History

The modern Regiment has inherited an impressive tradition of soldiering that stretches back hundreds of years to the foundation of Canada. The origins of the Queen's York Rangers trace their roots to Rogers' Rangers, the famous irregular Colonial unit that fought the French and their Native allies in the Seven Years War. Largely operating in the Lake George and Lake Champlain area, Companies from the Regiment served at the capture of Louisbourg in 1758, and in 1759 the Regiment undertook perhaps their most well known operation, the raid on St Francis.

The Regiment fought again for the British as scouting and vanguard forces in the American Revolution and led a famous victory over George Washington at Brandywine in the successful campaign to capture Philadelphia. After the war, many Rangers were among the original settlers of New Brunswick and Ontario. The Commanding Officer, John Graves Simcoe, became the first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada. In Toronto, the Rangers built Fort York and the first highways – Yonge Street and Dundas Street – and helped suppress William Lyon Mackenzie’s Upper Canada Rebellion in 1837 and Louis Riel’s North-West Rebellion in 1885.

The Regiment had two serving battalions in World War I – a line infantry battalion and a railway engineering battalion. The infantry saw heavy fighting in some of the bloodiest battles of the war – Ypres, the Somme, Vimy, Passchendaele, and the final Hundred Days, where the Canadians and Australians spearheaded the Allied victory over the Germans. Casualties were heavy – 855 dead and more than twice as many wounded. That battalion won a total of 18 Battle Honours and 398 decorations and awards, including two Victoria Crosses. During the Second World War, the Regiment provided a regular battalion for Canadian Territorial Defence and also trained recruits for units overseas, providing 124 officers and 1891 other ranks.

Following World War II, in 1947, the Regiment became an armoured unit and was equipped with Sherman tanks, switching again to armoured reconnaissance in jeeps in 1965. Recently, Rangers have served on operations in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Bosnia, Croatia, Somalia, Namibia, and Cyprus. In Afghanistan, members of the Regiment have served in a number of roles including reconnaissance, security, and convoy escort.

Archives & Queen's York Ranger's Museum

The Queen’s York Rangers has a rich and exciting history that has been documented in various books, articles, newsletters, and military records of every kind. The archives contain such important documents as lists of personnel dating back to 1777, written military orders (including those of the 12th Battalion, the York Rangers, the 12th York Rangers, the 20th Battalion, the 127th Battalion and the 220th Battalion), training manuals, diaries, historical maps and photographs, scrapbooks and ephemera.

Within the Fort York Armoury, there is a dedicated space that serves as The Queen’s York Rangers Museum and Archives. The Museum displays uniforms, medals, badges, weapons, equipment and tells the remarkable story of this historic Regiment and the preceding Regiments from which it evolved. The space is open on Wednesday nights and can also be opened by special request.

Here you will also find a display of the historic colours – the Regimental flags of The Queen’s Rangers, which were purchased in England in 1923 from A.H. Linton Simcoe, a descendant John Graves Simcoe, first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada and commander of The Queen’s’s Rangers during the American Revolutionary War and later in Upper Canada.

For inquiries related to the archives of The Queen’s York Ranger’s Museum, please contact the Curator, LCol Diane Kruger at rhq@qyrang.org

