The Governor General's Horse Guards
Encyclopedia
The Governor General's Horse Guards is an armoured
Armoured warfare
Armoured warfare or tank warfare is the use of armoured fighting vehicles in modern warfare. It is a major component of modern methods of war....
reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
in the Primary Reserve of the Canadian Army, part of Land Force Central Area
Land Force Central Area
Land Force Central Area is responsible for the administration of the Canadian Army in the province of Ontario, from the Quebec border to the northern Lakehead region...
's 32 Canadian Brigade Group
32 Canadian Brigade Group
32 Canadian Brigade Group is part of Land Force Central Area, under the Canadian Army. It is centered around the Greater Toronto Area, as well as Grey and Simcoe Counties...
. Based in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, it is the most senior reserve regiment in Canada, and the only Household Cavalry
Household Cavalry
The term Household Cavalry is used across the Commonwealth to describe the cavalry of the Household Divisions, a country’s most elite or historically senior military groupings or those military groupings that provide functions associated directly with the Head of state.Canada's Governor General's...
regiment of Canada's three Household
Household Division
Household Division is a term used principally in the Commonwealth of Nations to describe a country’s most elite or historically senior military units, or those military units that provide ceremonial or protective functions associated directly with the head of state.-Historical Development:In...
units. They are the armoured equivalent to the Governor General's Foot Guards
Governor General's Foot Guards
The Governor General's Foot Guards is one of three Household regiments in the Primary Reserve of the Canadian Army, along with The Governor General's Horse Guards and the Canadian Grenadier Guards. The GGFG is the most senior militia infantry regiment in Canada."Civitas et Princeps Cura Nostra" is...
.
Structure
The regiment maintains a traditional structure, with squadrons for combat, training, ceremony, administration, and youth engagement.A Squadron
The Field Squadron is tasked to maintain no fewer than two armoured reconnaissance troopTroop
A troop is a military unit, originally a small force of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron and headed by the troop leader. In many armies a troop is the equivalent unit to the infantry section or platoon...
s, using the Mercedes-Benz G-Class
Mercedes-Benz G-Class
The original 460-series Geländewagen went on sale for civilian buyers in 1979, after having debuted in February of that year. It was offered with two wheelbases, a short wheelbase of 2,400 mm and a long one of 2,850 mm. One could choose between three body styles: A two-door short...
.
B Squadron
The Training Squadron develops soldiers to serve in their respective roles. This includes personal development through the completion of preliminary trade courses (BMQ/SQ/DP1&2), and playing the role of an enemy opposing force against the Field Squadron in unit-level training field exercises.Cavalry Squadron
The CavalryCavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
Squadron provides a horse-mounted presence at public and regimental events.
Band
The full brass and reed military bandMilitary band
A military band originally was a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the title of Bandmaster or Director of Music...
provides concerts and music for regimental functions. The band includes three specialized musical sub-units: the Fanfare Trumpeters, the Brass Quintet, and the Woodwind Quintet.
Battle honours
- North West Canada 1885North-West RebellionThe North-West Rebellion of 1885 was a brief and unsuccessful uprising by the Métis people of the District of Saskatchewan under Louis Riel against the Dominion of Canada...
, South Africa 1900Second Boer WarThe Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State... - World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
: Mount Sorrel, Somme 1916Battle of the Somme (1916)The Battle of the Somme , also known as the Somme Offensive, took place during the First World War between 1 July and 14 November 1916 in the Somme department of France, on both banks of the river of the same name...
, Flers-CourceletteBattle of Flers-CourceletteThe Battle of Flers-Courcelette, was a battle within the Franco-British Somme Offensive which took place in the summer and autumn of 1916. Launched on the 15th of September 1916 the battle went on for one week. Flers-Courcelette began with the overall objective of cutting a hole in the German...
, Ancre HeightsBattle of the Ancre HeightsThe Battle of the Ancre Heights was a prolonged battle of attrition in October 1916 during the Battle of the Somme. Lieutenant General Hubert Gough's Reserve Army had finally managed to break out of the positions it had occupied since the start of the Somme fighting and Gough intended to maintain...
, Arras 1917Battle of Arras (1917)The Battle of Arras was a British offensive during the First World War. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British, Canadian, New Zealand, Newfoundland, and Australian troops attacked German trenches near the French city of Arras on the Western Front....
'18, Vimy 1917Battle of Vimy RidgeThe Battle of Vimy Ridge was a military engagement fought primarily as part of the Battle of Arras, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the Canadian Corps, of four divisions, against three divisions of the German Sixth Army...
