Regimental Headquarters

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Titles

In 1893 Queen Victoria conferred the title “Royal” on the artillery units of Canada, whose title thus became “The Royal  Canadian Artillery”.  

The entire Regiment was re-designated “The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery” on 29 October 1956.

The official abbreviation is RCA.  

The title exists in both official languages as: 
     The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery
     Le Régiment royal de l’Artillerie canadienne

The designation Royal Canadian Horse Artillery (RCHA) was first adopted in Canada in 1905.

In 1952-53, it was decided that all field artillery regiments of the Regular Force would be units of the RCHA and all other artillery units would be RCA.

Precedence

Precedence for units of The Royal Regiment is set out in this section.  

On mounted parades, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery units take precedence over all units of the land force except formed bodies of Officer Cadets of the Royal Military College of Canada representing the College. RCHA units, when on parade with their guns, take the Right of the Line and march past at the head of all units of the land force.

Other units of The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery take precedence immediately following units of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps.

The following general rules apply to establishing precedence within The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery:  

Regular Force in numerical sequence by units and alphabetical sequence by batteries; Reserve Force in numerical sequence by units and batteries; Operational and combat units take precedence over training schools; 
Where further definition is required, the following orders of precedence apply:

Field artillery; Heavy artillery; Missile artillery (surface to surface); Locating (target acquisition); Air defence guns; Air defence missiles; and Headquarters;

Battle Honours, Mottos and Arms

The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery has two mottos:

“Ubique” (Everywhere) This takes the place of all battle honours in recognition of the artillery’s service in all battles and campaigns. 

“Quo Fas et Gloria Ducunt” (Whither Right and Glory Lead).  

In 1832, King William IV of England granted the Royal Regiment of Artillery the right to wear on their appointments the royal arms and supporters over a cannon with the motto, “Ubique Quo Fas et Gloria Ducunt” (Everywhere Whither Right and Glory Lead). The next year (1833), the order was amended to make clear that “Ubique” and “Quo Fas et Gloria Ducunt” were two separate mottos. 

Royal Canadian Horse Artillery units are distinguished by the presence of the Royal Cypher on their regimental flags. The motto on the cypher is “Honi soit qui mal y pense” (“Evil be to him who evil thinks”), and is the motto of the Order of the Garter, not an artillery motto.

The Home Station

CFB Shilo is the Home Station of The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery.  It is located approximately two hours west of the City of Winnipeg Manitoba.  The Canadian Army has had a continual presence in the CFB Shilo area since 1910.

CFB Shilo became home station of Gunners of all branches of The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery in 1960.

The Royal Canadian Artillery Museum and The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery Regimental Headquarters are located at the Home Station.

The Captain General

The Captain-General is the ceremonial head of the Royal Regiment of Artillery and The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery. The Captain General is Queen Elizabeth II.

How the title came to be
During a guest night at Woolwich in December 1950, His Majesty King George VI expressed a desire to change his title from Colonel-in-Chief to Captain-General. This change in title was effected on 26 January 1951, thus reviving an old rank, which dates from the fifteenth century. The rank of Captain-General had been replaced by that of Field Marshal in 1736 although it did not actually disappear from common usage until about 1799.

The Royal Canadian Artillery requested that His Majesty change his Canadian title as he had done for the Royal Artillery, and on 10 January 1952, His Majesty became the Captain-General of The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery.

The Colonel Commandant

The office of Colonel Commandant is an honorary one. It symbolizes the Regimental family and traditions drawing together all its members: serving and retired; regular and reserve.

Distinguished retired officers of The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery, normally in the rank of Colonel or above, are eligible for the appointment of Colonel Commandant. After consultation with artillery units, senior gunner officers, the Artillery Council and the Royal Canadian Artillery Association, the Director of Artillery submits a recommendation for the appointment of Colonel Commandant to the Chief of the Defence Staff.  

The Chief of the Defence Staff then submits the recommendation to the Minister of National Defence for approval. The appointment is then authorized by the Governor General.

It is the duty of the Colonel Commandant to:

    foster esprit-de-corps throughout the Regiment;

    provide the channel of communication to the Captain-General and to the Master Gunner St. 
    James’s Park;

    The Colonel Commandant and the Master Gunner, St. James’s Park form the link between The 
     Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery and the Royal Regiment of Artillery. The Master Gunner, 
     St. James’s Park is the head of the Royal Regiment of Artillery in all regimental matters, and 
     traditionally, as the Sovereign’s advisor on artillery matters, takes a keen interest in the affairs 
     of Commonwealth artillery. The appointment of Master Gunner, Saint James’s Park, which 
     dates from 1263, is made by the Captain-General.

    Advise on all matters of significance to the Regiment and in particular on:

    maintain close liaison between the Regular and Reserve Force components of The Royal      
    Regiment and between The Royal Regiment and other branches;

    Advise the Director of Artillery and The Royal Canadian Artillery Association (in which he is an 
    ex-officio member of the Executive Committee) on all artillery matters; and oversee affiliations 
    with allied regiments or units.

The Colonel Commandant sends loyal greetings to Her Majesty the Queen at Christmas, on Artillery Day (26 May) and on St. Barbara’s Day (4 December). He may also send loyal greetings on any other occasions which warrant such action.

The Colonel Commandant, as head of The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery, should be consulted on arrangements for visits and celebrations involving other organizations and distinguished persons.