Traditions

Annual Regimental Milestones

  • March 23rd
    • The Regiment is founded in 1756
    • Major-General William Shirley, Commander of British Forces in North America summons Robert Rogers to his Boston Headquarters and bestows a commission to raise and command an “Independent Company of Rangers” thus marking what would become The Queen’s York Rangers.
  • September 11th
    • The Battle of Brandywine 1777
    • Observed yearly by the Regimental Family, most recently with a special parade and ball at Historic Fort York in Toronto – the Regiment commemorates the Battle of Brandywine that took place on September 11, 1777. The battle took place during the Philadelphia Campaign, and saw The Queen’s Rangers play a decisive role. Forming the advance guard of von Knyphausen’s Division, the Rangers distinguished themselves in an exceptionally ferocious battle. Regimental casualties included two – thirds of the officers, and approximately one – third of the other ranks.
    • “The Commander – in – Chief desires to convey to the officers and men of The Queen’s Rangers his approbation and acknowledgement of their spirited and gallant conduct in the engagement of the 11th instant, and to assure them how well he is satisfied with their distinguished conduct on that day. His Excellency only regrets their having suffered so much in the gallant execution of their duty.”
    • - General Sir William Howe, Commander – in – Chief of British Forces in North America, General Orders of 13 September 1777.
    • “I must be silent as to the behaviour of the Rangers, for I want even words to express my own astonishment to give an idea of it”
    • - Lieutenant – General Wilhelm von Knyphausen, Divisional Commander.

Annual Regimental Events

  • Last Weekend of May
    • Ranger Weekend
    • To commemorate the soldiering prowess and spirit of their founder, Major Robert Rogers, (d. 18 May 1795), the Rangers hold an annual event called Exercise Roger’s Challenge. A Regimental tradition since 2004, this competition within the Regiment echoes back to the days when Roger’s Rangers would scout over vast distances in hostile terrain, and have to be prepared at all times for battle.
    • This competition is a 24 - hour, non-stop route march through challenging terrain, pausing only to perform soldier – skill tasks at stands along the way. The exact distance and activities at each stand are unknown to participants until they actually complete the route – which makes Ex Roger’s Challenge as much a mental challenge as a physical one.
    • Many other units have been invited to take part - few finish. Even fewer return the following year.
      The weekend ends with the annual stand-down parade at Aurora Armoury. Following the formal ceremonies, the Regiment hosts a smoker for soldiers and guests, as well as various sporting events. Most notably, the winning team from Ex Roger’s Challenge gets to choose the dress and equipment for the annual ‘Subaltern’s Dash’ – a unit tradition dating back to the 1920s.
  • First Weekend of August
    • Simcoe Day
    • Named for our past Commanding Officer and first Lieutenant - Governor of Upper Canada.

Symbols

  • Guidon
    • After being designated as an Armoured Unit in 1947, The Queen’s York Rangers still retained their infantry colours until 1984. As part of Toronto’s 150th Anniversary, HM The Queen presented the regiment with a guidon, the symbol of a cavalry unit. Selected battle honours from the North West Rebellion and World War One are emblazoned on it, along with other symbols of the Regiment.

    • In 1974, another set of colours made its way home to the Regiment. Those were the original colours of The Queen’s Rangers. The colours were smuggled out of Yorktown following the surrender of British forces in North America. They made their way to the Simcoe estate in England, where they hung in the entrance hall for 140 years before their re - discovery in 1900. Subsequently returned to Canada and painstaking preserved by the ROM, these colours now reside for safekeeping seen in the Officer’s Mess at Fort York Armoury. One of the Regiment’s most cherished possessions, they are believed to be the oldest military colours in North America.
  • Crest
    • The lineage of The Queen’s York Rangers dates back through several hundred years of predecessor units. This lineage was recognized in 1927 when HM King George V restored the title previously used by the Regiment: The Queen’s Rangers (1st American Regiment), as well as the original badge bestowed in 1779 by King George III. The Regimental cap badge incorporates a crown representing service to the sovereign, surmounting the shield of defence, surrounded by the wreath of unity. The wreath is composed of roses, shamrocks and thistles, which was to recognize the English, Irish and Scottish of the original Queen’s Rangers.

  • The Crescent Moon
    • During the American Revolution, and later during service in Upper Canada, Rangers wore on their headdress a crescent moon, symbol of Diana, Roman goddess of the hunt. As a reminder of this, the symbol is emblazoned on the Regimental guidon. The crescent moon has taken on a mythology of its own among members of the Regiment, and remains a popular unofficial symbol to this day. It is often found sewn discreetly to the back of bush hats, or perhaps more recently attached with velcro to body armour. Rumour has it the Ranger crescent has been spotted (or, ideally, not spotted) as far afield as Bosnia, Afghanistan, Cyprus, and many other places in between.

