Topic: Tradition
Left: The Second World War period Tudor-crowned (i.e., colloquially named King's crown) badge of the Royal Regiment of Canada. Right: The drumhead ceremony of the 2012 Sorrel Day parade of the Royal Regiment of Canada.
Ontario Regiment in U.K. Observes Annual Sorrel Day
Ottawa Citizen; 2 July 1941
By Ross Munro, Canadian press War Correspondent
Somewhere in England
July 1.—Even in the defensive areas with the overseas army, a central Ontario regiment remembered its annual Sorrel Day ceremony which has been traditional since 1917.
With a drumhead service in its camp here and regimental ceremonial which is infrequent in England, the regiment commemorated the 1916 victory at Mount Sorrel, near Ypres, of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Battalion, one of the battalions which the present regiment perpetuates.
At Mount Sorrel, the 3rd Battalion won special mention but lost 16 officers and 412 men out of 650 engaged.
Since 1917, a sprig of wood-sorrel has been worn by all ranks on this day, except in 1940 when the battalion was en route to serve in Iceland before joining the Canadian corps in England. This year the tradition was followed as usual.
Brilliant color and stirring martial music was provided by the Royal Marines Band.
Presents Sorrel
Before the service and the march past, with Maj.-Gen. Victor Odlum, 2nd Division Commander taking the salute, Mrs. A.G.L. McNaughton, wife of the corps commander, presented boxes of sorrel to warrant officers, under R.S.M. Eric Gaiger of Toronto, to be distributed to the men, and personally gave each officer his sprig of this green, three-leaf plant.
All ranks wore the sorrel in the buckles of their steel helmets instead of on forage caps as in previous ceremonies. This was the first time since the last war that they observed the day in full battle kit.
A large number of senior Canadian officers attended and among the civilian visitors was Sir Eustace Fiennes, a British barrister who fought with the regiment at Batoche in the 1885 Northwest Rebellion. He is 77.
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