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  #16  
Old 14-11-11, 07:05 PM
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Default The Regimental Weed?

True enough I suppose Bill, but the colour range also extends to the red as well and... it's a noxious weed (no matter how lovely it's still a weed). I think your original idea of the Prairie Crocus is more accurate. The ones that came up in our yard and nearby in Nose Creek this year were quite a dark purple at first, they then fade to pale lavender after a few days of hot sun exposure.
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  #17  
Old 14-11-11, 09:17 PM
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True enough I suppose Bill, but the colour range also extends to the red as well and... it's a noxious weed (no matter how lovely it's still a weed). I think your original idea of the Prairie Crocus is more accurate. The ones that came up in our yard and nearby in Nose Creek this year were quite a dark purple at first, they then fade to pale lavender after a few days of hot sun exposure.
Noxious? Weed? It is not! Purple loosestrife, yellow clematis and toadflax are noxious weeds -- poor old fireweed is a genuine native flower with an important ecological purpose:

"This herb is often abundant in wet calcareous to slightly acidic soils in open fields, pastures, and particularly burned-over lands; the name Fireweed derives from the species' abundance as a coloniser on burnt sites after forest fires. Its tendency to quickly colonize open areas with little competition, such as sites of forest fires and forest clearings, makes it a clear example of a pioneer species. Plants grow and flower as long as there is open space and plenty of light, as trees and brush grow larger the plants die out, but the seeds remain viable in the soil seed bank for many years, when a new fire or other disturbance occurs that opens up the ground to light again the seeds germinate. Some areas with heavy seed counts in the soil, after burning, can be covered with pure dense stands of this species and when in flower the landscape is turned into fields of color."

So there! If not for fireweed, our bare, wet, calcareous, slightly acid, burned out, clear-cut Alberta woodlands would be full of nothing at all.

Now Alan has to change the name of the forum to the British & Commonwealth Military Badge & Flowering Plants Forum.

BTW: how was the APCR reunion at the deli in TO?
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  #18  
Old 14-11-11, 10:43 PM
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I stand corrected David, I was confusing fireweed with purple loosestrife, but in my own defense... it does have WEED in the name... noxious or otherwise.

Bill A... I'd still go with the Crocus.

As for the Kangaroo reunion... it was very good, the liveliest one we've had in years actually! And I shall post a synopsis and photo of a very unusual artifact that came my way this past weekend in the appropriate "Canadian Cavalry" section a little later.
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  #19  
Old 08-10-13, 04:01 PM
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Made an interesting discovery today. The Coloured Field Service Cap adopted by the South Saskatchewan Regiment had a purple flap, the same colour as used for the shoulder titles.
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Old 08-10-13, 08:13 PM
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Made an interesting discovery today. The Coloured Field Service Cap adopted by the South Saskatchewan Regiment had a purple flap, the same colour as used for the shoulder titles.
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  #21  
Old 08-10-13, 08:42 PM
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Unfortunately, the owner didn't guide the enquiry in that direction....
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  #22  
Old 09-10-13, 02:24 PM
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Two steps forward, one back. Having gone through the Coloured Field Service Cap pages at Service Publications, I am not any closer to knowing the reason why the purple/mauve colour was chosen. Begging the original question, what significance does the purple have for the South Saskatchewan Regiment?
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  #23  
Old 22-01-14, 08:52 PM
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Another kick at this. Could the colour be representative of the prairie rose? Or is there a connection to the Warwickshire or Border Regts?
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  #24  
Old 23-01-14, 01:33 AM
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Came across something today. Could the South Sask's title be based on the colour of the fireweed flower? The colour appears to be consistent with that of the SSR.



The Yukon Regiment based their flashes on the fireweed, and I've seen reference to "fireweed red." I am sure collectors will notice the difference in shade from the Yukon Regiment's titles, and the SSRs?

Is this the same fireweed?
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