Motto(s)

  • “Pristinae Virtutis Memor”
    • Translation: “Mindful of our ancient valour”
    • Adopted from The Queen’s Regiment of the British Army (amalgamated into The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment in 1992), to which it was granted for meritorious service at Tongres in 1702.
  • “Celer et Audax”
    • Translation: “Swift and Bold”
    • The Rangers also honour their roots in the 12th York Rangers with their motto Celer et Audax – Swift and Bold. Originally used by the 60th of Foot (Royal American Regiment) raised in 1760.

March

  • “Braganza”
    • This march has a long and winding story dating to the formation of The Queen’s Regiment in 1661. In that year The Queen’s Regiment was dispatched by Charles II to garrison Tangier, which formed part of the dowry of his Queen Consort, Catherine of Braganza, who was of Portuguese ancestry.
    • From 1837 to 1881 the Regiment marched past to a tune known as “The Old Queen’s” in which the British National Anthem is embodied. In 1881, at a Review held near Aldershot, England before Queen Victoria and the Duke of Cambridge, “The Old Queen’s” was played as the 1st Battalion marched past. Her Majesty enquired whether special permission had been given for the use of the National Anthem, saying that unless it had, the practice must cease.
    • After reaching out to the Portuguese Royal Family following the logical line of association, an ancient Portuguese air was repurposed, and in 1903 ‘Braganza’ was adopted. As an Allied Regiment, The Queen’s York Rangers were granted permission to adopt the march in the 1920s.

Listen To Braganza:

Fort York

The settlement of Toronto began in 1793 when Lieutenant - Governor John Graves Simcoe sited a garrison on the present site of Historic Fort York. Civilian settlement followed and a community named York began to grow two kilometres east of the fort (eventually renamed Toronto in 1834). The original Fort was abandoned in 1797, and a new Fort was constructed on the opposite bank of Garrison Creek, slightly east of the present day Bathurst St bridge. In 1813 this Fort was destroyed during the American invasion, and subsequently British forces built a third fortification, on Simcoe’s original site, that stands to this day.

Fort York’s cannon and earthworks became obsolete in the 1880s, although the army continued to use the Fort for training, barracks, offices and storage until the 1930s. Fort York opened as an historic site museum in 1934.

Today, Historic Fort York is home to Canada's largest collection of original War of 1812 buildings. The Fort is open year round and offers a number of services, including tours, exhibits, period room settings and seasonal demonstrations. During the summer months, the site comes alive with the colour and pageantry of the Historic Fort York Guard. The Fort also provides a wide variety of education programs for groups of all ages.

For more information, please visit www.fortyork.ca

The modern Fort York Armoury is located close to Historic Fort York. It is a Canadian Forces Armoury that has housed The Queen’s York Rangers since 1936. Today it houses the Regimental Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron and the Regimental Assault Troop (call sign 60.)

Aurora Armoury

The Aurora Armoury has been home to the Rangers since the late nineteenth century. Soon to be replaced by a newer facility, the Aurora Armoury was commemorated with a plaque from the Ontario Heritage Trust in 2007. The plaque reads:

“Built in 1874 as a drill shed for the 12th Battalion of Infantry or York Rangers, the Aurora Armoury was part of a network of defence training facilities for citizen soldiers. It evokes the larger stories and traditions of the province's militia regiments, recruited regionally, and possessing close affiliations with their communities of origin. The armoury was also the site of Edward Blake's famous "Aurora speech" of 1874, in which the prominent politician and former Ontario premier called upon the federal government of Liberal Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie to implement nationalistic and electoral reforms. The speech exemplifies how drill halls and armouries fulfil civic roles in the lives of their communities. The oldest purpose-built armoury still used by the military in Ontario, the Aurora drill shed is home to elements of The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (RCAC).”

View an image of the plaque