The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada is a Primary Reserve regiment of the Canadian Armed Forces, based in Toronto. The regiment is part of 4th Canadian Division's 32 Canadian Brigade Group. It is the only reserve regiment in Canada to currently have a parachute role. The regiment consists of the reserve battalion, the Regimental Association, and the Regimental Band and Bugles. The official abbreviation is The QOR of C, but the name is often abbreviated to QOR.

The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada parade out of Moss Park Armoury in downtown Toronto. The unit motto is : in peace prepared.

Regimental structure The Reserve battalion is made up of the following companies: Battalion Headquarters & Signals Company 60th Company (Moss Park Armoury) Buffs Company (Moss Park Armoury) Parachute Company (airborne infantry) Victoria Company (combat support and combat service support) Normandy Company (training depot and battle school staff) Regimental Band & Bugles Gurkha Company (training and recruitment company)

Lineage April 26, 1860 – Second Battalion Volunteer Militia Rifles of Canada March 18, 1863 – Second Battalion Volunteer Militia Rifles of Canada or Queen's Own Rifles of Toronto January 13, 1882 – 2nd Battalion, Queen's Own Rifles of Canada May 8, 1900 – 2nd Regiment Queen's Own Rifles of Canada May 1, 1920 – The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada November 7, 1941 – 2nd (Reserve) Battalion, The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada May 14, 1946 – The Queen's Own Rifles of CanadaCanadian Forces Publication A-DH-267-003 Insignia and Lineages of the Canadian Forces. Volume 3: Combat Arms Regiments.

On October 16, 1953, it was amalgamated with the Regular Army 1st Canadian Rifle Battalion and 2nd Canadian Rifle Battalion. The 1st Canadian Rifle Battalion and 2nd Canadian Rifle Battalion became the 1st and 2nd Battalions, respectively, of The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, while the Reserve component was designated as the 3rd Battalion. On September 15, 1968, the 2nd Battalion was reduced to nil strength and transferred to the Supplementary Order of Battle. On April 27, 1970, the 1st Battalion was reduced to nil strength and transferred to the Supplementary Order of Battle, with most of the unit's personnel and equipment transferred to the newly formed 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI), and the Reserve Force battalion automatically became the new home station of the regiment.

Lineage chart

Role The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada are the only Primary Reserve unit in Canada with a parachute tasking.The Airborne Role Retrieved March 14, 2011 The unit has qualified Parachute Instructors, Drop Zone/Landing Zone Controllers and Jumpmasters. Members also take courses in helicopter operations, aerial delivery, and as Recce and Advanced Mountain Operations Instructors. Members of The QOR have also been sent on the Patrol Pathfinder Course. Qualified personnel in jump positions are allowed the honour of wearing the maroon beret. Trained soldiers are addressed as Riflemen.

The Queen's Own Rifles have a long-standing support role with the Canadian Army Advanced Warfare Centre, where QOR parachute instructors and other personnel on staff instruct on and support parachuting courses. The unit currently supplies a company(-) of paratroopers to the 3 RCR parachute company when required.

The battalion deploys by parachute on numerous Field Training Exercises during the year and during divisional exercises during the summer.

The Canadian Forces SkyHawks Parachute Demonstration Team has also had support from The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, with several members joining the elite demonstration team.

History

The 2nd Battalion, Volunteer Militia Rifles of Canada was formed on April 26, 1860, predating the Confederation of Canada. Its first commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel William Smith Durie."Military Museum Brings Colorful History To Life" Calgary Herald. April 25, 1960

During the Trent Affair of 1862, William Mulock asked John McCaul, the head of University College (part of the University of Toronto), to call a student meeting that led to the formation of the University Rifle Company of volunteers, 9 Company of The Queen's Own Rifles of Toronto, later K Company of The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada. University of Toronto professor Henry Holmes Croft was a member and was its captain.

It was re-designated as the Second Battalion Volunteer Militia Rifles of Canada or Queen's Own Rifles of Toronto on March 18, 1863.

The name was chosen to honour Queen Victoria.

Fenian Raids The Queen's Own Rifles of Toronto were called out on active service from March 8 to 31 and from June 1 to 22, 1866. The battalion fought on the Niagara frontier. The Queen's Own Rifles first saw combat and sustained nine killed in action during the Battle of Ridgeway in 1866, where they and the 13th Volunteer Infantry Battalion (The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry) were routed by a massive force of better armed Fenian insurgents who were U.S. Civil War veterans.

It was renamed as 2nd Battalion, Queen's Own Rifles of Canada on January 13, 1882.

North-West Rebellion During the North-West Rebellion, the 2nd Battalion, Queen's Own Rifles of Canada mobilized detachments for active service on April 10, 1885. They served with General William Otter's column and fought in the Battle of Cut Knife. They were removed from active service on July 24, 1885.

South African War It was named the 2nd Regiment Queen's Own Rifles of Canada on 8 May 1900. The regiment contributed volunteers for the Canadian Contingents, mainly the 2nd (Special Service) Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry. The Second Boer War was the first time that soldiers from the regiment fought on foreign soil. They were recognized for their service and earned a battle honour for the regiment, even though they were not allowed to wear the QOR cap badge in South Africa.

