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Theoretically, if a an infantry unit or armour unit is converted to an engineer or artillery unit, what happens to its colours and battle honours?
Chapter 5 - COLOURS
SECTION 1
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
20. Colour-bearing units converted to units of The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery or the Military Engineering Branch may continue to hold and parade their Colours when the unit is parading alone on exclusively unit occasions and no non-unit personnel are present in an official capacity (see note below). These Colours shall not be maintained or replaced at public, non-public or private expense. In all other cases, and when the above are worn out, units converted to non-Colour-bearing status shall lay up their Colours at the time of the conversion.
NOTE
Colour-bearing units converted to artillery or army field engineer retain the right to parade their Colour as, by definition, The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery also possesses Colours (see paragraph 5 above) and, along with the Military Engineering Branch, have been awarded an honorary distinction "to take the place of all past and future battle honours and distinctions gained in the field." (See Chapter 3, Section 2, paragraph 10.)
SECTION 2
RETIREMENT AND DISPOSAL OF COLOURS
7. Colours in possession of a unit shall be deposited or laid-up:
a. when a unit is to be disbanded or made dormant;
b. when units are amalgamated or redesignated and the old Colours are no longer to be carried, but only after new Colours have been obtained;
c. when a unit cannot provide a suitable Canadian based rear-party and is assigned to the Special Force on mobilization and warned for active service duty outside of Canada, or when a unit is ordered on active operations, including United Nations, NATO, international and other peacekeeping-type missions; and
d. when a unit is converted or re-roled to a non-Colour-bearing unit (see Section 1, paragraph 20).
RETIREMENT AND DISPOSAL OF COLOURS
SECTION 2
OWNERSHIP AND CONTROL
1. All Colours which have been consecrated and
presented to a unit of the Canadian Forces (CF),
whether donated or provided at public expense, are and
remain Crown property in perpetuity, and are controlled
by the Department of National Defence on behalf of the
Canadian government. The Colours are memorials to
the brave deeds and sacrifices of the units and
individuals who serve under them. If deposited or laidup,
they are the responsibility of the custodian and must
remain accessible to the public. Formal permission
from National Defence Headquarters (NDHQ)/Director
History and Heritage (DHH) is required before removal
for any purpose.
2. Custodians shall ensure that laid-up and
deposited Colours are kept on display to the general
public. They may not be stored or displayed in
unaccessible areas, e.g. stored in sliding drawers in
museum curatorial spaces with restricted access for
scholarly research purposes only.
3. Under no circumstances are Colours or
portions of Colours allowed to pass into the possession
of private individuals. If the custodian can no longer
preserve them, they must be returned to NDHQ/DHH
for disposal, unless mutually satisfactory arrangements
can be made with the unit and DHH.
4. When Colours are honourably retired and laidup,
they are left to decay and disintegrate, normally on
their pikes or lances, until they cease to exist. Although
the custodian may preserve the Colours under glass or
otherwise handle them to retard disintegration, they
shall never be restored. To do so would be akin to
creating facsimiles of the consecrated originals.
Although there are instances of replicas being made of
Colours, NDHQ will not authorize their use or
production. If replicas are identified, they must be
clearly marked for historical or display purposes.They
cannot be consecrated, carried or deposited, and they
are not entitled to the honours accorded consecrated
Colours.
5. Pieces which become detached while a Colour
is laid-up, lose their sacred status and shall be burnt to
ashes (see Section 1, Paragraph 39). Pikes, cords and
pike heads for laid-up Colours shall not be replaced
from public, non-public or private funds.
6. Serviceable Colours of a disbanded unit remain
the property of the Crown and may be reactivated
should the unit be reconstituted. In such case, DHH
shall issue instructions through command headquarters
to ensure that Colours can be reclaimed from the
custody of those persons entrusted with deposit.
