Badges of The Royal Canadian Regiment
The Queen's Guard at Buckingham Palace, Public Duties, 2018

RCR Accoutrements for Public Duties, 2018

Notes and References

In 2018, the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment, provided the Queen's Guard at Buckingham Palace. The RCR performed these Public Duties responsibilities from 21 October to 12 November, 1918. Music on parade was provided by the Royal Canadian Artilery Band.

For this task, a set of RCR accoutrements were created to ensure uniformity and to meet specific requirements. These included a locket belt buckle matching the width of the belt on the grey woolen greatcoats worn by the guard in inclement weather. The shoulder titles were made with screwposts vice pins.

Extract from Pro Patria 2018, the regimental journal of The Royal Canadian Regiment (pages 50-51):

"In the late fall N Coy [3RCR] was, once again, preparing to deploy internationally for an extended period of time. This time, the company was leading a group of soldiers from across The Regiment in assuming the ceremonial duties as the Queen's Guard as part of Canada's commitment to United Kingdom (UK) Public Duties. In doing so N Coy was to represent Canada in a high-profile setting and demonstrate The RCR's professionalism, dedication and commitment to dress and deportment on the international stage. As Queen's Guard, soldiers were charged with guarding the sovereign and the official royal residences in the UK to include Buckingham Palace, St. James's Palace, Windsor Castle, and the Tower of London. This took shape in two phases beginning in early fall with N Coy coordinating with each RCR battalion, Canadian Army, and the UK Household Division to create and prepare what would become The RCR Guard. Throughout the fall period, The RCR Guard, with assistance from UK military members from the Coldstream Guards and Irish Guards, spent long days practicing different parade sequences and preparing their personal uniforms in anticipation for their role. This culminated in early October with a full dress rehearsal in front of 2 CMBG and families. Shortly thereafter, The RCR Guard deployed to the UK to conduct final rehearsals. Before it could officially begin, however, the Guard had to pass one final inspection parade (or as it is known in the UK, "Fit for Role"), this time with the UK Household Division conducting the inspection. After many hours of practicing drill and polishing boots, The RCR Guard demonstrated they were ready to conduct Public Duties. The conduct of the Queen's Guard saw soldiers visit a variety of locations generally off-limits to the public and experience the lengthy military history and cultural dynamic of the UK. For many of the soldiers, this was their first experience outside of Canada with the military and proved to be a once in a lifetime experience. Throughout the deployment, the soldiers of the RCR Guard demonstrated the utmost professionalism and proved to be excellent ambassadors of Canada. Major Ben Lacey was even invited to Windsor Castle for a private audience with The Colonel-in-Chief of the Regiment, His Royal Highness, The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Together they discussed The Regiment, recent and ongoing operations, organizational changes, and the experience of performing UK Public Duties. His Royal Highness expressed his appreciation for The Regiment and everything we do and commended the The Regiment for their display of professionalism and drill during the mounting of the Queen's Guard. The Guard redeployed back to Garrison Petawawa mid-November and enjoyed a short, but well-deserved break. ... It was an outstanding year for N Coy during which our soldiers exceeded expectations as representatives of The Regiment and Canada."

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