Great War Details of the regiment were placed on active service on August 6, 1914, for local protection duties. In the First World War, none of the existing militia infantry regiments in Canada were formally mobilized. In 1914 The Queen's Own formed the 3rd Canadian Battalion (Toronto Regiment), CEF. The 3rd Battalion, CEF was authorized on August 10, 1914, and embarked for Britain on September 26, 1914. It disembarked in France on February 11, 1915, and fought as part of the 1st Infantry Brigade, 1st Canadian Division, in France and Flanders until the end of the war. The battalion was disbanded on August 30, 1920.

Later in the war, The Queen's Own Rifles recruited for additional Canadian Expeditionary Force battalions, which did not enter combat as units, but supplied reinforcements to the Canadian Corps.

The 83rd Battalion (Queen's Own Rifles of Canada) was authorized on July 10, 1915, and embarked for Britain on April 28, 1916. It provided reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field until July 7, 1916, when its personnel were absorbed by the 12th Reserve Battalion, CEF. The battalion was subsequently disbanded on May 21, 1917.

The 95th Battalion (Queen's Own Rifles of Canada) was authorized on December 22, 1915, and embarked for Britain on May 31, 1916. It provided reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field until January 24, 1917, when its personnel were absorbed by the 5th Reserve Battalion, CEF, and was disbanded on July 17, 1917.

The 166th Battalion (Queen's Own Rifles of Canada) was authorized on December 22, 1915, and embarked for Britain on October 12 and 17, 1916. It provided reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field until January 8, 1917, when its personnel were absorbed by the 12th Reserve Battalion, CEF. The battalion was disbanded on September 15, 1917.

The 198th Battalion (Canadian Buffs) was authorized on July 15, 1916, and embarked for Britain on March 28, 1917. It provided reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field until March 9, 1918, when its personnel were absorbed by the 3rd Reserve Battalion, CEF. The battalion was then disbanded on November 29, 1918.

The 255th Battalion (Queen's Own Rifles of Canada) was authorized on May 1, 1917, and embarked for Britain on June 6, 1917. On June 12, 1917, its personnel were absorbed by the 12th Reserve Battalion, CEF to provide reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field. The battalion was disbanded on September 1, 1917.

The Queen's Own Rifles have perpetuated the traditions and battle honours of the 3rd Battalion, 83rd Battalion, 95th Battalion, 166th Battalion, 198th Battalion, and 255th Battalion, CEF. Both the QOR and The Royal Regiment of Canada perpetuate the 3rd Battalion.

Between the wars It was designated "The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada" on May 1, 1920.

Second World War The regiment mobilized for active service on May 24, 1940. It was then redesignated as the 1st Battalion, The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, CASF on November 7, 1940. The unit served in Newfoundland (at the time a separate Dominion) in the defence of two strategic airfields at Botwood and Gander in Newfoundland from August 10 to December 15, 1940. After a build-up and training period, the unit embarked for Britain on July 19, 1941. The regiment mobilized the 3rd Battalion, The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, CASF for active service on May 12, 1942. It served in Canada in a home defence role as part of the 20th Infantry Brigade, 7th Canadian Infantry Division. The battalion was disbanded on August 15, 1943.

For the Invasion of Normandy, the regiment landed in Normandy, France, as part of the 8th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division. The first major combat operations were on D-day June 6, 1944. The Queen's Own Rifles landed on "Nan" sector of Juno Beach and with the support of tanks of the Fort Garry HorseBeevor D-Day Viking 2009 London, p132 captured the strategic seaside resort town of Bernières-sur-Mer. The battalion fought its way to its D-Day objective – the village of Anisy inland, the only regiment to reach its assigned objective that day. The QOR had the highest casualties amongst the Canadian regiments, with 143 killed, wounded or captured. As well as losses in the initial landing, the reserve companies' landing craft struck mines as they approached the beach.

In the battle for Caen, the QOR – as part of the 8th Infantry Brigade – participated in Operation Windsor to capture the airfield at Carpiquet which was defended by a detachment from the 12th SS Panzer-Division Hitler Jugend. The Germans inflicted heavy casualties and Panzer-grenadiers attempted to recapture the village.Beevor p265–267

During the war, 463 riflemen were killed in action and almost 900 were wounded as they fought through Normandy, Northern France, and into Belgium and the Netherlands, where they liberated the crucial Channel ports. Sixty more members of the regiment were killed while serving with other units in Hong Kong, Italy and northwest Europe. The overseas battalion was disbanded on November 30, 1945.

On June 1, 1945, a third Active Force battalion, designated the 4th Battalion, The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, CIC, CAOF, was mobilized for service with the Canadian Army Occupation Force in Germany. The battalion was disbanded on May 14, 1946.

In October 1953, the status of the regiment was upgraded, and it was made a part of the Regular Force. The regiment consisted of two Regular Force battalions and the Reserve (Third) battalion in Toronto until 1968. There was also a regimental depot in Calgary.

Korea The 2nd Battalion, commanded by LCol W.H.V. Matthews, served in Korea following the armistice from 26 March 54 to April 6, 1955.

The following members of the 2nd Battalion died in Korea:

Rifleman Norman Philip Ferland, March 31, 1954. Lt Neil MacDonald Anderson, August 25, 1954. Sgt Gerald Walter Koch, August 4, 1954. Lt Milton Cameron Vipond March 18, 1955. Rifleman George Peter Reid, June 11, 1955.