, Hill 70Battle of Hill 70The Battle of Hill 70 was a localized battle of World War I between the Canadian Corps and five divisions of the German Sixth Army. The battle took place along the Western Front on the outskirts of Lens in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France between 15 August 1917 and 25 August 1917.The primary...
, Ypres 1917, Passchendaele, Amiens, Scarpe 1918, Hindenburg LineBattle of the Hindenburg LineThe Battle of St Quentin Canal was a pivotal battle of World War I that began on 29 September 1918 and involved British, Australian and American forces in the spearhead attack and as a single combined force against the German Siegfried Stellung of the Hindenburg Line...
, Canal du NordBattle of the Canal du NordThe Battle of Canal du Nord was part of a general Allied offensive against German positions on the Western Front during the Hundred Days Offensive of World War I. The battle took place in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, along an incomplete portion of the Canal du Nord and on the outskirts...
, Cambrai 1918Battle of Cambrai (1918)The Battle of Cambrai was a battle between troops of the British First, Third and Fourth Armies and German Empire forces during the Hundred Days Offensive of the First World War. The battle took place in and around the French city of Cambrai, between 8 and 10 October 1918...
, Valenciennes, SambreBattle of the Sambre (1918)The Second Battle of the Sambre was part of the final European Allied offensives of World War I.-Background:...
, France and Flanders 1915-18Western Front (World War I)Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne... - Second World War: Liri Valley, Melfa Crossing, Gothic Line, Lamone Crossing, Misano Ridge, Fosso Munio, Italy 1944-45, IJsselmeerIJsselmeerIJsselmeer is a shallow artificial lake of 1100 km² in the central Netherlands bordering the provinces of Flevoland, North Holland and Friesland, with an average depth of 5 to 6 m. The IJsselmeer is the largest lake in Western Europe....
, North-West Europe 1945
Lineage
- Button's Troop - 1810 (founded in Markham, OntarioMarkham, OntarioMarkham is a town in the Regional Municipality of York, located within the Greater Toronto Area of Southern Ontario, Canada. The population was 261,573 at the 2006 Canadian census...
by Captain John Button) - Denison's Troop - 1822 (founded in Toronto by George Taylor DenisonGeorge Taylor DenisonLieutenant-Colonel George Taylor Denison III was a Canadian soldier and publicist.He was born in Toronto, and educated at Upper Canada College. In 1861 he was called to the bar, and was from 1865-1867 a member of the city council...
) - Governor General's Body Guard - 1866
- The Mississauga Horse - 1901
- The Governor General's Horse Guards - 1936 (formed by amalgamation of the Governor General's Body Guard and the Mississauga Horse)
Alliances
- The Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons)Blues and Royals
The Blues and Royals is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. The Colonel-in-Chief is Her Majesty The Queen and the Colonel is HRH The Princess Royal...
- 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards
1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards
1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards is a cavalry regiment of the British Army. Nicknamed The Welsh Cavalry, the regiment recruits from Wales, Herefordshire, and Shropshire, and is the senior cavalry regiment, and therefore senior regiment, of the line of the British Army...
Perpetuating
- Governor General's Body Guards
- 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles (CEF)
- 7th Canadian Mounted Rifles (CEF)
- 216th Battalion (Bantams), CEF
- Mississauga Horse
Notable members
- HNR JackmanHenry N. R. JackmanHenry Newton Rowell "Hal" Jackman, OC, O.Ont, CD , served as the 25th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1991 to 1997....
, Honorary Colonel - TW HolmesThomas William HolmesThomas William Holmes VC was a soldier in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest military award for gallantry in the face of the enemy given to British and Commonwealth forces, during the First World War...
, Victoria Cross honorand
See also
- Household DivisionHousehold DivisionHousehold Division is a term used principally in the Commonwealth of Nations to describe a country’s most elite or historically senior military units, or those military units that provide ceremonial or protective functions associated directly with the head of state.-Historical Development:In...
- Household CavalryHousehold CavalryThe term Household Cavalry is used across the Commonwealth to describe the cavalry of the Household Divisions, a country’s most elite or historically senior military groupings or those military groupings that provide functions associated directly with the Head of state.Canada's Governor General's...
- Governor General's Foot GuardsGovernor General's Foot GuardsThe Governor General's Foot Guards is one of three Household regiments in the Primary Reserve of the Canadian Army, along with The Governor General's Horse Guards and the Canadian Grenadier Guards. The GGFG is the most senior militia infantry regiment in Canada."Civitas et Princeps Cura Nostra" is...
- Canadian Grenadier Guards
- Canadian Guards