More XII Dragoons
 

As a child of the Empire, Canada inherited the British regimental system, & its rich diversity of tradition & heraldry. There were very English regiments within the Canadian army; as well as those with Irish, Welsh & French roots. There were more Scottish regiments in Canada than in Scotland.

It would be hard to choose a favorite badge from amongst them. Any short list would have to include the badges of several regiments from the Canadian prairies. The rural prairies were mainly settled by eastern Europeans. These citizens & militiamen had little direct connection with conventional British heraldry. Some of the badges they created to represent themselves are quite unique, & in my estimation among the most distinctly "Canadian" patterns of the country's army.

Badge motifs featuring charging buffalos, bucking broncos, snarling wolves, etc. might make some military purists snort in derision. I think they're great. I'd describe them as 'loud & proud' - & very 'Canada'.

The badges shown are those of the Manitoba Dragoons:
The first pattern (1903-22 +-) in white metal by Scully, & in darkened copper by Gaunt.
The second pattern (1922-39) in voided gilt & silver officer's pattern by Gaunt. The OR's collars in this series were mirrored, but I have never seen a facing pair in officers.
The final pattern (1939 - 64) in OSD bronze & bullion embroidery; both circa WW2.

XII Manitoba Dragoons
 

Here Here! that is what drew me to this hobby, the animals that inhabited the area where the regiment was raised,appeared on their badges, and if you have ever been lucky enough to see a herd of prong horn antelope running wild across the high plains of Saskatchewan and Alberta,and Northern Montana, and North Dakota,you will appreciate those guys from the Weyburn Regt.who used that beautiful animal to grace their badge, and the Algonquin Regt. with that beautiful moosehead on it,eh Bill A. Canadian Army badges are the most beautiful of all of the worlds military badges. That is what will keep me in this hobby too. ;)

The Weyburn Regiment
 

This is both styles, one set is an officers set, and the others are or's. The next is The Great North American Bison of the Manitoba Volunteer Reserve.:cool:

Weyburn
 

Bill,
Are the officer badges silver over bronze? Beautiful!

Weyburn Regiment
 

Hi Doug, they are bi-metal, the bronze scroll is overlayed onto silver antelope,and pinned through, maker/marked "J.R.Gaunt/Montreal/made in England" (?), found them in a car trunk at a show in Toronto. The shine you see tends to be more camera flash than actual badge polish.

Weyburn-Warwickshire
 

One of my collecting interests is the Royal Warwickshire. The Weyburn badge is a great example of combining Canadian symbols with British Army traditions.