PROCEDURE
7. Colours in possession of a unit shall be
deposited or laid-up:
a. when a unit is to be disbanded or made
dormant;
b. when units are amalgamated or redesignated
and the old Colours are no longer to be
carried, but only after new Colours have been
obtained;
c. when a unit cannot provide a suitable Canadian
based rear-party and is assigned to the Special
Force on mobilization and warned for active
service duty outside of Canada, or when a unit
is ordered on active operations, including
United Nations, NATO, international and other
peacekeeping-type missions; and
d. when a unit is converted or re-roled to a non-
Colour-bearing unit (see Section 1,
paragraph 20).
8. In addition, when Colours are replaced for
reasons of non-serviceability, the old Colours shall be
disposed of in a laying-up ceremony as detailed in
A-PD-201-000/PT-000, Manual of Drill and Ceremonial.
9. Lay-up shall be in either a sacred or public
building, in accordance with unit preference. Churches,
legislative buildings and city halls are most common. A
military museum which is generally open to the public
is acceptable as a public building; an officers' mess is
not. DHH will give further guidance on request if
necessary.
10. When Colours have been deposited or laid-up,
a report shall be forwarded through normal channels to
NDHQ/DHH, which shall include:
a. the nature of the Colour(s) deposited and date;
b. the name and location of the building in which
deposited;
c. the custodian (e.g., church, municipal, county,
provincial or federal authority);
d. certification that the custodian has been fully
briefed regarding ownership and procedure
issues, and is aware that deposited Colours
may be reactivated; and
e. verification that the location is in accordance
with unit preference.
11. Commanding officers of units depositing
Colours shall ensure that the custodian is provided with
a copy of sections 1 and 2 to this chapter.
12. In a church:
a. Colours are normally laid up in the nave or
body of a church rather than the sanctuary,
which is usually used for temporarily deposited
Colours.
b. In a sanctuary, Colours shall be positioned to
face the congregation, with the sanctuary's
right (its left as seen by the congregation) the
position of honour. Thus a Standard, Guidon or
the Queen's Colour of a stand of Colours shall
be placed on an altar's right (congregation's
left), with the command/college/regimental
Colour of a stand of Colours on the left.
c. In the nave, directions are reversed. The right
side of the congregation is the honour side, and
the Queen's Colour will be placed on that side,
with a command/college/regimental Colour
placed on the left.
d. If circumstances require a single stand of
Colours to be laid up side-by-side, the Queen's
Colour shall be nearest the alter.
e. If unconsecrated flags are permanently
displayed in a church for commemorative
purposes, they may be displayed anywhere the
church authorities deem proper, bearing in
mind the dignity and precedence of the flags
involved and the presence of any Colour. In
general, if both consecrated Colours and other
flags are permanently located in a church, the
Colours should be grouped on the right
(honour) side and forward in the nave, and the
other flags on the left side of the nave and
behind (rearward) of the Colours. For example,
if the Queen's Colour of Maritime Command is
to be laid up in the same church where a
Maritime Command Flag is to be permanently
displayed for commemorative purposes, the
former would be hung on the right side of the
nave and the latter on the left.
f. If unconsecrated flags are to be permanently
displayed for commemorative purposed in a
church, only a simple ceremony should be
used to prevent confusion with the honours
accorded consecrated Colours.
13. In a public building, a stand of Colours shall be
placed in accordance with normal protocol; e.g., the
Queen's Colour shall be on its own right.
14. Colours deposited or laid-up simultaneously in
a church or public building shall be positioned in
accordance with normal precedence.
15. After Colours have been laid-up, they are
considered memorials and are not normally displaced
by Colours laid-up later, e.g., by the Colours if a
regiment senior in precedence to the one whose
Colours were originally laid-up. Laid-up Colours
become extremely brittle and delicate over time.
Custodians should ensure that they are disturbed as
little as possible to extend their life. See also
paragraphs 1 to 6.
reccecrewman said:so, why can't the Windsor Regiment carry battle honours those Regiments earned with the assistance of the Windsors crewman????
Hmmm...GGHG_Cadet said:My affiliated regiment, the Governor General's Horse Guards carry a standard, what is the difference between a standard and a guidon?