up camp in a field. Regimental legend has it that one of the sentries noticed that some springbok were behaving erratically, and alerted the officers, who ordered a stand-to. This resulted in the defeat of Boer forces that had been trying to sneak up through the fields to attack the Canadian force. However, there is no documentary evidence of this incident. The Commanding Officer at that time, Lt.-Col. Louis Lessard, makes no mention of it in his personal papers or his official reports. The commander of the RCD then put a request to King Edward VII, the reigning monarch, to officially have their cap badge changed to the springbok, which was finally accepted in 1913.
During the Second Boer War on November 7, 1900, The Royal Canadian Dragoons were engaged in the Action at Leliefontein. The regiment, operating in concert with the two 12 Pounder guns of the Left Section of D Battery, Royal Canadian Artillery, was acting as the rear guard for Major-General Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien's column as it withdrew from the Komati River basin. The Boers had recently captured a quantity of British artillery ammunition and aggressively pressed the rear guard in an attempt to capture the two D Battery guns, even conducting a very rare mounted charge. In the end, the guns and the column were saved. Three Victoria Crosses were awarded to members of The Royal Canadian Dragoons for their actions during the course of the day:
